A sucker is a lateral shoot that develops from the rhizome and usually emerges close to the mother plant. Other names for sucker are keiki (in Hawaii) and pup. A sucker that has just emerged through the soil surface is called a peeper. The clump of plants formed by the mother plant and its suckers is called a mat or stool.
The first rudimentary leaves produced by a growing sucker are called scale leaves. Mature leaves that consist of a sheath, petiole, midrib and blade are called foliage leaves. A full grown sucker bearing foliageleaves is called a maiden sucker.
The number of suckers produced varies with the type of cultivar. The sucker selected to replace the mother plant after fruiting is called the follower or ratoon. Considerations such as the evenness of the crop and the position of the sucker in relation to the direction of the row and in relation to the bunch on the mother plant influence the selection of the follower in commercial plantations of Cavendish cultivars1. Since suckers can be removed and planted separately, they are commonly used as planting material by smallholder farmers. The pratice, however, is responsible for the spread of pests and diseases.