Mkulima today we will be supporting farmers in banana farming. Through how to manage 7 common diseases in banana farming. Many banana plants and farmers suffer losses as a result of diseases. With these simple steps, we hope to boost productivity on your farm.

  1. Bacterial wilt

How to manage 7 common diseases in banana farming.it is easy to diagnose this problem on your farm.

As the plant matures one of the youngest three leaves turns pale-green or yellow in colour and breaks down.

Later all the other leaves collapse.

To notice an infected plant you will notice dry and rotted pulp and the presence of l discharges.

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Solution:

  • Use resistant varieties, if available.
  • Use certified disease-free planting material.
  • Remove infected plants from fields and destroy them.
    More information on Bacterial wilt

2.Bunchy top disease

This is a virus disease that is transmitted by aphids.

Typical symptoms are distinctive and readily distinguished from those caused by other viruses of banana.

Plants can become infected at any stage of growth. There are some differences between the symptoms of aphid-infected plants and those grown from infected planting material.

In aphid-infected plants, a few dark-green streaks or dots usually appear on the second leaf to grow after inoculation.

They are best seen from the underside of the leaf but sometimes also from the petiole.

These streaks change color to dark green as the leaf unfurls. Successive leaves become smaller, both in length and in width.

Leaves become dry and brittle and stand more erect than normal.

Suckers from an infected stool can show severe symptoms in the first leaf to emerge.

Infected plants rarely produce a fruit bunch after infection and do not fruit in subsequent years.

Plants infected late may fruit once, but the bunch stalk and the fruit will be small and distorted.

The only symptoms present maybe a few dark green streaks on the tips of the flower.

Solution:

  • Eradicate the whole diseased plants fully including the associated suckers by uprooting and chopping up. This will help avoid the spread.
  • Use of virus-free planting material
3. Black leaf streak or black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis) 

This is a very serious disease that affects the leaves of banana and inturn reduce plant yield.

The spores of this fungus are carried in the wind.

Spores germinate in moisture and infect the leaves. This results in lower yields and causes the premature ripening of the fruit.

Solution:

  • Remove and burn/ bury deep the diseased leaves to reduce the source of infection.
  • Overhead irrigation encourages the disease but drip or under canopy irrigation is recommended.
  • Farm in locations with low humidity. Good drainage systems that take surface water rapidly out of plantations can reduce humidity.
  • Avoid overcrowding of plants.
4. Panama disease or Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense) 

Panama disease is a soil-borne fungus that attacks the roots and blocks the vascular system in the banana.

As a result of the Panama disease the plant wilts.

Diseased leaves turn yellow from the margins, dry up and collapse.

There is no effective control for Fusarium wilt, which is spread on infected suckers and in groundwater.

Solution:

  • Sanitation minimises spread of the disease.
  • Plant a different variety like “Cavendish”, “Kisigame”, “Mararu” and “Uganda green” (plantain)
    More information on Fusarium wilt

6. The cigar end rot disease (Trachysphaera fructigena)

This is a fungal disease that can attack the ripening fruit of banana.

it causes a dry rot of the flower end.

In storage or during transport the disease may progress to involve the whole fruit.

The disease is usually of minor significance and seldom requires targeted control.

Solution:

  • Practise sanitation.
  • Avoid damage to the fruit and deflower 8-11 days after fruit bunch emergence.
  • Bagging of maturing banana stems.
7. Anthracnose

This is an important post-harvest problem of bananas, especially during transport and storage.

On green fruit, brown or black sunken spots develop. Infection is visible once the fruit is ripe.

The centres of the spots become dark because of the fungus. Under moist conditions, masses of spores are produced having a pinkish colour. The pulp of diseased fruit is usually not affected unless the fruit is over-ripe.

Solution:

  • Practise good field sanitation.
  • Minimise bruising during fruit handling
  • Hot water treatment of the fruit for 5 min at 50degC. For more information on Hot water treatment click here
  • Proper sanitation of handling facilities.

Credits; Infonet Biovision

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