Table 2.
Descriptive statistics [mean (SD)] of management practices for three different banana production regimes
| Banana (ha) | Density (plant ha−1) | Productivity (boxes yr ha−1) | Fertilizer type | Fertilizer amount (kg yr ha−1) | Fertilizer cycles | Herbicide (L yr ha−1) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic | 3.7 (3.7) | 602.8 (161) | 211.5 (114) | Chicken manure, cobalt–magnesium, phosphorus | 65 (154) | 2 (3.3) | 0 |
| Banana–coffee inter-crop | 2.6 (1.7) | 405.7 (101) | 345.1 (141) | Complete formula, nitrogen | 96.8 (30.5) | 2.2 (1.4) | 1.5 (2.9) |
| Export bananas | 294 (230) | 1738 (66) | 2666 (380) | Complete formula, organic/compost, chicken manure | 2775 (511) | 14.3 (4.7) | 3.2 (3.9) |
| Herbicide cycles | Cycles of chopping weeds | Nematicide cycles | Fungicide cycles | Cost of inputsa (USD ha−1) | Gross income from banana sales | Market | Type of farm | Other crops grown with bananas | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organic | 0 | 3.2 (1.5) | 0 | 0 | 8 | 407 | Sold for processing | Small-scale non-conventional | Avocado, beans, guayabana, cocoa, corn, citrus, mango, pineapple, sunflower seeds, tangerine, timber, yucca |
| Banana–coffee inter-crop | 2 (2.1) | 1.5 (1.4) | 0 | 0 | 34 | 528 | Sold domestically | Small-scale conventional | Coffee, wood trees, plantains |
| Export bananas | 4.4 (4) | 2.7 (3.7) | 2.7 (.9) | 50.4 (21.5) | 4268 | 14 396 | Sold for export | Large-scale conventional | None |
a Includes costs to purchase fertilizers, herbicides, nematicides, fungicides and insecticide-lined bags, and labor costs for application