DISEASES of BANANA

BANANA (Musa sp.)

Family - Musacae

Second largest produced fruit crop after mango

India is the largest producer of banana – 27% of the world 37m MT

Tamilnadu and Maharastra are leading producers

Varieties - Dwarf Cavendish, Robusta, Rasthali, Poovan,

Monthan, Elakkibale

High nutritive value – Rich in Vit B

CARBS AVG CALS PROTEIN FAT

Banana (100g) 22.8g 89 1.1g 0.3g
Factors limiting Banana yield

Diseases

Pests

Nutritional
imbalance

Climate/
Abiotic
Stress
 Major diseases of Banana
Disease
 Fusarium wilt / Panama wilt
 Yellow sigatoka
 Freckle leaf spot
 Bacterial wilt / Moko disease
 Rhizome rot
 Anthracnose
 Cigar end rot
 Banana bunchy top disease
 Banana bract mosaic
 Banana streak disease
Causal organism
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense
Pseudocercospora musicola
Guignardia musae
Ralstonia solanacearum
Erwinia caratovora s.sp, caratovora
Colletotrichum musae
Verticillium theobrame
Banana bunchy top virus
Banana bract mosaic virus
Banana streak virus
 FUSARIUM WILT / PANAMA WILT
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense

1. External symptoms:

Plant showing yellowing of the Plant showing the skirt of collapsed

leaves, first at the margins leaves around the pseudostem
2. Internal symptoms:

Longitudinal pseudostem splitting Yellow to reddish-brown

discolouration of vascular strands
Favourable conditions
 Poorly drained soils
 Cultivation of cultivars like Rasthali (Amruthpani), Gros Michel,
Karpooravalli, Ney poovan, Monthan and Bluggoe
 Infection by burrowing nematode Rhodophilus similis, predisposes the
plants to disease

Etiology
 Primary – Chlamydospore in soil and propagules in infected suckers
 Secondary – Micro and macro conidia through irrigation water

Chlamydospore Micro and macro conidia

Life cycle of Foc in a banana plant
 Management
Cultural methods:
 Use disease free planting material
 Severely affected plants should be uprooted and burnt
 Growing resistant cavendish varieties – Basrai (Vamanakeli or Dwarf
Cavendish), Poovan (Karpura chakkerakeli)

Product Name Technical Content Dosage

Biological Management
Multiplex Bio-Jodi
Anant Dr.Bacto’s Dermus
Chemical Management - Drenching after 2-4 months planting
SAAF Fungicide
Blitox Fungicide or
Blue Copper Fungicide
Zerox Fungicide
Taqat Fungicide
Katyayani Tebusul Fungicide
Pseudomonas fluorescence & Sucker treatment: 5 – 10 gm/lit
Bacillus subtilis water
Trichoderma viride Soil application: 5kg/acre
Mancozeb 63% + Carbendazim
1.5 – 2 gm/lit water
12% WP
Copper Oxychloride 50 % WP 1 – 2 gm/lit water
Propiconazole 25% EC 1 ml/lit water
Hexaconazole 5% + Captan 70%
2 gm/lit water
WP
Tebuconazole 10% + Sulphur 65%
2.5 gm/lit water
WG
 Yellow Sigatoka / Leaf spot
Mycospharella musicola

Symptoms progression

Stage 1: appearance of very small

light green dots

Stage 2: dots elongates into a

light green streaks

Stage 3: streaks changes to rusty

brown
Stage 4: sunken dark brown centre
and is often surrounded by
a yellow halo

Stage 5: grey, dried out centre and an

obvious black margin
Favourable conditions
 Environment conditions – High humidity and temperature between 25 – 30°C,
rainfall, prolonged leaf wetness as surface moisture
 Susceptible varieties – Cavendish and Robusta
 Plant nutrition – Potassium deficient plants are high susceptible
 Field conditions – Poor drainage, presence of infected leaves and plant debris

Etiology
 Infection takes place through Ascospores present
in plant debris
 Spreads through wind-borne conidia
 Surface moisture is necessary for release of
conidia and ascospores. Hence disease spread
severe in moist weather
Life cycle of yellow sigatoka
 Management
Cultural methods:
 Planting in well drained soils
 Planting at recommended density – 1000 plants/acre
 Growing disease resistant cultivars – Karpura chakkerakeli
 Pruning suckers to avoid overcrowding

