The best time to plant plantain in Nigeria is between May 15 – August 15 every year if you depend on the rains, however, your best time to plant plantain in Nigeria can be anytime if you have irrigation in place.
Planting plantain in the rainy season months of May, June, July and August can be beneficial to the growth of the plantain plants because of the abundance of water. Plantain is a water hungry crop; it needs a lot of water for the yield to be high.
The best time to plant plantain in Nigeria should be based on factors like level of temperature, rainfall pattern, the availability of irrigation, pests and diseases and availability of labour etc.
The best time to plant plantain across the climatic zones of Nigeria
The best time to plant plantain across the climatic zones of Nigeria is discussed below:
Mangrove Swamp Forest Zone
The best time to plant plantain in the swampy forest zone like Bayelsa and Delta State is mid-March to mid-October. This is due to the fact that rain falls almost all year round in this zone.
Rain Forest Zone
The best time to grow plantain in the rain forest zone like Ondo and Ogun is mid-April to late August. This is due to the fact that rain starts in the month of April in the rain forest belt of Nigeria.
The months of April, May, June and July are the best months to plant plantain in the rain forest belt of Nigeria.
Guinean Savannah Zone
The best time to plant plantain in the Guinean savannah zone like Nasarawa and Kogi is late June to early September. This is due to the fact that rains come in the month of June in this zone.
Sudan Savannah Zone
The best time to plant plantain in the Sudan savannah zone like Niger State and Kaduna is early July to early September. This is due to the late rains in this belt.
Sahel Savannah Zone
The best time to plant plantain in the Sahel savannah zone like Yobe state and Borno state is late July to mid-August. This is due to the very late rains in this zone.
Factors that can affect the time to plant plantain in Nigeria
The following factors can affect the time to plant plantain in Nigeria:
The availability of water
The availability of water can impact the time to plant plantain in Nigeria. For rain fed farmers, the best time to plant plantain is during the rainy season because of the abundance of water.
For irrigation farmers, plantain can be planted anytime so far there is water.
Intensity of pests and diseases
The intensity of pests and diseases can also affect the time to plant plantain in Nigeria. In the rainy season months in Nigeria, the humidity is usually high; this can increase the occurrences of fungal diseases.
In the dry season months, insects and flies are rampart; these pests transmit viral diseases to plantain plants.
Availability of labour
The availability of labour can affect the time to plant plantain in Nigeria. At a particular time of the year, the availability of labour can be very high while at some other time, labour can be scarce.
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