Fusarium Wilt: A Destructive Disease of Banana and Their Sustainable Management

Abstract

Banana is one of the most important fruit crops. The major losses in banana mainly due to the fungal wilt disease which is caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense. The pathogen is mainly soil bone and saprotrophic in nature that’s why its management is very difficult. The yearly losses of banana by this disease in the world is ranging from 60 to 90% and in India 30–40%. Sustainable management of panama wilt is must to overcome these losses occur in banana. The management strategies for longer duration through crop rotation, organic amendment, application of micronutrient like silicon (Si), borax, host-pathogen interaction, hormonal induction of defence response, biological control, transgenic approach, disease resistance developed by somaclonal variation. These approaches are mainly emphasized for long term management of the panama wilt disease.

May bananas go extinct? The epidemic of Panama disease. A review

“…Foc is confirmed to spread by soil carried by native fauna, e.g. with an assistance of nematodes which help Foc penetrate root and corm and on boots and machinery of the planters [Niwas et al 2022]. It is possible for foc to spread from infected to blight-free areas due to soil shift by transport or water movements .…”

“…Fruits are unaffected [Dita et al 2013]. The blight is most visible in the place where the stele meets the cortex [Niwas et al 2022].…”

“…Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense hyphomycete [Niwas et al 2022] fungus is a teleomorph. According to Stover [1962] the fungus is asexual and haploid, hence its population structure is believed to be mostly clonal [Fourie et al 2009, Groenewald et al 2006].…”

“…Generally, the origin of Foc shows a strong dichotomy determined as types or clades [Groenewald 2006]. The present epidemy is caused by VCG01213-01216, commonly called Tropical Race 4 (TR4) [Ploetz 2006a, Niwas et al 2022]. Race 4 includes two "sub races": sub-tropical race 4 and tropical race 4.…”

“…In Guangzhou, China, a region strongly affected by the blight, Chinese leek (Allium tuberosum) and banana are sown alternately [Zhang et al 2011]. Other crop rotation techniques are maize-banana and more effective pineapple-banana [Niwas et al 2022].…”