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Pests and Diseases

Black Sigatoka

Fungal Diseases of Crops

A fungal leaf streak disease (Pseudocercospora fijiensis) of banana and plantain that causes progressive leaf necrosis, reducing the photosynthetic area available to fill the fruit and cutting yields by up to 50 percent in untreated plantations. It is more aggressive than the earlier yellow Sigatoka disease it has largely displaced across banana growing regions in the tropics, and intensive fungicide programs to control it are a major recurring cost in commercial banana production.

Facts
Classification
Agent Kind
Fungus 1
Connections

Associated With

Banana, Crops

Black Sigatoka is the most damaging foliar disease of banana and plantain.

Sources
1. Black Sigatoka (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Opening definition paragraph
    Black sigatoka is a leaf-spot disease of banana plants caused by the ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis (Morelet), also known as black leaf streak. It was discovered in 1963 and named for its similarities with yellow Sigatoka, which is caused by Mycosphaerella musicola (Mulder), which was itself named after the Sigatoka Valley in Fiji. In the same valley an outbreak of this disease reached epidemic proportions from 1912 to 1923.
  • lead description
    A fungal leaf streak disease (Pseudocercospora fijiensis) of banana and plantain that causes progressive leaf necrosis, reducing the photosynthetic area available to fill the fruit and cutting yields by up to 50 percent in untreated plantations.
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