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Committee on Common Names of Plant Diseases

 Banana Diseases

David R. Jones, A. Chris Hayward and John E. Thomas

Common Names of banana diseases and their causal agents

Acrodontium leaf speckle

Acrodontium simplex

Anthracnose

Colletotrichum musae

Armillaria corm rot

Armillaria mellea; A. tabescens

Bacterial pulp decay

Pectobacterium chrysanthemi; Pseudomonas sp.

Bacterial finger-tip rot

Burkholderia cepacia; Pseudomonas sp.

Bacterial head rot (see Bacterial rhizome rot)

 

Bacterial rhizome rot

Pectobacterium atrospeticum; P. carotovorum subsp. carotovorum; P. chrysanthemi

Bacterial wilt of wild banana

Ralstonia solanacearum (race 1)

Bacterial wilt of enset and banana (see Xanthomonas wilt)

 

Black cross leaf spot

Phyllachora musicola

Black end (see Squirter)

 

Black heart

Fusarium moniliforme

Black leaf streak/Black Sigatoka leaf spot

Mycosphaerella fijiensis (anamorph: Pseudocercospora fijiensis)

Black root rot

Rosellinia bunodes

Black Sigatoka (see Black leaf streak/Black Sigatoka leaf spot)

 

Black-tip

Deightoniella torulosa; Verticillium theobromae

Blood disease (see Blood bacterial wilt)

 

Blood bacterial wilt

no valid name for the bacterial pathogen, but it has affinity with Ralstonia

Botryodiplodia finger rot (see Finger-rot)

 

Bract mosaic

Banana bract mosaic virus

Brown blotch

Pestalotiopsis leprogena

Brown spot

Cercospora hayi

Bugtok (= Bacterial hard pulp)

Ralstonia solanacearum (race 2)

Bunchy top

Banana bunchy top virus

Central American fruit speckle

Cephalosporium sp.; Collectrotichum musae; Cylindrocarpon sp.; Deightoniella torulosa; Fusarium fusarioides; F. semitectum; F. tricinctum; Penicillium roseum; Trichoderma sp.; chemical damage; insect damage

Ceratocystis corm rot

Ceratocystis paradoxa (anamorph: Chalara paradoxa)

Ceratocystis fruit rot

Ceratocystis paradoxa (anamorph: Chalara paradoxa)

Cigar-end rot

Verticillium theobromae; Trachysphaera fructigena

Cladosporium leaf speckle

Cladosporium musae = Periconiella sapientumicola

Cordana leaf spot

Cordana johnstonii; C. musae

Crown rot

 

 

Acremonium sp.; Acremonium strictum; Cephalosporium sp.; Ceratocystis paradoxa; Colletotrichum musae; Fusarium moniliforme; F. pallidoroseum; Fusarium spp.; Lasiodiplodia theobromae; Nigrospora spp.; Verticillium theobromae

Curvularia leaf speckle

Curvularia geniculata; C. lunata

Cylindrocladium root rot

Cylindrocladium gracilis; C. spathiphylli

Damping-off

Deightoniella torulosa

Deightoniella fruit speckle

Deightoniella torulosa

Deightoniella leaf spot

Deightoniella torulosa

Diamond leaf spot

Haplobasidion musae

Diamond fruit spot

Cercospora hayi plus Fusarium pallidoroseum and/or F. solani.

Die-back

Unknown; previously thought to be caused by banana die-back virus

Drechslera leaf spot (see Eyespot)

 

Eumusae leaf spot

Mycosphaerella eumusae

Eyespot

Drechslera gigantea; D. musae-sapientum

False Panama disorder

unknown

Finger rot

Lasiodiplodia theobromae; Trachysphaera fructigena

Finger soft rot

Pectobacterium chrysanthemi

Freckle

Guignardia musae (anamorph: Phyllosticta musarum)

Fruit rot

Acremonium strictum; Botryosphaeria ribis; Drechslera musae-sapientum; D. spicifera; Pestalotiopsis disseminata

Fungal root-rot

Fusarium solani (teleomorph: Nectria haematococca); Fusarium oxysporum; Rhizoctonia spp.

