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Crop Protection :: Pests of Banana

Rhizome weevil: Cosmopolites sordidus 

Symptoms of damage
  • Grubs bore into the rhizome and cause death of the plant
  • Presence of dark coloured tunnels in the rhizomes.
  • Death of unopened pipe, withering of outer leaves.

Identification of pest
  • Eggs:laid singly, white in colour present on the upper part of rhizome
  • Grub: Apodous, yellowish white with red head
  • Pupa: white in colour, occur in inside the corm and tunneling
  • Adult: Dark weevil, newly emerged weevil is red brown
Larva Pupa Adult

Management
  • Select healthy sucker and plant
  • Do not take regular crop in the same field to avoid initial infestation
  • Ensure clean cultivation
  • Removal of pseudo stems below ground level
  • Trimming the rhizome
  • Avoid growing Robusta, Karpooruvally, Malbhog, Champa and Adukkar
  • Grow less susceptible varieties like Poovan, Kadali, Kunnan, Poomkalli
  • Use cosmolure trap at 5/ha

Banana corm split trap

  • Trap adult weevils with pseudostem chopped into small pieces
  • kept near infested clump at 65/ha.
  • Soil incorporation at the time of planting: carbofuran 3 G 10g, phorate 10 G 5 g/plant.
  • Before planting, the suckers should be dipped in 0.1 per cent quinalphos emulsion.
  • Apply castor cake 250g or carbaryl 50g dust or phorate 10g per pit before planting also prevents infestation
  • Severe attack dimethoate, methyl demeton may be sprayed around the collar region.

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