In 2021 the Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (DLVV) participated through Zoom in two seminars on Banana Disease Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4, now also known as Fusarium odoratissimum, a soil fungus that causes banana trees to dry out and die. Traditionally, people distinguish between bacon, which is eaten fresh, and bananas, which are usually cooked. Both are hybrids of Musa acuminata (A) or Musa balbisiana (B). So the Lady Fingers, better known as Ney Poovan, which in Aruba people like to plant in their garden, is a diploid hybrid, AB. The Bluggoe is a very vigorous and drought resistant triploid ABB. Foc
tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) can severely affect bananas of the Cavendish (AAA) variety, the world’s most commercialized. The reason for the seminars was the discovery of the presence of the disease in La Guajira Colombia. DLVV prepared this statement because on 25 January 2023 Venezuela notified the secretariat of the International Plant Protection.
Convention where Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 was detected, see https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/venezuela-bolivarian-republic-
or/pestreports/2023/01/phytosanitary-emergency-for-presence-of-foc-r4t/
The fungus infects the rhizome, the roots, of the tree and blocks the transport of fluid to the rest of the tree above it. At the first sign of the disease the outermost edge of the eyelid may begin to turn yellow. In bananas, people talk about a false stem because it consists of many layers stacked on top of each other. The true stem emerges from the rhizome and on it the flower and branches of the bacchus appear. In the early stages of infection with Foc TR4 only one foetus may show symptoms of browning. However the base of the false strain will show vascular discoloration and will test positive with the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), a test of Desoxyribonucleic Acid. The fruit and false stem itself will not show necrosis, but are black patches of dead tissue. In the middle stage, the leaves will show discoloration and obviously the false stem also at its base and middle. Only the fruit and the peduncle will be PCR negative. The peduncle in bananas is the part of the branch where the flower emerges, which was once thought to be the actual stem. In the late stage of the infection are the final moments of the Banana.
After three years of experimentation, 80% of the trees were infected. The stem
The fake was completely discolored and tested positive for PCR. Both the fruit and the peduncle tested negative for PCR. Shoots of an infected plant can also indicate health as the primary way the disease spreads as humans use them to propagate the plant. In Aruba the time involved in obtaining diagnostic results will depend on the laboratories that will need to be consulted outside in addition to the specialized knowledge that all the tests require.
The way the disease is spread is primarily through infected, dead or living plants, parts of the plant or soil on which it grows. Once the disease is present, contamination of other areas is by soil transport, irrigation water, drainage, and when water flows and the core of a site is contaminated to a point where it is not. Historically the main form is through propagation material, such as shoots of infected plants. At least Aruba is not dependent on the export of banana trees but as it is written people know how to grow certain cultivars. Due to lack of phytosanitary legislation, the border cannot be closed for the introduction of
but actually kill the one that Venezuela is closing. Once diagnosed the recommendation is to destroy all trees and others within a 7.5 m radius. These should be burned, but should be reported to Brandweer if possible. In addition, the wood contains a lot of moisture and does not burn so much. The leaves should be cut into small pieces 60-80 cm long and the rhizome with its roots should be bagged. Towers in the area must be millimeter and cover
Department of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (Santa Rosa)
All with a plastic shield to spray with methyl bromide to disinfect the soil and plant materials. For the use of methyl bromide, people should consult the Inspectie Geneesmiddelen. Another but less effective method of soil sterilization is to remove it and place it in a metal barrier from which the top has been removed, drill through it and place it on a rock 15 cm from the well. The soil is filled with 10 cm of water and a fire is lit under the bark and the water is boiled and the steam penetrates the soil and sterilizes it when it reaches 80 degrees Celsius. To measure it, you need a kitchen thermometer or you have to put a sweet potato at 15 cm.
