Evaluation of the productivity of banana plants in the second crop cycle, planted in a corridor of leguminous trees on the Batéké Plateau (Kinshasa, DR Congo)

Abstract

In the context of climate change, the silvobanana system is a favourable response to the problems of intensifying banana
production and preserving forests, especially in regions where deforestation is increasing. Objectives: To improve banana
production on the Batéké plateau. Five banana cultivars were intercropped with four two-year-old tree legumes. After
harvesting of the first cycle, the reproductive plants were replaced by successor shoots. Multivariate analyses, particularly
principal component analysis (PCA), were used to clearly demonstrate the correlation between the banana-tree legume
associations and the characteristics of the successor shoots of the banana cultivars evaluated. With regard to the results
obtained, it should be noted that the associations formed with the tree legumes Pterocarpus indicus Wild, Milletia laurentii
and Inga edulis Mart proved to be the most successful in the second banana crop cycle, namely the associations: Nsikumuna
with Pterocarpus indicus Wild; followed by Nsikumuna with Milletia laurentii and Gros Michel with Pterocarpus indicus
Wild. These combinations can be recommended to growers in order to make banana production in the Batéké plateau
profitable and sustainable. However, counter-performance was observed more in associations formed with the species Acacia
auriculiformus Benth.