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Sci Tech
Managing Panama wilt in banana
PANAMA WILT is also called as the Fusarium wilt of banana. This disease is caused by Fusarium oxysporum.
This disease causes two types of symptoms.
One symptom is inodoratum or yellowing characterised by strong yellowing of erect leaves.
Another symptom is odoratum. The plants suffer from collapse of the petiole.
The cut stem smells strongly of rotten fish.
The disease is soil borne and the fungus enters the roots through the fine laterals.
This entry is aided by the burrowing nematode Radopholus similis which punctures the roots.
The fungus prefers to grow in the vascular system which it causes the plants to wilt.
The most reliable symptoms for diagnosis of the disease are internal. If the base of the plant is cut through vertically, numerous brown and black lines can be seen running in all directions through upwards in to the leaf bases and petioles.
These are the vascular bundles which may also be stained dark red or purple.
Infected suckers growing out of diseased corms produce plants that wilt and eventually the mat or stool dies out. Intensity is high in acid alluvial soil.
Leaf symptoms appear after the fungus has spread through the corm. In younger plants, the first signs are on the unfurling leaf which turns yellow and dies off.
In older plants, the leaves collapse at the base of the petiole, the bunches hang down and wither.
Application of 2 per cent carbendazim as injection; or carbendasim 50 ml capsule application Pseudomonas fluerescens a bactericide can also be applied along with farmyard manure and neem cake.
About sixty mg of pseudomonas (in a capsule) can be applied in a 10 cm deep hole made in the corm.
S. Parasuraman, K. Soundararajan and C. Vijulan Harris
Horticultural Research Station
Thadiyankudisai
Perumbarai 624 212, T.N.
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