Plants, in general,draw back nutrients from tissues that are programmed to die or that are dying,to minimize the loss. For example,by the time a leaf dies naturally,it will have few useful for the plant,nutrients remaining and it will also have accumulated waste products of the plant. In that way,the plant minimizes its losses and gets rid of unwanted substances so its better to leave tissues and so,flowered and dying pseudostems,die back on their own. This reduces the need for fertilizer,plus,when the dead pseudostem falls and breaks down,the plant is able to get some more nutrients from it. Generally,the less you remove from a banana mat and the more you leave in place to die on their own and then decompose,the less fertilizer is needed to keep the mat in good shape and productive. For example,if you only remove the bunch but leave the rest in place,the fertilizer needed for ratoon crops is much less than what was needed for the first crop. If i remember correctly,it must be about 1/3 of the recommended for the first crop because the loss is only the bunch!
