Biological control of weeds in industrial banana plantations

The use of cover crops in Ivorian banana plantations responds to the imperative of maintaining the competitiveness of bananas on the European market in a context of free trade in view of the quest for European food security with regard to quality bananas without glyphosate residues. The sustainable banana calls for the biological and sustainable improvement of the fertility of banana plantations by reducing or even eliminating pesticides particularly herbicides which are harmful to the health of producers and consumers. The objective is to produce bananas without herbicides and to perpetuate this culture by suppressing erosion aeration maintaining microbial activity and the pedological structure of banana plantations. To do this the local flora was studied and species were selected based on their ability to control weeds resist trampling non-competitiveness to banana trees and adaptability to the general ergonomics of banana cultivation. Cuttings from these species were planted in nurseries and then grown with young banana trees.