Hi all. I made the mistake of using a 15-5-10 weed and feed lawn fertilizer on my banana trees. I know that lawn fetilizer is ok to use. But i mistakenly used one with a weed killer.
Does anyone know what i can expect to happen from doing this? Sick trees? dying trees? no banans this year? Or, do you think it wont do any damage?
Thanks for any advise.

Do you know what herbicide is in the particular 'weed and feed' that you used? It should say on the label. Also, what is the concentration and how much did you apply? I'm guessing that it might be something like 2,4-D. I believe 2,4-D is used to control banana suckers, so it probably will have some effect on the plant.
Edited by spectrum on Mar 16, 2005 at 05:56 PM

If there is 2,4-D in the "weed and feed" like Spectrum said, I think there might be a big effect because I know that 2,4-D is used to control broad leaf weeds and I would consider a banana a broad leaf plant. I don't mean to alarm you, but I would say that there most likey will be an effect on the banana plant.

Actually, bananas are closer to grasses than broadleaf plants So all may not be lost - depending of course on how much and which herbicide was accidentally applied. But there likely will be some sort of effect.
Edited by spectrum on Mar 16, 2005 at 11:11 PM

Yep. 2,4-D. plants look a bit droopy now. been about 2 weeks since i apllied it.
I calld the local radio show garden guy here in houston. he said if I apply a soil activatoer every 2 weeks for a couple months, it should take care of the problem, but the plants will get sick.
thanks to those who replied. good to know this forum is active. Now, one more question for you, (which i forgot to ask the garden guy). if the plants bear bananas this year....what is your opinions here as to whether they would be safe to eat. No bananas have started to form yet. I would be interested in what you all think. thanks.

They should be safe to eat. 2,4-D is used on many food crops, and as herbicides go it is a reasonably safe one for people. Don't apply it directly to the banana before putting it in your mouth or anything, but you shouldn't need to worry about residue from an application to the plant months earlier.

2,4-D is a chemical that mimics a plant growth regulator. It basically works by making plants grow so fast that they grow themselves to death. Human bodies don't have plant growth regulators to mimic in the first place, so 2,4-D can't do too much to us, as long as you follow the safety precautions on the label

I wouldn't eat any bananas that have been sprayed or recently used systemiclly. I looked up 2,4-d and the human heath harzards are high.
One quick acting solution would be to use epsom salts, this is sold for garden use under another name, but either way it will work if applied in small doses.
Good luck....Poisons kill.

'Recently' means different things for different herbicides. Farmers are advised to wait 7 days before allowing dairy cattle to graze pastures sprayed with 2,4-D and 30 days between spraying a hay crop and cutting it for feed. I'm having trouble finding exact time frames between spraying a food crop and harvesting it, likely because food crops are usually sprayed with 2,4-D long before harvest.
My source: http://www.agr.gov.sk.ca/docs/crops/herbicide.pdf

I also found a label from a 2,4-D product that includes directions for using it on bananas to control suckers. So, chances are that many bananas you get from the grocery store come from plants that have had 2,4-D applied to them. See page 5 of this document: http://www.pestgenie.com.au/label/nufarm/AMICIDE%20625_24107513.pdf

I wouldn't doubt that people use 2,4-d on banana pups, because they also pour Diesel onto pups in commercial plantations.
I really think putting posions on food or basically into the environment is a bad thing.
Sorry for preaching, but it's real for me because when I was a baby our familys watershed was posioned 'on accident', by the fish and game. I don't know what type of herbicide it was, but 2,4-ds been around the longest. We ended up moving to Montana, because it was effecting our health too much.

I understand that some people feel strongly about chemicals and prefer to grow and/or eat organic produce. I understand where you're coming from

Interesting side note - water is actually a lot easier to contaminate than plants or soil, as a lot of herbicides break down quickly in plants and soil but last for a long time in plain water.

I think that it is probally safe to eat the bananas that the plant prduces because, as spectum was saying, it is used in farming and in food crops. Offten 2,4-D is used in corn crops as an herbicide. Since corn is a grass, it won't kill it. It is used in corn that is going to be shelled or chopped for forage. The forage is used for cattle feed in beef and dairy operations.
And a green99 said, 2,4-D has been around for a long time. I think back in the 1950's or 1960's it was being used. Maybe longer than that.