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Banana wilt diseases are among the most important banana production constraints worldwide. The narrow genetic diversity of cultivated bananas, coupled with the high variability of pathogens, has led to decimation of susceptible cultivars. Strict quarantine measures to exclude pathogens from disease-free areas and the use of resistant cultivars in already affected areas are the most effective control practices. Significant research efforts have been directed towards breeding additional resistant hybrids. Current research strategies for management of banana wilts have explored use of conventional breeding, somaclonal variation and genetic engineering. This review describes the recent spread, economic losses, management strategies and future research directions of the major banana wilts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Candidate strains of Beauveria bassiana were identified for use in integrated pest management of the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus. Horizontal field transmission of B. bassiana between banana weevils using different delivery systems, including aggregation pheromones, was investigated. We observed that infected weevils could transmit the fungal pathogen to healthy individuals. Most dead weevils (52%) due to B. bassiana infection were found at the base of banana plants in the leaf sheath or in the soil near banana plants. Significantly more weevils died from the pathogen in plots where B. bassiana was applied in combination with the pheromone than where it was applied alone. Our data demonstrate that C. sordidus aggregation pheromone can be a valuable tool to enhance the dissemination of B. bassiana for the control of C. sordidus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in four banana-producing regions of Rwanda to: (1) determine the importance of bananas as food and cash crops, and (2) to clarify the influence of socioeconomic and market factors on banana production. Bananas were generally grown on smallholdings (0.2-1.0 ha). Brewing bananas were the most important cash crop in Kivu Lake Border, Cyangugu and Kigali Rural regions. These were processed into beer at the farm level and sold to local consumers or to intermediaries for sale in the urban areas. Cooking bananas were a key cash crop in Kibungo and an important staple in most study sites. Although the Rwandan government has wished to discourage farmers from growing beer bananas, most farmers expressed unwillingness to switch from brewing to cooking bananas or to annual crops. Brewing bananas required fewer inputs, could be processed into products that had a longer shelf life and were easier to market than cooking bananas. They were preferred over annual crops because they afforded higher returns and a year-round source of income. Brewing bananas were favoured over coffee as the latter required higher levels of inputs, had a less organized market structure, and little potential to absorb increased production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1970 and 1990 Uganda witnessed the decline of the highland cooking banana from traditional growing areas in the central region, coupled with crop expansion in the country's southwest. Apprehension that the factors leading to loss of sustainability in. the central region may be replayed in extant production areas has raised concern about the future of the cooking banana in Uganda. Consequently, a multi-disciplinary study was conducted at nine central and six southwesternsites to document shifts in cooking banana production and to elucidate the causes behind these shifts. Cooking banana production in central Uganda sites fell from 18% of total food crop and 7% of total cashcrop production in the 1970s to 4% and 2%, respectively, in the 1990s. Farmers identified reduced labour availability and management, increasing pest pressure and declining soil nutrient status as the majorcauses of decline. On-farm verification confirmed farmers' observations: weevil levels were the highest yet found in Uganda, while foliarsamples indicated deficiencies in magnesium, nitrogen, and potassium. Soil nutrient deficiencies, however, appear to be a direct outcome of reduced management rather than 'soil exhaustion' as postulated by farmers. In southwestern Uganda, the importance of the cooking bananaas a cash crop has quadrupled since 1970. Banana first penetrated the region because of its ease of production and stability of yield. High yields attracted traders and urban market demand drove further crop expansion. With current market incentives, banana management standards have been high. Under current levels of management, it is unlikely that farmers in southwestern Uganda will experience a similar process of decline as that which occurred in the central region. However, concern remains about lack of replenishment of nutrients leaving the farm in the form of fruits sold for market, a nutrient loss which mayeventually lead to non-sustainability of the cropping system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]