Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense) (also called Panama disease)
Credit: Biovision-Infonet
Fusarium wilt symptoms (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense) on banana leaves. Banana cultivar ‘Bluggoe’ with yellowing symptoms on lower leaves
(c) David Jones. Reproduced from the Crop Protection Compendium, 2005 Edition. (c) CAB International, Wallingford, UK, 2005.
(c) A.A. Seif icipe
(c) IITA, 2010
This is a soil-borne fungus that attacks the roots and blocks the vascular system in the banana, so that the plant wilts. Diseased leaves turn yellow from the margins, dry up and collapse leaving a skirt of dead leaves draped around the plant. There is no effective control for Fusarium wilt, which is spread on infected suckers and in ground water.
What to do:
- Sanitation and cultural methods can minimise spread of the disease.
- In areas where Fusarium wilt is endemic resistant varieties such as “Cavendish”, “Kisigame”, “Mararu” and “Uganda green” (plantain) should be grown.