Bananas are a popular fruit all around the world, but how do you protect the plant from common diseases? In this article, Ian Weiland explains the common banana plant diseases and offers helpful prevention tips for getting rid of them.
Don’t wait any longer—find out what you need to know about keeping your banana plants healthy today!
Banana plant diseases – Prevention Tips for Getting Rid of them
What is a Banana Plant?
Banana plants are perennial herbs that belong to the genus Musa. They grow in warm climates and have a variety of uses, including food production and ornamental decoration. Bananas are an important part of diets and provide essential nutrients like vitamins B6 and C, potassium, and dietary fiber.
From boosting your immune system to balancing your blood sugar levels, there are numerous banana plant benefits to explore!
Have you been wondering what happens if you plant bananas in your garden? Well, the answer is that it can be a truly rewarding experience!
With the right conditions, such as soil, moisture, and temperature, you can cultivate this tropical plant and enjoy its health benefits.
The banana plant has a pseudostem that grows from a rhizome. It can reach heights of up to 25 feet and is composed of overlapping leaf sheaths. The leaves are typically green and long, with a pointed tip.
What is a Banana Plant?
At the end of the stem is the inflorescence, which consists of several flowers that turn into bunches of bananas after pollination. Unfortunately, they are susceptible to banana plant diseases, some of which can cause significant damage if left untreated.
Common Causes and Treating of Banana Plant Disease
Diseases of Banana Crop
Anthracnose
This is one of the most common banana plant diseases, and it is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum musae.
Common Causes and Treating of Banana Plant Disease
- Symptoms: The disease affects banana plants during all stages of growth, attacking the flowers, skin, and distal ends of banana heads. The symptoms appear as large brown patches covered with a crimson fungus. The diseased fruit turns black and shrivels up.
- Control: To treat this disease, it is important to remove any infected plant parts. Apply fungicides to the remaining plants and rotate crops to avoid reinfection.
Black leaf streak
- Symptoms of the infection in plants include wilting. And these lesions have a rusty brown hue, which darkens over time until it leads to plant death.
- Control: The control of Black leaf streak is recommended using spray fungicides to prevent the further spread of the disease.
Black leaf streak
Rhizome rot
- Symptoms:
Rhizome rot is one of the common diseases of banana plants. It is characterized by water-soaked lesions on the rhizome that eventually turn brown and decay. The disease can rot at the base of the pseudostem, causing plants to collapse and die.
- Control: Control measures include the rotation of crops. Besides, tight control of water levels and sterilizing planting material
Burrowing nematode
- Symptoms: The first sign of the disease is a tiny, dark spot on the root. After the nematode deposits eggs in the root tissue, larvae hatch and begin to feed off of the root tissue. Fungi then quickly invade any damaged root tissue.
Burrowing nematode
- Control: To decrease the pest population, you can utilize methods such as applying carbofuran 3G or phorate 10G at 10 g/pit at planting time. Additionally, introducing neem cake (250–400 g/pit) also works wonders when applied during the nursery stages.
Moko Disease
- Symptoms: As the disease progresses, older leaves become pale and wilted before completely collapsing. The condition gradually spreads to all of the tree’s canopy until it reaches a point where even its pseudostem fails.
- Control:
To prevent banana plant diseases and treatment, it is essential to detect and remove any infected plants as soon as possible. To ensure this process occurs without issue, all pruning tools should be sanitized with formaldehyde prior to use.
Moko Disease
Banana wilt
- Symptoms: Fusarium oxysporum is another fungus that causes Panama Disease, also known as Banana Wilt. Its effects are visible in the form of yellowing leaves, which start from the oldest and gradually move inward towards the middle part of a banana.
- Control: Avoid excessive watering, ensuring adequate nutrition of the plant soil. And providing proper irrigation methods and rotating crops regularly
Crown rot
The next disease on the list of banana plant diseases is Crown rot
- Symptoms:
Frequently, a layer of whitish mold forms on the cut surface of the crown. The mold can penetrate deeply into the crown and necks of fingers and cause a dry, black rot.
