Banana

Symptoms: Tunneling in corms, yellowing, plant toppling, stunted growth, reduced ratoon performance

Management: Use clean planting material. Apply Carbofuran granules in planting holes. Set banana stem traps. Remove old stumps. Pheromone traps for monitoring.

Symptoms: Toppling of plants due to root destruction, blackened roots, reduced yield, poor ratoon establishment

Management: Use tissue culture plants (nematode-free). Soil fumigation with Fenamiphos. Crop rotation. Hot water treatment of corms at 52°C for 20 min.

Symptoms: Brown scarring on fruit skin under the bunch cover, cosmetic damage reducing market value

Management: Bag bunches with polythene sleeves immediately after bunch emergence. Spray Dimethoate if heavy infestation.

Symptoms: Bunchy top virus vector. Leaf distortion, streaking, stunting in severe cases

Management: Control aphid populations with Imidacloprid. Remove and destroy bunchy top infected plants immediately.

Symptoms: Internal yellowing of pseudostem, wilting from oldest leaves, brown vascular discolouration, plant death

Management: Plant resistant varieties (FHIA hybrids). No chemical cure. Remove infected plants and lime the soil. Do not move soil from infected areas.

Symptoms: Dark brown streaks expanding to leaf spots with yellow halos, premature leaf death, reduced bunch size by 50%

Management: Spray Mancozeb 2 kg/ha or Propiconazole every 3 weeks. Remove infected leaves. Ensure good air circulation.

Symptoms: Dark green streaks on leaves, erect narrow leaves crowding at top, no fruiting, plant death

Management: No cure. Remove and destroy infected plants. Control aphid vectors. Use virus-free planting material only.

Symptoms: Black sunken lesions on ripening fruit, premature ripening, post-harvest rot

Management: Post-harvest dip in Thiabendazole or Prochloraz. Handle fruit carefully to avoid wounds. Rapid cooling after harvest.