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Pacific Pests, Pathogens & Weeds - Mini Fact Sheet Edition

Banana leaf speckle (308)

Photo 1. Ramichloridium biverticillatum symptoms on leaves of banana.

Photo 2. Tropical speckle, Ramichloridium species. The symptoms are best seen on the underside of the leaf as tan, circular blotches.

Photo 3. Leaf speckle, Mycosphaerella musae.

Photo 4. Leaf speckle, Mycosphaerella musae, on an older leaf.

Photo 5. Fruit speckle on Cavendish fruit, Colletotrichum musae and Fusarium species.

Summary

Worldwide distribution. Several fungi involved. Minor diseases.
Small spots or streaks at first, later joining together forming light brown, diffuse, irreglar patches up to 5 cm diameter on the leaves, and fruit and fruit stalks; usually more obvious on undersurfaces. Reddish-brown to black spots on fruits, with more at the flower end.
Spores formed on underside of leaves and spread by wind and rain.
Cultural control: remove dead leaves from plantation; remove shade and weeds; desucker plants to aid air movement and drying of leaves; promote healthy growth with fertilizer and/or manures; mulch, but not with old banana leaves.
Chemical control: unlikely to be needed. Fungicides for banana black Sigatoka likely to control this disease (see Fact Sheet no. 02).

Common Name

Banana speckle, banana leaf speckle, tropical speckle, common speckle. Note, a disease known as "fruit speckle" also exists.

Scientific Name

Metulocladosporiella musae (previous names are Cladosporium musae, and Periconiella sapientumicola), Ramichloridium biverticillatum (Periconiella musae), Ramichloridium musae (Periconiella musae, Veronaea musae), and Mycosphaerella musae are all referred to a 'leaf speckle'. Ramichloridium species are also said to cause 'tropical speckle'¹. Mycosphaerella musae is also called 'common speckle'. Colletotrichum musae and Fusarium species cause 'fruit speckle' in Australia.

AUTHORS Grahame Jackson & Eric McKenzie
¹Information from Graham KM (1971) Plant diseases of Fiji. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. London; and (with Photos 2-5) from ²Diseases of fruit crops in Australia (2009). Editors, Tony Cooke, Denis Persley, Susan House. CSIRO Publishing. Photo 1 (taken by Eric McKenzie), and used in this fact sheet, appeared previously in McKenzie E (2013) Ramichloridium biverticillatum PaDIL - (https://www.padil.gov.au).

Produced with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research under project PC/2010/090: Strengthening integrated crop management research in the Pacific Islands in support of sustainable intensification of high-value crop production, implemented by the University of Queensland and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

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