A Half-yearly Peer Reviewed Journal of Bangladesh Forest Research Institute
This paper deals with the iron status of different species of banana leaves ; the effect of application of sulphur in sail on iron mobilization and the effect of injection of iron salt solution on iron absorption by banana leaves.
Soil and leaf samples were collected from the groves of five edible banana species grown in a green house, Soil around the selected banana plants was treated with sulphur both in the plots and in pots applving 100, 200 and 300 kg of sulphur per hectare. Two ml of FeSO4 solution (5000 ppm) was injected on the pseudosten at the base of the third youngest leaf. After four weeks, soil and leaf samples were collected for analysis. Sunflower seedlings grown under similar sulphur treated conditions were collected after 20 days.
It was revealed from the results of the analytical data that iron content in banana leaves vary from one species to the other. But most of the species selected for this work contained higher amount of iron in leaves compared to the iron content of sunflower seedlings. The injection of FeSO4 solution in the pseudostems of iron deficient banana plants gave expedited response in iron absorption by leaves compared to the application of sulphur in soil which was done for increasing the mobilization of iron.