My Namwa has been in the ground right at 2 years.
At first I worried it might have Panama Disease (Fusarium wilt), because of losing its lower leaves I thought a bit prematurely, but then, it kind of perked up and started looking better.
But now, after its 2nd winter/3rd summer in the ground, it is back to having some of its lower leaves go yellow and then, if I leave them on the plant long enough without trimming them off, they'll get dry brown patches.
I closely examined the pseudostem, and found that some of the old "boot jacks"--stubs of old leaves which I trimmed--- have gone pale beige, mushy, and stinky. There's a pic of that.
Also, read where Panama Disease shows "splits" in the pseudostem. I might have found a split. It's in one of the pics.IMG_0473.jpg
My main experience is with 2 other bananas ('Orinoco' and and ornamental flowering banana)in a different location. Neither ever had mushy/ stinky areas on the trunk, in the growing season. Neither ever had any issues, except they tended to be invasive.
So, here are a few pictures. What do y'all think? Does this look like it might be the dreaded Panama Disease? I'd really like to know, because we just bought a dwarf Cavendish and want to plant it nearby.
Thanks so much
Miriam L. Davey
Lacombe LAh
USDA Zone 9a