Product Name Technical Content Dosage

Biological Management
Multiplex Bio-Jodi
Anant Dr.Bacto’s Dermus
T.Stanes Sting Bio Fungicide
Chemical Management
SAAF Fungicide
Indofil M45 Fungicide or
Dithane 45 Fungicide
Blitox Fungicide or
Blue Copper Fungicide
TATA Ishaan Fungicide or
Jatayu Fungicide
Pseudomonas fluorescence &
Foliar: 5 – 10 gm/lit water
Bacillus subtilis
Trichoderma viride Foliar: 2.5 gm/lit water
Bacillus subtilis 10 ml/lit water
Mancozeb 63% + Carbendazim
1.5 – 2 gm/lit water
12% WP
0.8 – 1.1 gm/lit water
Mancozeb 75% WP
2 – 2.5 gm/lit water
Copper Oxychloride 50 % WP 1 – 2 gm/lit water
Chlorothalonil 75% WP 2.5 gm/lit water
 Freckle leaf spot of Banana
Guignardia musae

Symptoms

Initial stage of Freckle spots Late stage of leaf Water-soaked

infection with aggregated on infection lesions on
freckle spots midrib of leaf banana fruit
Favourable conditions
 Warm humid environments
 High precipitation conducive for spread of spores

Etiology
 Considered as “wetspore” organism,
spores needs water for dispersal
 Long distance spread occurs through the
movement of infected fruit and infected
leaves
Life cycle of banana freckle
 Management
Cultural Methods:
 pruning out infectious plant material,
 planting in pathogen-free fields, and
 practicing proper sanitation techniques

Product Name Technical Content Dosage

Biological Management
Multiplex Bio-Jodi
Anant Dr.Bacto’s Dermus
T.Stanes Sting Bio Fungicide
Chemical Management
SAAF Fungicide
Indofil M45 Fungicide or
Dithane 45 Fungicide
Blitox Fungicide or
Blue Copper Fungicide
TATA Ishaan Fungicide or
Jatayu Fungicide
Pseudomonas fluorescence &
Foliar: 5 – 10 gm/lit water
Bacillus subtilis
Trichoderma viride Foliar: 2.5 gm/lit water
Bacillus subtilis 10 ml/lit water
Mancozeb 63% + Carbendazim
1.5 – 2 gm/lit water
12% WP
0.8 – 1.1 gm/lit water
Mancozeb 75% WP
2 – 2.5 gm/lit water
Copper Oxychloride 50 % WP 1 – 2 gm/lit water
Chlorothalonil 75% WP 2.5 gm/lit water
 Bacterial wilt / Moko disease
Ralstonia solanacearum

Symptoms

Collapsing Cavendish Banana Necrosis of banana fingers

 Infected vascular tissues Brown rot inside green banana

Vascular staining in fruit stalk Vascular staining

Favourable conditions
 Warm temperature and high soil moisture
 Infected crop residues
 Slightly acidic soils
 Root injury by farm tools and soil pests

Etiology
 Pathogen spreads through all infected plant
parts
 Also through infested soil on farm tools,
animals and water runoff
 Survival in soil up to 18 months, but Blackening of the fruit and fruit
stalk
possibly survival on weeds
 Management
Cultural Methods:
• Eradicate infected plants and suckers
• Disinfect tools with farmaldehyde diluted with water in 1:3 ratio
• Grow resistant varieties like Poovan and Monthan

Product Name Technical Content Dosage

Biological Management
Pseudomonas fluorescence & Sucker treatment: 5 – 10 gm/lit
Multiplex Bio-Jodi
Bacillus subtilis water
Anant Dr.Bacto’s Dermus Trichoderma viride Soil application: 5kg/acre
Chemical Management -

Methyl Bromide or Chloropicrin Fumigation

Bleaching powder (1.5%) and Streptocycline (0.02%) - Drenching 1 – 2 gm/lit water

 Rhizome rot / Soft rot / Tip over disease
Erwinia caratovora sub sp, caratovora
Symptoms:

Softrot with
ooze

Crown rottening Brown discolouration

of vascular strands
Favourable conditions
 Juvenile stage (3-4 months after planting) of the crop is highly susceptible
 High temperature at early stages of crop growth
 Water logging with high temp. favours infection
 Growing susceptible cultivars like Cavendish and Tella chekkerakeli

Etiology

 Primary – inoculum present in soil and

planting material
 Secondary – dispersal of inoculum
through irrigation water

Rotten rhizome
 Management
Cultural Methods:
 prevent heat injury to tender roots
 Provide good drainage wherever water stagnation occurs in the field
 maintain moisture around root zone to effectively

