exovetek

I was wondering if anyone can tell me what determines the direction a bunch will grow from a stalk. I found an article on it a while back, but I can't find it now. Is it predetermined by the orientation of the corm, or do they grow out toward the sun (IE north or south depending on hemisphere and time of year)

sunfish

I think if a plant is already leaning the bunch will hang in that direction.

exovetek

Thanks Tony. I remember the article saying something about planting them a certain way for consistent propping between rows on plantations, but what you say makes sense.

DaveE

I only have one bunch right now. The flower came out to the Northwest.
The same way it is leaning. The pstem is on the North side of a thick mat.

Dave

__________________

Gabe15

Having seen many fields of the exact same cultivars fruiting in large plots, I have wondered this too. They can be rather consistent, I didn't count each one, but for the first cycle it looked like up to about 75% will all be pointing in the same direction. Even between cultivars, they can tend to point in the same direction in a given location. However, it really only looks like there is a trend within the first cycle. Even the first ratoon crop is much more varied. When the mats are still young, the also look to like they tend to fruit towards the outside of the mat so they are more or less hanging on the perimeter, but as the mats grow even this trend is lost. I too have read a paper on it before, but I don't recall what was important in it. I think it's time for me to look into this topic again.

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

momoese

I'm with Tony, all mine bunches hang which ever way the plant is leaning.

sunfish

Right I have 5 hanging south 1 north and 2 east

Forgot 2 those are hanging south

Gabe15

I would think the leaning and direction are correlated, but that leaning does not inherently dictate where it will hang. What is interesting to me is that if a plot of plants is planted with (assumed) random initial orientation, on the first crop most of the bunches can be pointing in the same direction. Yes, they all point in whichever way the pseudostem was leaning, but how is it so many of them end up leaning in the same direction, and subsequently having their bunches pointing in the same direction?

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

sunfish

They must be leaning in the direction of the most sun.

Gabe15

It is also common that a plant doesn't start leaning until it fruits, just something to think about.

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

Kevin

That seems logical. The weight of the flowers coming out might make the plant lean in that direction. If the flowers lean towards the sun, the plant will also. I have no experience in this, but it seems logical.

pitangadiego

Very few, if any plants are exactly vertical. Most plants, esp in a multi-plant mat, lean away from the center of the mat, usually long before they flower. Some varieties get droopy before they flower. Bottom line is I have never seen a flower emerge and the "uphill" side of a leaning plant - always in the direction of the leaning.

__________________
Encanto Farms Nursery
http://encantofarms.com
We Be Bananas
http://webebananas.com

sunfish

gravity.

chasbear

I've also been curious about this phenomenon, but haven't studied it in depth. I remember pointing out to my wife a few months ago that along our driveway, which is oriented East-West, the bunches along the South edge of the driveway were nearly all hanging (and plants leaning) in towards the driveway, or towards the North; away from the sun but towards the most light. Along another road we have that is oriented North-South, the plants were all leaning & fruiting again towards the road, which would be to the East and towards the most light. At another location alongside a creek, which runs North-South, the plants are laid out from the East side of the creek and those closest to that opening in the plantation made by the creek, lean & fruit toward the creek; Westerly, and towards the most available light. How steadfast is this tendency to lean and fruit toward the most available light? Pretty strong here at my place, based on my simple observations, but would need more study to prove reliably how sure this would always be.

Here you can see the many fruit bunches along my driveway leaning toward the North. There are only 2 rows seen here, spaced 2 meters apart and running East-West, but the row on the North side nearly always leans and fruits North toward the most light:

__________________

Read more about my SOUTH EAST ASIA ADVENTURES

Current Conditions at our Provincial Capital:

exovetek

O.K. putting what Gabe, Tony and everyone else is saying together. This is what I gather. If you plant in east west rows, the the bananas will lean north or south toward the average direction of the sun depending on latitude/time of year. The bunches will grow in that direction making propping and harvest less labor-some. The subsequent generations will deviate as they lean away from the mother plant and become increasingly random from that point on. How does that sound?

exovetek

Thanks Charles, It looks like while I was typing my last post, you submitted yours. That's a very helpful personal account. The reason that I brought this up is for fruiting dwarf varieties in tubs. I figure that if you plant the corm at the edge of the tub instead of the center and get the bunch to hang toward the center, it will be less likely to topple.