Comparison of open‐field and protected cultivation of banana (Musa spp. AAA) in the coastal area of Turkey

This study was conducted to determine the yield and quality of ‘Dwarf Cavendish’ banana (Musa spp. AAA), cultivated in open fields and also in protected (plastic greenhouse) cultivation. The site is located in the central south coastal region (altitude 50 m, latitude 36°33'N) of Turkey. In both cultivation systems we determined the following: pseudostem circumference, pseudostem height, total leaf number, bunch stalk circumference, days from shooting to harvest, number of hands, number of fingers, finger circumference, finger length, and bunch weight. Protected cultivation was found to be better than open‐field cultivation in terms of total production, expressed as the number of hands and fingers per bunch and bunch weight. Average annual yield under plastic greenhouse was 53% higher than in the open field (65.5 t/ha compared with 42.8 t/ha).