- Control: use fungicides such as copper or mancozeb for treating crown rot. Prune affected areas of the plant and discard all debris away from other
Crown rot
Yellow Sigatoka – Common diseases on Banana plant diseases
- Symptoms:
Initially, lower leaves show signs of small reddish-brown spots near the tip or edge and along the midrib. As time goes on, these speckles turn into large spindle-shaped marks with a reddish brown border and grey center, surrounded by a yellow halo.
- Control:
Planting should be done in soil that drains well, and this drainage must also be preserved.
To supply enough potassium to your soil, it’s essential that you provide adequate amounts of potassium fertilizer
Yellow Sigatoka – Common diseases on Banana plant diseases
Cigar end rot
- Symptoms: Dark, diseased necrosis spread quickly from the perianth to the tips of unripe fruit fingers. So, infected fruits were left with a dry rot that extended from their fingertips and was therefore deemed unfit for sale in many markets.
- Control:
INTEGRA 3ml/20l should be blended with fungicides prior to spraying for maximum potency. This combination works effectively, acting as a sticker, spreader, wetter, and penetrant.
For optimal results, fungicides should be reapplied on a biweekly basis.
Fruit speckle
- Symptoms:
Fruit speckle is one of the banana plant diseases that primarily affect fruit from October to May, as opposed to leaf speckle, which only infects leaves.
- Control: Fruit speckles can be controlled through the use of fungicides, although this is not always 100% effective. In addition, growers can try to avoid excessive nitrogen fertilization, as this can promote the growth of the fungus.
Fruit speckle
Leaf speckle
- Symptoms:
Leaf speckle (also referred to as tropical speckle) is a type of fungal infection marked by diffuse, irregular patterns. Besides, circular spots range from grey, brown, and black in color. These blotches can reach up to 5 cm in diameter and are more visible on older leaves (Photo 1). Similarly shaped symptoms may also appear on fruit stalks. The spread of this condition is caused by airborne spores.
- Control: To ensure that your plants are healthy and full of life, you must maintain a low humidity level as much as possible.
- Make sure you regularly remove weeds and shade from around your plants!
Leaf speckle
Banana Pests and Insects
Banana aphid
The banana aphids (Pentalonia nigronervosa) transmit the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV). The virus causes the banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) by feeding on infected cells.
- Control:
Monitor banana plants closely twice per month for any signs of aphid infestation. Immediately treat colonies with an appropriate pesticide should they be spotted.
If feasible and permissible, fight off ants! Ants will aggressively protect aphids from their natural predators. Boric acid baits can be used on organic farms to effectively control ant populations.
Banana aphid
Banana bract mosaic virus (BBMV)
Early signs of banana bract mosaic virus can include green or red-brown stripes and spindle-shaped lesions on the midribs. Similarly, yellowish streaks may also show up on bunch stems and fingers. In extreme cases, the infected fruit must be discarded due to its poor quality.
Control:
- Acquire materials of the highest quality and sanitary standards from reliable providers.
- To prevent any further contamination, isolate banana plants and/or areas that display unusual symptoms.
Banana bract mosaic virus (BBMV)
Banana Bunchy Top Virus
The leaves of this banana plant disease have deep green streaks, as well as an unmistakable ‘J’ shaped hook running along the center rib.
The petiole, a region where the leaf meets the stem, displays distinct crinkles and mottling.
Imperfect, undersized fruits or none whatsoever
- Control:
When treating for Bacterial Blight of Tree Vines (BBTV), it is critical to eliminate both infected plants and the aphids that convey the virus. It may take a second treatment in order to guarantee that all have been slain.
Banana rust thrips
The adult thrips are characterized by their slender body that is up to 1.5 mm long and wings with two dark eye-like patches.
Patches for banana plant diseases can help distinguish them from smaller male banana flower thrips. They typically range in color from creamy yellow to golden brown.
Banana rust thrips
- Control:
Installing bunch covers is an effective way to protect the fruit against pest infestation.
