Abstract
An experiment was conducted to determine the optimum water requirement of drip-irrigated plantains (Musa acuminata × Musa balbisiana AAB) grown under semiarid conditions. The irrigation regimes were based on class A pan factors ranging from 0.25 to 1.25 with increments of 0.25. Plants with irrigation based on a pan factor of 0. 7 5 or above averaged 280 days from planting to flowering. Flowering in plants that received irrigation based on pan factors of 0.25 and 0.50 was substantially delayed. AU yield components were significantly affected by the amount of water applied. Only fruits from treatments with irrigation based on a pan factor of over 0. 7 5 exceeded the average weight of 270 g, the minimum accepted for marketable plantains. Highest marketable yield (33.9 t ha-1) was obtained with the application of a pan factor treatment of 1.25, an increase of 14.2, 10.6, 7 .0, and 3.4 t ha-1 over pan factor treatments 0.25, 0.50, 0. 7 5, and 1.0, respectively. Over 50% of the fruits harvested in pan factor treatments 0.25 and 0.50 were classified as nonmarketable.
