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View Full Version : Did my banana plants come with panama and sigatoka diseases


Cbarnes1994
09-20-2017, 06:14 PM
Over a month ago I bought 2 banana plants , a blue Java plant and a manzano apple banana plant. They were bought off eBay from different sellers for $17 each . Both arrived on the same day. I quickly planted both in miracle gro potting soil and that's when I noticed that tips of 1 or 2 leaves of Both plants looked kinda wilted and had yellow lining around where it wilted ( I also noticed 1 of the leaf stems had snapped on my blue java). And then I noticed that my manzano had more yellow discoloration on the 2 leaves than my blue java. So then I let 3-4 additional leaves grow on each of my plants within just a month then I noticed my manzano had a 2 cm split on the lower part of the pseudostem and the 2 newest leaves had brownish red streaks on them along with a tiny leaf spot on the tip of the smaller/older leaf ; which I later found out isn't really an attribute of manzano. It was my first time gardening so I didn't have any experience in knowing the difference between healthy and unhealthy banana plants until 2 days ago

sputinc7
09-20-2017, 06:53 PM
Could you post some pics, please? That would help tremendously.

Cbarnes1994
09-20-2017, 07:12 PM
Could you post some pics, please? That would help tremendously.

How do I do that? It's my first day using this forum

Cbarnes1994
09-20-2017, 07:45 PM
Here are photo links


https://ibb.co/fN3Tm5
https://ibb.co/ni9CDk
https://ibb.co/hKeqzQ
https://ibb.co/gTUZR5
https://ibb.co/kGCceQ
https://ibb.co/dqCM65
https://ibb.co/mmNom5
https://ibb.co/kXhAzQ
https://ibb.co/bTUZR5
https://ibb.co/hwjqzQ
https://ibb.co/jw63KQ
https://ibb.co/dsuCDk

sputinc7
09-20-2017, 10:04 PM
Older leaves get brown on the edges and stress can cause that as well... All in all I would say they look pretty good. The purplish staining is wine stains and are common in many banana varieties. I don't know for sure on Manzano, but I don't think so. Many nurseries and Ebay sellers send you anything, no matter what you ordered. They look like they could use some sunlight, though. Gradually introduce them to the outside.
Where are you located? It will also help if that was in your description.
This is black sigatoka: http://media.padil.gov.au/species/136640/7745-large.jpg

Cbarnes1994
09-20-2017, 10:13 PM
Older leaves get brown on the edges and stress can cause that as well... All in all I would say they look pretty good. The purplish staining is wine stains and are common in many banana varieties. I don't know for sure on Manzano, but I don't think so. Many nurseries and Ebay sellers send you anything, no matter what you ordered. They look like they could use some sunlight, though. Gradually introduce them to the outside.
Where are you located? It will also help if that was in your description.
This is black sigatoka: http://media.padil.gov.au/species/136640/7745-large.jpg
West Tennessee. And both plants started out in full shade, indirect sunlight, partial shade/partial sun , then gradually introduced them to 1-4 hours of direct sunlight

edwmax
09-21-2017, 05:59 AM
How do I do that? It's my first day using this forum

Use the bb code img tag. url.img

But make you images smaller!.

https://image.ibb.co/k0q8m5/IMG_5210.jpg

https://preview.ibb.co/jmg3KQ/IMG_5214.jpg

https://image.ibb.co/mYHceQ/IMG_5216.jpg

https://image.ibb.co/mrqKtk/IMG_5217.jpg

edwmax
09-21-2017, 06:36 AM
The plants look good. I don't see a problem with the plants ether. ... BUT, you will have a problem in a few months! ... GUARANTEED...

https://image.ibb.co/ehzqzQ/IMG_5220.jpg

https://image.ibb.co/g9Hom5/IMG_5218.jpg


These 2 pics show you are using 'self watering pots'. These trap and hold water in the bottom of the pot which will stagnate causing root rot to set in. ... Bananas need fresh water, so their pot must drain to saucer and excess water removed. Your potting mix needs to be 50%/50% potting soil and perlite for a very fast draining to remove excess water.

Also, your pots need to be bigger and about 1.5 -2 Xs deeper than wider. The bigger pots hold more soil which in turn hold more moisture & AIR within. FILL THE pots COMPLETELY with potting mix, not half full. ... The deeper pots will allow more root growth which is more downward than outward. ... Once roots are established the plant growth will take off.

The cheap black plastic nursery pots are really ideal for bananas. These can be covered with decorative warp or simple set into a larger decorative pots if you must & in the house.

sputinc7
09-21-2017, 06:38 AM
It looks like they are inside. Shoot for more like 4-6 hours of sunlight while the weather allows. Outside, preferably. I would get them into a bigger pot as well. Check on here for the best potting mix to use. When you bring them in they will go thru a transition period where the leaves will do things like you are showing, and older leaves do that and die off eventually, too.
No need to worry, though. They look good.
Me, personally... I would make a spot in the yard, adding some sand, and plant them out there in spring when freezes are over. May, I would guess for your area.

