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BLACK SIGATOKA, BANANA - SAINT LUCIA: FIRST REPORT
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A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: 2 Feb 2010
Source: Jamaica Gleaner [edited]
<http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100202/carib/carib5.html>
Agriculture officials have confirmed that black sigatoka, a dangerous
fungal disease, has been discovered in St Lucia and threatens the
struggling banana industry.
Agriculture Minister Ezekiel Joseph said the dreaded disease was
discovered on a banana plantation in the southeast of the island and
that government officials will be verifying the extent of infestation
across the island.
"We are now embarking on a comprehensive survey island-wide to
determine the extent of the problem, and, from that, we will know the
measures we need to undertake to either eradicate or control," he said.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
[Black sigatoka (BS), also known as black leaf streak, is caused by
the fungus _Mycosphaerella fijiensis_, which affects only species and
hybrids of _Musa_. Worldwide, BS is one of the most devastating leaf
diseases of bananas, with yield losses of 50 percent or more. It is
present in the Americas, China, South East Asia, and parts of Africa.
Infection occurs on the youngest leaves of the plant; older leaves are
not readily infected.
BS seriously affects photosynthetic ability, and fruit can ripen
prematurely during commercial shipment causing further losses. It is
spread by water, wind, and contaminated materials including suckers
for planting. Disease management includes frequent applications of
fungicides, phytosanitary measures to reduce inoculum, and cultural
practices, but the high costs of these measures make them essentially
unavailable to smallholder farmers.
The related species _M. musicola_ causes yellow sigatoka (YS) with
similar symptoms. YS causes less damage because symptoms appear mainly
on older leaves. There are more crop cultivars with degrees of
resistance to YS than to BS.
BS (and also YS) has been causing serious crop losses in the Caribbean
region and has recently also been confirmed in neighbouring Guyana
(ProMED-mail post 20090928.3392). St Lucia has attempted to prevent
introduction of BS by quarantine measures (see ProMED-mail post
20071010.3322), and this appears to be the 1st time the disease has
been detected there.
Maps
St Lucia:
<http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/caribb/lgcolor/lccolor.htm>
Caribbean region and South America, overviews:
<http://worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/carib.htm>,
<http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/samerica/gy.htm> and
<http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/sa.htm>
Worldwide distribution of BS and YS:
<http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/banana/Images/Figure8sm.jpg>
Pictures
Black sigatoka symptoms:
<http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/images/Biosecurity_GeneralPlantHealthPestsDiseaseAndWeeds/BlackSigatoka-Advanced-BananaLeaf-250.jpg>
and
<http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/images/Biosecurity_GeneralPlantHealthPestsDiseaseAndWeeds/BlackSigatoka-InfectedBananaPlant-250.jpg>
Yellow sigatoka:
<http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/ikmp/images/f04992b.gif>
Links
Additional news stories:
<http://www.caribbeandailynews.com/?p=5094> (BS outbreak, St Lucia),
<http://dominicanewsonline.com/?p=3186> (BS awareness & prevention,
Dominica) and
<http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=58090> (BS control
attempts, Guyana)
Information on black sigatoka with pictures:
<http://www.apsnet.org/education/feature/banana/> and
<http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/2005/3-23-2005/banana.html>
Black sigatoka factsheet with distribution map (July 2000):
<http://www.agric.wa.gov.au/content/pw/ph/dis/fn/fs01400.pdf>
Information on black and yellow sigatoka:
<http://www.oisat.org/pests/diseases/fungal/sigatoka_leaf_spot.html>
_M. fijiensis_ taxonomy:
<http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=318160>
- Mod.DHA]
[The name sigatoka may sound Japanese to some people, but it is the
name of the valley in Fiji where the disease was 1st detected. - Mod.JW]
[see also:
Black sigatoka, banana & plantain - Guyana 20100118.0204
2009
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Black sigatoka, banana - St. Vincent & Grenadines: 1st rep. 20091221.4299
Sigatoka disease, plantain - Guyana: (ES) 20090928.3392
Yellow sigatoka, banana - Dominican Republic 20090911.3199
Yellow sigatoka, leaf speckle, banana - Australia: (QL) 20090626.2321
Undiagnosed disease, banana - Guyana 20090824.2984
Leaf spot, banana - Caribbean region: control efforts 20090614.2204
2008
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Leaf spot, banana - St. Vincent & Grenadines 20080215.0605
2007
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Black sigatoka, banana - Philippines (Mindanao) 20071012.3351
2006
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Black sigatoka, banana - Puerto Rico: 1st Report 20060413.1101
2004
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Black sigatoka, banana - Trinidad & Tobago 20040811.2223
Black sigatoka, banana - Bahamas 20040611.1568
2001
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Black sigatoka, banana - Australia (Queensland) (03) 20010422.0788
Black sigatoka - Australia & Papua New Guinea 20010101.0006
2000
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Black sigatoka, bananas - Australia (Queensland) 20000731.1269
1999
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Black sigatoka, bananas - Brazil 19990221.0227
1998
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Black Sigatoka - Venezuela 19980311.0467
Black sigatoka - Caribbean 19980309.0451
1996
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Black sigatoka - Jamaica (2) 19960530.1002
Black sigatoka in bananas - Jamaica 19960514.0912]
....................................................dha/msp/jw
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