Evaluation and post-harvest characterization of promising dessert banana genotypes

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted during 2020-2021 to evaluate eight dessert banana cultivars namelyNRCB 10, Budubale, Popoulu, ManjeriNendran, BCB1, H531, Champa, and Nendran for growth, yield attributes, fruit quality, post-harvest life and pest/disease incidence. The trial was laid out in a Randomized Block Design with three replications and 15 plants per treatment. Significant variation was observed among genotypes for key growth and yield parameters. Budubale recorded the highest pseudostem height (354.20 cm), while Popoulu exhibited maximum pseudostem girth (68.39 cm), more number of functional leaves (12.24), and earliness in flowering and maturity (219.40 and 291.13 days respectively). Popoulu also excelled in yield traits such as bunch weight (20.36 kg), number of fingers per bunch (171.53), and yield per hectare (48.03 t/ha). Manjeri Nendran showed superior fruit quality with the longest fingers (24.37 cm) and highest TSS and sugar content. Economic analysis revealed that Popoulu had the highest net return (2,44,300/ha) and benefit-cost ratio (2.03), followed by NRCB 10. Popoulu and NRCB 10 were identified as promising cultivars for commercial banana cultivation.