Cbarnes1994
09-21-2017, 12:57 PM
The plants look good. I don't see a problem with the plants ether. ... BUT, you will have a problem in a few months! ... GUARANTEED...

https://image.ibb.co/ehzqzQ/IMG_5220.jpg

https://image.ibb.co/g9Hom5/IMG_5218.jpg


These 2 pics show you are using 'self watering pots'. These trap and hold water in the bottom of the pot which will stagnate causing root rot to set in. ... Bananas need fresh water, so their pot must drain to saucer and excess water removed. Your potting mix needs to be 50%/50% potting soil and perlite for a very fast draining to remove excess water.

Also, your pots need to be bigger and about 1.5 -2 Xs deeper than wider. The bigger pots hold more soil which in turn hold more moisture & AIR within. FILL THE pots COMPLETELY with potting mix, not half full. ... The deeper pots will allow more root growth which is more downward than outward. ... Once roots are established the plant growth will take off.

The cheap black plastic nursery pots are really ideal for bananas. These can be covered with decorative warp or simple set into a larger decorative pots if you must & in the house.
Pots have multiple drain holes. Are watered daily with distilled water and currently get 2-3 hours of sunlight daily . The potting soil is a mix of miracle gro moisture control potting soil and cheap $1 potting soil from dollar general

Cbarnes1994
09-21-2017, 12:59 PM
Pots have multiple drain holes. Are watered daily with distilled water and currently get 2-3 hours of sunlight daily . The potting soil is a mix of miracle gro moisture control potting soil and cheap $1 potting soil from dollar general
Also the sellers I bought them from only suggested I use a 1 gallon pot or slightly smaller depending on the plants size

beam2050
09-21-2017, 02:50 PM
Also the sellers I bought them from only suggested I use a 1 gallon pot or slightly smaller depending on the plants size

wow. gives you a lot of confidence in you sellers. they probably suggest a bottle cap be used for a condum.

edwmax
09-21-2017, 03:23 PM
Pots have multiple drain holes. Are watered daily with distilled water and currently get 2-3 hours of sunlight daily . The potting soil is a mix of miracle gro moisture control potting soil and cheap $1 potting soil from dollar general

Oh ... so the water drains out onto the table top. ... And watering daily is too much. The soil needs to dry out some.

Cbarnes1994
09-21-2017, 04:24 PM
Oh ... so the water drains out onto the table top. ... And watering daily is too much. The soil needs to dry out some.
I have something under the pots to catch the drained water. I use that water for other plants also . Sometimes I water every 2 to 3 days if the suns not out at all. I started watering everyday after I noticed the top of my potting soil dries up after 3-4 hours in direct sunlight , and plenty sites and YouTube videos say banana plants need lots of moisture to grow

Tytaylor77
09-21-2017, 05:07 PM
The browning is signs of overwatering. Edwmax is correct. Indoors I would say water once every week or so. I would suggest a larger pot also. You want moist soil that dries some between watering. Especially indoors. Overwatering you will end up with root rot, fungus in the root zone, fungus gnats, and all kinda problems.

Plant is still fairly healthy. You haven't been overwatering too severely. Just adjust a little and they will do great. With winter coming you will need to water even less!

edwmax
09-21-2017, 05:45 PM
I have something under the pots to catch the drained water. I use that water for other plants also . Sometimes I water every 2 to 3 days if the suns not out at all. I started watering everyday after I noticed the top of my potting soil dries up after 3-4 hours in direct sunlight , and plenty sites and YouTube videos say banana plants need lots of moisture to grow

The pot in the pictured above, looked to be one with internal water reservoir with attached saucer. But if water drains out of the pot, then that is good.

Now, the soil mix you described likely contains too much peat and which will absorb & hold too much water reducing air within the soil mix. I suggest adding course granular material( as much as 50%), perlite, bark, or course sand to promote drainage of water from between soil spaces within the mix. Banana roots need air to breath. Air can not get to the roots of if the top of the pot is soggy from watering. With a fast draining mix, the pot could be watered more frequently without harm to the roots.

sputinc7
09-22-2017, 08:18 AM
Growing in pots is different than in the ground. Most videos are about plants in the ground in the tropics. We have some very experienced growers on here trying to help you. They know what they are talking about from many years of experience.

Cbarnes1994
09-22-2017, 01:14 PM
Thank you all!! I appreciate all the additional tips and suggestions and i'll try to implement as many of them into action as I possibly can in order to have success in my endeavors. :waving: