Page 39 - Ecuador's Banana Sector under Climate Change

chapter 2: economic and policy analysis of the banana sector in ecuador and implications for social and environmental sustainability
Table 4 Input use by organic and conventional banana plantations in Ecuador
Inputs category
Item
Input applications
Organic (/ha)
Traditional (/ha)
Farms surveyed
Average size
Average yield
9 8
34.4 83.7
33.0 39.9
2.9
4.7 0.6
3.6 1.5
Pesticides*
Fungicide (l)
15.9
7.1
Herbicide (l)
Growth regulator (l)
Insecticide (l)
Unspecified pesticide (l)
Pesticide cyclic-N compounds (kg)
Pesticide acetamide-anillide-compounds (kg)
Pesticide benzimidazole compounds (kg)
Pesticide dithiocarbamate compounds (kg)
Lime from carbonation (kg)
Potassium chloride (kg)
Compost (kg)
Ammonium nitrate (kg)
Monoammonium phosphate (kg)
Diammonium phosphate (kg)
Ammonium sulphate (kg)
Calcium sulphate (kg)
Potassium sulphate (mineral) (kg)
Zeolite (kg)
Poultry manure (kg)
Potassium nitrate (kg)
Phosphate rock (kg)
Potassium silicate (kg)
Magnesium sulphate (kg)
Zinc sulphate (kg)
Calcium nitrate (kg)
Triple superphosphate (kg)
Boric acid (kg)
Bórax (kg)
Molasses (kg)
Castor-oil plant flour (kg)
Urea (kg)
Ureate (ammonium nitrate) (kg)
6.7
11.1 445.6 83.7
11.5
0.4
1.9
Fertilizers
Average fertilizer from algae (kg)
3.9
4.0
988.7
224.2
1049.7
140.0
945.1
179.3
522.8
376.0
50.0
305.9
236.5
193.5
130.7
900.0
475.0
40.6 13.3
91.7
87.0
19.0
5.2
365.1
200.0
100.0
150.0
393.6
225.0
Source: Author’s calculations, based on data from FAO. (2014)
* Organic plantations do not use synthetic chemicals to fight pesticides; they use plant extracts approved for organic
plantations (such as Timorex Gold
23