Black Sigatoka disease hits bananas in low-lying areas

BANANAS in low-lying areas are being affected by the Black Sigatoka disease, an official says.
National Agricultural Research Institute (Nari) director-general Dr Sergie Bang said at Bubia in Lae on Friday the disease affected banana leaves.
“When this happen, the process of photosynthesis could not take place effectively leaving the plant to die or its fruits affected. This affects the sizes of the bunch, or the banana finger will not be as big and the yield will drop,” Bang said.
He was at the Banana Field Day at Bubia, outside Lae.
Banana ranks second in importance in the country to sweet potato.
He said Nari officials were doing their best to control the disease.
“Farmers are required to increase the diversity of the bananas in their gardens and to protect the crop from pests and diseases and other stresses related to climate change.”
Nari is trying out four varieties of banana hybrids which were disease-resistant.
It has also been noted that hybrids which are resistant to Black Sigatoka are susceptible to other fungal leaf diseases such as Black Cross, Cordana and Freckles.