help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

Oh no! anyone know if this is Bunchy Top Virus??? I just planted this guy!

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

sorry, here's the picture... not sure why it's so small.

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

Can you enlarge it? Where did you get the plant from?

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

sorry don't know why it's so small and not sure how to make it bigger. i bought them online at aloha tropicals.

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

i'll try again...

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

kinda looks like it, but can you get a pic from under the leaf next to the midrib with the light shining through?

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

That is definitely bunchy top virus.

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

I agree with Gabe. Good luck contacting Andy at Aloha Tropicals. He takes your money and then disappears! A few of us have had no response from him in the past.

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

Here's the real bunchy top virus - when you have a banana bunch growing out the top of your head!

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

Looks like Black Sigatoka to me:nanadrink:

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

That would be chocolate sigatoka in this case. lol

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

Sorry to see. Just curious, How long have you had it, and what variety is it.

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

thanks guys! i was told it's a gran nain... i got it about 9 months ago but just recently planted it in the ground. i few feet away from it i planted a jamaican red... does anyone know if jamaican reds are prone to bunchy top also?

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

All banana varieties can get it, but the Cavendish varieties get it faster. The red is a Cavendish so I would expect so. DB's are your best bet. 15 bucks at Koolau Farmers. Best wishes

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

thanks Julian! What are the DB's? how large do they grow and how do they taste?
I recently tried a Williams type banana at a farmer's market... I think the gran nain tastes sweeter...

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

Dwarf Brazilians, better known here as apple bananas. They are the best bananas that I have eaten in Hawaii. Way better than Williams and Gran Nain. You have to wait until they have brown spots to have them in their prime. At that point they are sweet, acidic and creamy. 8-10 feet tall. They also seem have some delayed resistance to BBTV.

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

From what I understand the Red is an AAA like the Cavendish varieties, but not a Cavendish. Gros Michel and others are also AAA. I think most folks would be hard pressed to taste much difference between Gran Nain, Williams, and other cavendish types. The difference tasted may just be because of where/how they were grown, what state of ripeness they were picked at, etc.

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

Cut down my dwarf red today. BBTV. Sucks. Grew her from a tiny TC from UH. She was already about 6 feet tall about 8 months old. Darn it. All of my other bananas look okay for now, but ya never know.

Re: help! Is this Bunchy Top Virus???
 

Sorry to hear that! The other thing good about the banana book is it really points out ones that are BBTV susceptible. Sadly, many good varieties fall victim to it. I try to be vigilant with the aphids, but once they get beyond a certain height it's not easy to try to control them.