Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures

Plantain is an important staple food in West and Central Africa and the Congo Basin. The crop is largely grown in extensive 'slash and burn' systems, drawing heavily on the natural resource base, but is low-yielding due to its high susceptibility to a complex of root and corm pests and diseases. Far...

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Main Author: Hauser, S.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: 2007
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92193
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author Hauser, S.
author_browse Hauser, S.
author_facet Hauser, S.
author_sort Hauser, S.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Plantain is an important staple food in West and Central Africa and the Congo Basin. The crop is largely grown in extensive 'slash and burn' systems, drawing heavily on the natural resource base, but is low-yielding due to its high susceptibility to a complex of root and corm pests and diseases. Farmers are unaware of nematodes, fungi and banana weevil eggs, and therefore practise virtually no pest or disease control. This study evaluated the effects on plantain bunch yield of factorial combinations of a simple physical sanitation method, paring, followed by five different treatments (control, ash-coating, hot-water treatment, boiling-water treatment and application of the nematicide carbofuran). Paring reduced plantain establishment. It had no effect on fresh bunch yield but reduced uprooting and improved root health status. Without prior paring, bunch yields after the traditional ash-coating (5.7 tonnes ha-1) and nematicide application (6.3 tonnes ha-1) were not significantly different from the control (4.6 tonnes ha-1). Hot-water treatment (12.0 tonnes ha-1) and boiling-water treatment (14.2 tonnes ha-1) increased yield significantly. Boiling-water-treated plantain attained 90 % of the total yield earlier than any other treatment. Yield losses were mainly caused by pseudostem break, whereas uprooting resulted in only minor losses. Yield losses in this study could not be attributed to a particular group of pests or diseases but to all factors contributing to water deficiency which lead to the low turgor that permitted pseudostem break. Root health parameters were positively related to bunch yield and to bunch mass per producing plant. Owing to its simplicity, flexibility, low cost, accelerated production, and absence of negative environmental effects, boiling-water treatment was the most labour-efficient and profitable sucker-sanitising method.
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spelling CGSpace921932023-06-12T08:27:41Z Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures Hauser, S. banana weevil nematodes root damage pests and diseases bunch yield pseudostem break Plantain is an important staple food in West and Central Africa and the Congo Basin. The crop is largely grown in extensive 'slash and burn' systems, drawing heavily on the natural resource base, but is low-yielding due to its high susceptibility to a complex of root and corm pests and diseases. Farmers are unaware of nematodes, fungi and banana weevil eggs, and therefore practise virtually no pest or disease control. This study evaluated the effects on plantain bunch yield of factorial combinations of a simple physical sanitation method, paring, followed by five different treatments (control, ash-coating, hot-water treatment, boiling-water treatment and application of the nematicide carbofuran). Paring reduced plantain establishment. It had no effect on fresh bunch yield but reduced uprooting and improved root health status. Without prior paring, bunch yields after the traditional ash-coating (5.7 tonnes ha-1) and nematicide application (6.3 tonnes ha-1) were not significantly different from the control (4.6 tonnes ha-1). Hot-water treatment (12.0 tonnes ha-1) and boiling-water treatment (14.2 tonnes ha-1) increased yield significantly. Boiling-water-treated plantain attained 90 % of the total yield earlier than any other treatment. Yield losses were mainly caused by pseudostem break, whereas uprooting resulted in only minor losses. Yield losses in this study could not be attributed to a particular group of pests or diseases but to all factors contributing to water deficiency which lead to the low turgor that permitted pseudostem break. Root health parameters were positively related to bunch yield and to bunch mass per producing plant. Owing to its simplicity, flexibility, low cost, accelerated production, and absence of negative environmental effects, boiling-water treatment was the most labour-efficient and profitable sucker-sanitising method. 2007 2018-04-24T08:40:12Z 2018-04-24T08:40:12Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92193 en Limited Access Hauser, S. (2007). Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures. African Plant Protection, 13(1), 1-15.
spellingShingle banana weevil
nematodes
root damage
pests and diseases
bunch yield
pseudostem break
Hauser, S.
Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures
title Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures
title_full Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures
title_fullStr Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures
title_full_unstemmed Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures
title_short Plantain (Musa spp. AAB) bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical, thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures
title_sort plantain musa spp aab bunch yield and root health response to combinations of physical thermal and chemical sucker sanitation measures
topic banana weevil
nematodes
root damage
pests and diseases
bunch yield
pseudostem break
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/92193
work_keys_str_mv AT hausers plantainmusasppaabbunchyieldandroothealthresponsetocombinationsofphysicalthermalandchemicalsuckersanitationmeasures