Fungal scald

Colletotrichum musae; Fusarium pallidoroseum

Fusarium tip-rot

Fusarium moniliforme var. subglutinans

Fusarium wilt

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense

Gumming (see Bacterial finger-tip rot)

 

Infectious chlorosis (see Mosaic)

 

Kokkan (see Bract mosaic)

 

Lasiodiplodia finger rot

Lasiodiplodia theobromae

Leaf spot of plantain

Leptosphaeria musarum

Main stalk rot

Ceratocystis paradoxa; Colletotrichum musae; Fuasarium moniliforme var. subglutinans; Lasiodiplodia theobromae

Malayan leaf spot (see Diamond leaf spot)

 

Marasmiellus pseudostem and root rot

Marasmiellus inoderma = Marasmius semiustus

Mild mosaic

Banana mild mosaic virus

Mixed ripe fruit

Mycosphaerella musicola; M. fijiensis; M. eumusae; drought; chilling

Mokillo (see Bacterial finger-tip rot)

 

Moko bacterial wilt

Ralstonia solanacearum (race 2)

Mosaic

Cucumber mosaic virus

Mycosphaerella leaf speckle

Mycosphaerella musae

Panama disease (see Fusarium wilt)

 

Peduncle rot

 

Colletotrichum musae; Lasiodiplodia theobromae; Fusarium pallidoroseum; F. oxysporum; Verticillium theobromae

Peel rot

Alternaria alternata

Pestalotiopsis leaf spot

Pestalotiopsis palmarum

Phaeoseptoria leaf spot

Phaeoseptoria musae

Pitting

Pyricularia grisea

Premature ripening

Mycosphaerella musicola; M. fijiensis; M. eumusae

Pseudostem heart rot

Fusarium moniliforme (teleomorph: Gibberella fujikuroi)

Pseudostem wet rot

Pectobacterium chrysanthemi

Ramichloridium leaf speckle

Ramichloridium musae = Veronaea musae = Periconiella musae

Root and/or rhizome rot – in association with nematode lesions

Acremonium stromaticum; Cylindrocarpon musae; Fusarium moniliforme; F. solani; Zythia sp.

Rust 

 Uromyces musae; Uredo musae

Sigatoka leaf spot/Yellow Sigatoka leaf spot

Mycosphaerella musicola (anamorph: Pseudocercospora musae)

Sooty blotch (see Sooty mould)

Sooty mould

Chaetothyrina musarum; Cladosporium atriellum; C. cladosporioides; Fumago vagans; Microxyphium sp.

Speckle (see Acrodontium leaf speckle; Cladosporium leaf speckle; Central American fruit speckle; Curvularia leaf speckle; Deightoniella fruit speckle; Mycosphaerella leaf speckle; Ramichloridium leaf speckle)

Squirter

Nigrospora sphaerica

Stem dry rot

Marasmiellus troyanus

Stem-end rot

Colletotrichum musae; Ceratocystis paradoxa

Streak

Banana streak virus

Tapurok (see Bugtok)

 

Tibaglon (see Bugtok)

 

Tip-end rot

Botrytis cinerea; Dothiorella gregaria; Fusarium sp; Glomerella cingulata; Lasiodiplodia sp.; Nattrassia mangiferae = Hendersonula toruloidea; Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

Trachysphaera finger rot (see Finger-rot)

 

Xanthomonas wilt

Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum

Yellow Sigatoka leaf spot (see Sigatoka leaf spot)

 

Zonate leaf spot

Bidenticula cannae

Notes: Although rhizome is the botanically correct term for the underground stem of banana, it is also called corm and head. A mat is a large rhizome mass that gives rise to numerous pseudostems. A finger is an individual banana fruit. Pulp is the fleshy, edible part of the finger beneath the peel. The tip-end of a finger is where the flowers are/were attached. The stem–end of a finger is where the pedicel is attached. Fingers are arranged in a hand. Pedicels connect fingers of a hand to the crown, which is attached to the fruit stalk or peduncle. All hands on a peduncle make up the bunch. The pseudostem is the erect stem of the banana, which is composed of tightly packed leaf sheaths. The heart of a banana is the area around the psedostem apex where the young leaf petioles emerge.