KVK Creates Technology to Clean Harvested Banana Plantations

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute's (CMFRI) Ernakulam Krishi Vigyan Kendra has demonstrated the technology of cleaning harvested banana plantations to nourish the soil's bio-fertility.

KVK demonstrated to the farmers a technology that shreds the leftover stems into tiny pieces, allowing them to dissolve in the soil and be composted.

According to the KVK, the process cleans farms and prepares them for the next crop while also increasing the organic content of the soil.

"Normally, after harvest, the stems in banana plantations are discarded, creating a breeding ground for many parasites and impeding the next crop." "By shredding it into tiny pieces soon after harvest, we not only make it easily dissolved in soil, but we also clean the farm," said Shinoj Subramanian, Head of KVK, adding that the shredded pieces will be composted for organic manure in the future.

Importance of Cleaning Harvested Banana:

The post-harvest treatment processes of bananas include picking, cleaning, grading, weighing, fresh-keeping, packaging, cold storage and transportation, and so on. Among these post-harvest treatment processes cleaning has the greatest impact on the food safety of banana

Wealth from waste

30 tonnes of banana stems are produced by a one-acre banana plantation. Using the tractor-operated waste shredder, up to 4 tonnes of biomass could be converted into tiny pieces in one hour, according to KVK technology. "When properly composted banana biomass from one-acre areas is used in situ, it can increase organic matter by 0.1 to 0.2 percent and reduce chemical fertiliser requirements by 16 percent," Subramanian said.

KVK demonstrated this technology in line with the Central Government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan's flagship programme, "generating wealth from waste."

KVK is also looking into making silage for dairy animals out of leftover banana stems.