BANABIO: Assessment of novel organic banana cropping systems.

Banana is the most widely consumed and traded fruit in the world and is the leading agricultural sector in the French West Indies. Over the past thirty years, numerous studies have led to new practices that help to reduce pesticide use and align with the goals of the government Ecophyto plan. However, technical and economic references on banana farming systems not using synthetic inputs are lacking and new agroecological practices, such as agroforestry, need to be tested. In this context, as part of the DEPHY EXPE II project, the BANABIO project was launched to determine the agronomic, economic and pest management efficiency of novel banana systems (Cavendish, cv. Grande Naine). Two organic systems were thus compared to a reference conventional system (CO): a monoculture (Biointensive -BI) and a banana-cocoa association (Biodiversified -BD) using service plants and trees (Cajanus cajan, Indigofera zollingeriana and Inga ingoides). In this experiment, various yield indicators, pest management methods and production costs were monitored over five years. The results showed organic systems to be less productive than the reference conventional system (average bunch weight reduced by 15% for BI and 28% for BD). However, the agroforestry system appeared to be more resilient to black Sigatoka and its potential impacts on physiological fruit age (similar number of leaves at harvest to the conventional system and banana green life duration extended by 2.5 days). The production cost of the agroforestry system was the highest (€37,998/ha/year), while the conventional system was the lowest (€23,614/ha/year). This study demonstrated that organic banana production is an achievable goal in the French West Indies and that new practices, such as agroforestry, are promising but need to be optimized to reduce costs and improve yields.