Determination of the effects of herbicide and flame applications on weed control and banana growth in greenhouse banana production

Bananas are one of the most consumed fruits worldwide and are among the important fruits with increasing production in our country. One of the major problems encountered in greenhouse banana production is weeds. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of some herbicides and flaming method as an alternative to weed control in banana production in greenhouse, both on weed control and banana development. For this purpose, the effectiveness of four herbicides (Glyphosate, glufosinate-ammonium, diquat and glyphosate+oxyfluorfen) and flame application in two different doses (3.9 kg/ha and 5.4 kg/ha) was compared with weedy control. For this purpose, a trial was established according to the randomized block experimental design with four replications in plots of 25 m2 each. The study was conducted in a banana greenhouse in the Manavgat district of Antalya province in 2023. Twenty-seven weed species belonging to 15 families were identified in the experimental area. The most dominant species were determined as Cardamine occulta, Pilea microphylla, Cynodon dactylon, Ipomoea triloba and Digitaria sanguinalis, respectively. It was observed that these five weed species constituted 96,2% in terms of density and 91,4% in terms of coverage area among all species. Evaluation of the results obtained as a result of the applications revealed that both herbicide and flame applications suppressed weeds. It was observed that herbicide applications were more successful than flaming due to their residual effect. Among the herbicides included in the experiment, the application that stood out in terms of both density and coverage area was glyphosate+oxyfluorfen. However, in many observations, no statistical difference was found between herbicides in terms of their effectiveness. Since flame applications have no residual effect, they have been repeated several times to achieve the desired effect. On the other hand, it was observed that the flaming cost was almost the same as the herbicide cost. The effects of the applications on yield and yield parameters were not very significant due to the fact that the study was conducted in an adult banana greenhouse, but their effects on banana development were found to be significant. Stem thickness and bunch stalk thickness of banana were increased compared to the control in all applications. The highest increase in both parameters was obtained from the glyphosate+oxyfluorfen application. In summary, this study tested alternative herbicides that can be used in banana production areas where no herbicides have been registered so far, both in terms of efficacy and phytotoxicity. On the other hand, it has been shown that flaming can be used as an alternative weed control method in greenhouse banana production, especially for organically farmed businesses