The plantain seedling that you will plant is known as the
sucker.
The beauty of the plantain plant is in its ability to
reproduce itself in geometric proportions. A healthy plantain plant can
reproduce about 5 suckers around it which means that one plant has produced
another 5 plants.
Therefore, you will not have to buy fresh suckers for
planting for the 2nd year and beyond. There are three benefits to
you.
First benefit is that you won’t be buying fresh suckers for planting in
the 2nd year. Second benefit is that you can sell the suckers while
waiting for the harvest of the plantain bunches from the existing plants.
Thirdly, you can transplant the suckers on another plot of land which means
that your farm is expanding without buying fresh suckers.
There are two types of suckers in Nigeria – the local
variety and the improved variety sucker. The local variety sucker takes about
two years to mature from planting to harvest while the improved variety takes one
year. The local variety generally has lower yields and more disease-prone, while the improved variety has higher yields
in terms of fingers per bunch, size of the fingers and the sweetness of the
fruits.
The improved variety brings faster returns on investment than the local
variety sucker. The improved variety comes in different grades that indicate
the level of improvement. Always go for the latest improved variety sucker. If you are a starter, go for the improved variety sucker.
However, note that the improved variety sucker is costlier than the local
variety sucker. When the planting season commences, at the start of the rains,
the improved variety sucker costs about N120.00 to N150.00 per sucker even from
official sources. The demand for the improved variety sucker is high.
The demand pressure and the season affect the price. If you
are a starter waiting till the planting season to buy the suckers, then you
will likely get them at a higher price than in an off-season. Make sure that
you get your sucker from recommended sources and buy the right sucker. This is
where some have burned their fingers badly, who bought the wrong suckers from
wrong sources and got nothing worthwhile at the end.
John Ayodele
Phone:2348035978352
Email: ayodeleade2002@yahoo.com
Thanks for the advice and information.
ReplyDeletePlease wer can I get d improved suckers plssss
ReplyDeletePlease wer can I get d improved suckers plssss
ReplyDeletecan u please let us know how to identify improved varieties suckers
ReplyDeleteHe won't answer you.He is just advertising.
ReplyDeleteHe won't answer you.He is just advertising.
ReplyDelete