Product Name Technical Content Dosage

Biological Management
Drenching
Multiplex Bio-Jodi Pseudomonas fluorescence
1-2lt/plant at 0,2,4,6 MAP
Chemical Management -
Bleaching powder (1.5%) and Streptocycline (0.02%) -
1-2 gm/lit water
Drenching

Blitox (Copper oxychloride) - Drenching 5 gm/lit water

Fytolan (Blue copper or Copper oxy Chloride - COC) +

400gm/ 200 lt
Streptomycin with Tetracycline
 Anthracnose
Colletotrichum musae
Symptoms:

small circular black specks Black sunken patches

Rotting of fruit pink coloured spore masses

Favourable conditions
 high temp. of 30 -35ºC and humidity(85 -100%)
 fruit damage
 disease is more abundant during rainy season
 ripe fruits in storage are more susceptible than the unripe fruits
 Cavendish is the most susceptible variety

Etiology
 Primary source of inoculum: The fungus survives as dormant mycelia in
the fallen leaves for considerable time.
 Secondary source of inoculum: Air and water splash borne conidia from
the acervuli.
 Management

 Distal bud should be removed when all the hands have opened to prevent
infection.
 Infected materials must be burnt.
 Fruit should be free from infection and as healthy as possible before it is
transported
 Banana bunches should be harvested at correct stage of maturity. After
harvesting of the bunches, they should be transported to the storehouse without
causing any bruises to them. The transported bunches should be handled
carefully and stored at a cool place at 7-100 c.
 Pre-harvest spray with Carbendazim@ 0.1%, four times at fortnightly interval is
highly effective.
 Cigar end rot
Verticillium theobrame
Symptoms:

Greyish fungal growth look Grey to black necrosis on the tip of the
like ash burnt end of a cigar fruits
Favourable conditions
 High humidity ranging from 90-92%, high rainfall and low temperatures, and weak
plants provide an ideal environment for disease development

Etiology
 Primary source of inoculum: The fungus survives as dormant mycelia in
the fallen leaves for considerable time.
 Secondary source of inoculum: air and soil-borne conidia
 Management

 The disease is carried by alternate hosts, so eradication of alternate hosts is

important
 Removal of pistil and perianth by hand, immediately after the fruits are
formed, is considered as an effective control method.
 The plantations should have enough aeration by discouraging
overcrowding of plants
 Placing polythene sleeves over the stems before hands emerge
 The bunches should be sprayed with copper oxychloride @ 0.25% solution
along with a wetting agent @ 0.5ml/ lt of spray fluid
 Banana bunchy top disease
Banana bunchy top virus
Symptoms:

Leaf distortion smaller leaves on shorter petioles giving the

plants a bunched appearance
Morse code (dot/dash) symptoms in green J-hook symptom along the
leaf veins leaf midrib
Diseased, with green J-hooks and Morse Healthy leaf
code
Diseased, with streaking Healthy, without streaking
Favourable conditions
 Progressively increasing temperature from February
onwards favours virus spread and symptom expression
 Prevalence of alternate host
 Prevalence of aphid (Pentalonia nigronervosa)

Etiology
 Primary source: virus affected suckers used for planting
 Secondary source: transmission through banana aphid (Pentalonia nigronervosa)
 Banana bract mosaic
Banana bract mosaic virus
Symptoms:

spindle shaped pinkish to reddish spindle shaped mild mosaic streaks

streaks on pseudostem on bracts
pinkish to reddish streaks on streaks on bunchstalk
pseudostem

 Spread through Banana aphids Aphis gossypii, A. maydis and

Rhopalosiphum maydis in non-persistent manner
 Banana streak disease
Banana streak virus
Symptoms:

chlorotic streaks on the banana leaves discontinuous linear streaks from margin to
midrib running parallel to veins

 Spread through Banana aphids Aphis gossypii, A. maydis

 Cucumber serves as reservoir host
 Management
 Adoption of strict quarantine measures
 Use only certified suckers or tissue cultured plants for planting
 Rouging of infected plants with all suckers
 Dry hot treatment of suckers at 40º C for 1 day
 Raising barrier crops like sunhemp to check aphids entering the field
 Vector control with systemic insecticides viz.. Phosphomidon @ 1ml/L,
Methyl demeton or Dimethoate 2ml/ L
 Destroying resorvoir host plants (Canna, Heliconia, Strelitzia, Cucumber)