Gabe15

The practice of keeping one bunch on a mat at a time is done commercially to maximize the the size of each bunch, but it works because the other bunches are prevented from even being formed, the suckers are removed. When you see a banana bunch coming out of the plant, it's size and behavior has already been determined months ago, so there is not much you can do to change that.

Although it will be putting resources to new bunch, it has already put a lot into it thus far and cutting it would be a waste, additionally, it will only be taking nutrients from the other bunch if your plants are undernourished. If you've been feeding them, there is no reason it would reallocate nutrients meant for the other bunch if it can get them from the soil.

If you are not a commercial grower, I believe it is much better to have multiple bunches at a time on a plant. Each bunch may not be as large as its maximum potential, but you will still have tons of fruit and it will be more evenly distributed throughout the year, and you will end up actually having more fruit overall.

__________________
Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.