Studies on the Production of the Montecristo Banana Grown on the South Coast of Puerto Rico

Twelve monthly plots of the Montecristo cultivar were established at the Fortuna Substation on the Southern Coast of Puerto Rico. The time of planting was found to affect the interval from planting to shooting, resulting in a grouping of the plots into 6 periods of flowering. The length of the flowering period for all 12 plots ranged from 102 to 147 days. Bunches could be harvested continuously throughout the year. The time of shooting had a direct effect on the development of the bunch. The time required for the bunches to reach a definite stage of development decreased from the flowering of October to that of July of the following year, to increase again from August to October. Changes in the weight of the fingers, pulp content, and in the values of the pulp:peel ratios were studied by harvesting fingers from a number of bunches which were left on the tree until incipient ripeness. A continuous increase in all three attributes were observed during the development period. The changes in carbohydrates, acidity and pH, and moisture were determined during the development period. The time of flowering had a direct effect on the yields. Both the weight of the bunches and of the fingere harvested from plants blooming from October to August of the following year increased, reaching a maximum in July, to decrease again reaching a minimum in October. The number of fingere per bunch varied in a cyclic way throughout the year. The weight of the bunches harvested from all plots ranged from less than 20 to more than 60 pounds. The highest percentage of bunches harvested weighed between 35 and 40 pounds. The number of hands per bunch ranged from 6 to 9, with the highest percentage of bunches having 7 hands. The fruit harvested from all 12 plots was of good quality, ripening evenly to a bright-yellow color.