Pacific Pests, Pathogens and Weeds - Online edition

Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides

Banana tip rot (125)


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Summary
  • Worldwide distribution. On banana and plantains.
  • Round to oval sunken spots with pink spore masses on fingers, and black rots at cut ends of hands. An important disease in storage.
  • A common fungus on trash. Spores spread in wind and rain or insects; green fruit infected 20-40 days after emergence. Rots occur when fruit ripens.
  • Cultural control: bag bunches after removing male bud; remove old hanging leaves and flower remains; do not bruise bunches; keep packing sheds clean.
  • Chemical control: commercial growers - registered chemicals, e.g., benzimidazoles or triazoles.
Common Name

Banana tip rot, banana crown rot

Scientific Name

Colletotrichum musae


AUTHOR Grahame Jackson
Information from (including Photo 1) Diseases of fruit crops in Australia (2009). Editors, Tony Cooke, et al. CSIRO Publishing; and from CABI (2018) Anthracnose on banana Colletotrichum musae. Plantwise Knowledge Bank. (https://www.plantwise.org/KnowledgeBank/pmdg/20187800642). 1Anthracnose is the name given to diseases caused by Colletotrichum (and some other) fungi.

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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