Diseases of fruit plantation medicinal and aromatic crops (2+1)

Diseases of Banana

Introduction
They are herbaceous perennial with underground, horizontal rhizomes from which roots develop. It contains pseudostem. Each leaf is about 2-2.5mt long. It is monocarpic; flowers are male, female and hermaphrodite. The fruit fingers become negatively geotropic as they grow, turn upwards first within 7-10 days and propagated by suckers.
It is both sweet, desert cultivar and the starchy, cooking plantains and are important food items throughout the tropics and leading tropical fruit in the world market with high degree of export potentiality.
Varieties: Dwarf Cavendish, Robusta, Nendran, Hill banana, co-1, Virupakshi, Poovan, Kadali, Nanjangud Rasabale etc.
Importance:
Rich source of energy, multiple uses of fruit and hence also called as Kalpatharu. The fruits are used both for cooking and table purposes, the leaves as dishes, male flower bud and stalk as vegetables, pseudostem and rhizome as cattle feed also used to prepare baby food, paper board and tissue paper etc. Some products like chips, powder, soft drink, jam, beer, and confectioner could be prepared from pseudostem. Such an important crop is afflicted by several fungal, bacterial, viral and nematode diseases.
Diseases

Major Diseases

1. PANAMA DISEASE- Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense
2. MOKO WILT / DISEASE (Bacterial wilt)-Ralstonia solanacearum
3. SIGATOKA LEAF SPOT-Cercospora musae
4. ANTHRACNOSE-Colletotrichum musae
5. BUNCHY TOP-Banana bunchy top virus
6. STEM END ROT-Ceratocystis paradoxa
7. BURROWING NEMATODE- Radopholus similis
8. BLACK SPOT- Phyllosticta musarum
9. INFECTIOUS CHLOROSIS- Cucumber mosaic virus

Minor Diseases

1. CROWN ROT – Several fungi
2. BLACK SPOT/BLACK TIP/SPECKLE/PIN SPOT/ - Deightoniella torulosa
3. FINGER ROT – Botryodiplodia theobromae
4. PITTING DISEASE OR JOHNSON SPOT – Pyricularia grisea
5. DIAMOND SPOT – Cercospora hayi and Fusarium spp.
6. CIGAR END ROT – Trachysphaera fructigena and Verticillium theobromae
7. SQUIRTER DISEASE – Nigrospora sphaerica