742 Agricultural Gazette of N.SAV. [Oct. 2, 1920. 



end of Decembei' and the whole of January and February — are the least 

 prufitable months of the year foi- bananas. If a pruning method can be 

 adopted that will bring along a larger crop in the better months of the yeai 

 it will obviously be in growers' interests. 



If pruning is to be carried out to the oest advantage it must not be earlier 

 than Jan-uary or February. It is a grievous and expensive mistake to do the 

 work earlier in the spring. No doubt it looks reasonable, at a time when the 

 suckers are drawing heavily on the plants, to reduce their number, but as a 

 matter of fact the plant is then in such a vigorous condition that the effect of 

 pruning is to force out an extra growth of suckers, with the result that more 

 labour than ever becomes necessary later in the summer to cut thesf out. 

 Had the pruning or suckering been delayed until January or February no 

 further suckers would have developed, and one pruning would have suthced. 



Great care should betaken when pruning not to injure the mother plant or 

 its roots, and to this end the spud-bar should be forced only half way through 

 the bulb of the sucker that is to be taken out, and then a gentle levering 

 action will break it off without damaging the parent plant. The hoe and the 

 mattock are not recommended for the operation, owing to the damage they 

 cause to the main root system. Moreover, the remaining portions of suckers 

 so removed are likely to grow again and thus make double work. 



A handy and effective tool for the purpose can be made by any blacksmith 

 out of round | inch iron, 4 feet long ; a blade 8 inches long and 2 inches 

 wide is drawn out at one end, and a 4-inch diamond i)oint at the other end. 



Surplus suckers may be most effectively dealt with by cutting off close to 

 the ground with a sheath knife and piercing the centre of the stump with tlie 

 point of a knife, gouging out the heart. Fluid collects in the hole and 

 prevents further growth without any other injury to the plant. This, of 

 course, only applies when the suckers removed are not required for planting. 



It is generally found most profitable to have only three main suckers 

 forming a stool, with three "followers" (small suckers) to take their places. 

 As each parent sucker in an established field will produce from three to five 

 suckers, choice must be made as to which shall be loft as the " follower," and 

 it is there that individual judgment is necessary. As a general rule the 

 following kinds of suckers should always be taken out, because none of them 

 will produce a large bunch: — -(1) Those situated inside the triangle formed 

 by the original suckers of the stool ; (2) those with broad, flat leaves, often 

 called umbrella or water suckers ; (3) those small ones, 4 to 12 ini-hes long, 

 to be found on stumps. 



In selecting the suckers to be retained, prefei-ence shoukl be given the 

 following : — (1) The sucker with the largest bulb: (2) the sucker farthest 

 from the parent (this ensures room for development) ; (3) the most pointed 

 sucker with narrow leaves — always a vigorous type of sucker. 



The stool should be encJuraged rather to spread along the row than 

 between the rows, so that s[)ace may be maintained for inter-cultivation willi 

 horse implements. 