For greater protection, a registered bunch of dust should be applied in addition to fitting the bunch covers. It’s important to check on your fruits often, even while they are covered up so that any damage can be noticed and dealt with promptly.
Banana skipper
One of the factors made banana plant diseases is the caterpillars. That devastates crops by tearing apart the leaves and rolling them up to lengths of 15 cm so they can feed undisturbed.
These outbreaks can be catastrophic; reports have documented losses of up to 60% of leaves on banana plants during these events. If an outbreak takes place when the fruit is ripening, yields decrease due to delayed maturity and smaller bunch sizes.
Banana skipper
- Control: Carefully select the leaf rolls that have caterpillars inside. Gather both eggs and larvae, then put them in screened boxes near banana plants with rolled leaves so parasites can escape.
Banana weevil borer
The adult banana weevil borer is a nocturnal creature with reddish-brown hues that eventually fade to black. It boasts an impressive snout and a hardened shell measuring up to 10–12 mm in length.
Banana plant diseases Beetles rarely fly, meaning their spread relies on introducing infested plants.
Banana weevil borer
- Control: To ensure a healthy, flourishing crop of bananas, be sure to use clean plant material; tissue-cultured plants are the ideal choice. When returning to old sites, make sure all old corms are removed first and allow for a fallow period of at least six months before planting again.
Banana-silvering thrips
Upon inspecting a silver-speckled green fruit, dark excrement is visible on its surface, caused by these tiny thrips that feast upon it. Occasional browning of the fruit may be present as well. Banana plant diseases are accompanied by deep and lengthy cracks in extreme cases.
- Control:
To inhibit the propagation of this bug, avoid using planting tools and cuttings from places plagued by silvery thrips. It is also essential to manage key weed hosts in plantations like cobbler’s pegs for decreasing infestations.
Pseudostem Borer
The initial signs of an infestation are small holes and jelly gum secretions near the bottom of leaf sheaths or on the pseudostem of young plants. You may also see brownish larval frass around the holes.
- Control: Thrips can be controlled with the use of sticky traps, ultraviolet lamps, and insecticide sprays. Cultural control methods include removing weeds and other plants that may harbor thrips
Fruit and Leaf Scarring Beetle
Adult beetles feed on a wide range of weeds and additionally on the sprouted leaves, stems, and roots of banana trees. Banana plant diseases are particularly fond of young fruit too – leaving behind unsightly scars and spots that distort its shape.
Fruit and Leaf Scarring Beetle
Prevention Tips for Getting Rid of them
Here are tips for maintaining healthy banana plants should for beginners:
- Avoid overcrowding of banana plant diseases – Provide adequate spacing to allow air and light to reach all parts of the plant.
- Monitor soil moisture levels. Overly wet or dry conditions can promote disease development.
- Prune and clean up the area regularly. Remove any damaged parts of the plant, such as dead leaves or stems.
- Use preventive chemical sprays. Chemical fungicides can help prevent or slow the development of fungal diseases.
- Use organic methods: biological control agents such as predatory insects and beneficial bacteria.
Prevention Tips for Getting Rid of them
FAQs: Banana plant diseases – Prevention Tips for Getting Rid of them
What are the fungal diseases of bananas?
- Fungal diseases
- Peduncle rot
- Pestalotiopsis leaf spot
- Etc
How about a list of banana diseases?
- Rhizome soft rot.
- Fruit speckle.
- Leaf speckle.
- Crown rot.
- Yellow Sigatoka.
What is anthracnose in bananas?
Colletotrichum species are a major cause of anthracnose, one of the most damaging diseases to affect ripe bananas.
What is the Yellow Sigatoka Disease of Bananas?
Bananas throughout Australia’s banana-growing regions are routinely threatened by the often-present fungal disease, Yellow Sigatoka (YS).
Conclusion
So now you know the importance of learning about banana plant diseases and what to do when it comes time for their prevention and treatment. Thanks for learning from theanacostiawaterfront.com!
