sddarkman619

Reading another post on Bunchy Top and thought I'd ask.
I was consulting a person who had a banana plant I gave them about 2 years ago.
I immediately took photos and thought Bunchy Top.
The thing hadn't grown in about a year he said, when I gave it to him it was a small TC in a 4" pot.
Now it's in the ground here in So Cal.
The new center leaf is having issue coming out and is necrotic.
All other leaves are erect/upward and bunched.
I'll be going back tomorrow for a closer look to se if I see any aphids or anything else, ants etc.
At first I thought it needed some fertilzer/nutrients. Then I saw the necrotic center leaf and got worried.

I didn't see any noticeable insects or ants, but will do closer look tomorrow.

See photos:
Necrotic center leaf

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Gabe15

It's pretty unlikely to be BBTV given the origins of the plant and that it is not present in CA, but those symptoms can be caused by a number of things. The fact that the central leaf is dead indicates there is likely an issue happening at the growth point (apical meristem) on the corm, this is not a typical BBTV symptom but can be caused by corm weevils or other damage to the growth point. I'm not knowledgable on the presence of corm weevils in CA, but if I knew they were present I would suspect that over BBTV.

The fact the plant hasn't been growing much also suggests perhaps there are other issues at play, such as not enough water, poor soil fertility, or too much shade. Sometimes plants under stressed conditions can be more easily damaged and have a hard time recovering.

If this is a Gros Michel type, I have noticed they are particularly sensitive to being cut back or other damage to the pseudostem or new leaves. For most varieties, I can dig a sucker, cut it back to about a foot and clean the corm, and replant in with no issues. However, in Gros Michel cultivars, if I cut through the pseudostem in that process, I noticed they almost always die back to the corm, and then take awhile to regrow, so now when I process field dug Gros Michel suckers I cut off the leaves but always leave the pseudostem and newly unfurling leaf intact. If there was some kind of damage to that central leaf, it's not inconceivable to me that it could have contributed to this symptom. It doesn't really explain why it produced smaller leaves before the dead leaf, so could be a combination of different factors.

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sddarkman619

Thanks Gabe.
I'm heading ther tomorrow to dig down a little and look and fertilize.
Crappy soil it is in.

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edwmax

I would dig it up wash, clean, & inspect the corm. Then replant in a large pot with good soil & drainage (or sand) until it shows signs of recovery. .... Either there is a problem at or with the corm; or the soil & location is bad. ... This would help answer some it the questions now rather than later and the corm is in much better condition to recover now than it will be later. .... JMO

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sddarkman619

yeah that's what I was going to do but putting it in a pot with better soil I think is a better idea that back into the ground. For now until it recovers.

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raygrogan

I bet you suspect calcium def.

cincinnana

Looks little like a leaf is stuck because of not so perfect growing conditions.




choked leaf
by
Hostafarian, on Flickr

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