Bananas.org - Please help

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I have two Problems with two of my bananas...see attached picks

One...The leafs are turning black on the one...Any ideas

And two something is eating the leafs before they even come out making them very deformed...any ideas

Ok so i looked at the inside of the red one and there are earwigs wonder it this could be the culprit???? There gone now just in case

Bananabuddy, I am not an expert but are you in an area where there is sigatoka? The one turning black looks bad to me. Do all the leaves look like this or just a few of the lower? There are sprays to control this fungal disease if thats what it is. Hopefully some of the experts wil see this and comment.

Its only one two of the leafs and they were the first ones of the season

I had the same problem(s). It doesn't look like anything is eating your leaves, believe it or not. The leaves are actually not developing correctly. The good news is, its treatable and the black stuff is not causing the problem. Your plant is simply lacking minor nutritional elements. As far as the black stuff. whether that is B.Sig or not, I don't know, but it seems that Copper Sulfate is the best treatment for most black leaf streak and leaf spot symptoms including viral and bacterial.

You can see the same black fungus infecting the veins first as the symptoms first appeared on my plant.

First, the best thing to do is cut those lower-two infected leaves off and dispose of them far away from your compost and banana plants.

Next, get a good Nutritional spray with Minor elements and no fertilizer-NPK component in it. The minor elements in a foliar will be absorbed by the plant more quickly than the roots (do not apply to root zone). The minor elements are very important to the health of the leaf. A healthy leaf will have stronger resistance to future problems. (wait a few days before applying the copper)

Next, give your plants a good spraying with copper sulfate according to the directions on the label. You can buy it at HD for one. When I sprayed my plants, I got all the leaves but took care to avoid getting any down into the pseudostem--where the new leaf comes out. You can find the copper sulfate and a nutritional under the same brand name at HD. They are somewhat expensive but absolutely worth the cost.

I saw results from the nutritional in less than two weeks. Instead of applying once according to the label, I diluted it to half the recommended rate and applied it twice in the same week. I applied it late afternoon/early evening and then in the morning for the second application. The next leaf to emerge after applying the nutritional had more leaf area but was still wavy. The second leaf had no more holes or splits but it didn't want to open like it should and remained partially rolled. The third and forth leaves have come out with no problems and they are nearly doubled in size and much more wind resistant then the earlier leaves.

Good luck with your nanners, and check back here frequently to see what the other members have to say too!

Chris in FL.

So are you saying that the same nutrient issue can be effecting both plants
The red one deformed leafs and the green one black leafs?

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananabuddy (Post 79678)

So are you saying that the same nutrient issue can be effecting both plants
The red one deformed leafs and the green one black leafs?

It's relative. Because, when the plant lacks vital nutrients the leaves are weakened, as you have seen with your leaves not developing correctly. But the second problem with nutrient deficiencies is that unhealthy leaves cause the plant to become more susceptable to wind damage and disease.

My leaves looked exactly like yours, and then I saw a Japanese bettle eating a leaf one day and thought that was the leaf problem. But the leaves kept emerging like they had 'bunchy top virus' or something. I sprayed the Minor elements nutritional and within a week or two after, the leaves were beginning to fill out again.

Hope you can cure your problem, and I am sorry to butt in, but I must know...

Which variety is that red leaf banana plant? How tall will it grow? I am new to banana growing and I am only just beginning to germinate seeds for musa dasycarpa.

I have been looking at many photos of banana plants, but yours is just gorgeous! I didn't know some of them were red!!! Wow!

Diseased or not - that thing is stunning!

: O

Too even and regular to be Sigatoka, and not enough necrosis. I'd say nutritional deficiency.

Any idea what I should do to get the nutrition up.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by bananabuddy (Post 79743)

Any idea what I should do to get the nutrition up.....

Its a product called "Chelated Citrus Nutritional Spray" by, Southern AG. You can buy it at HD for about 10. They also have an "all-purose nutritional" but I found the minor elements in that one to be a little too high. The Citrus one has a good combination of what you generally need. I used a cheap pump sprayer to apply it the leaves. You could probably use a hose attachment type sprayer, but the lighter spraying action seems to cover the leaves better. I bought the 1gal. pump sprayer at HD for 10.

P.S. The nutritional spray is not something your going to use again and again. It just needs to be applied once or twice at the most. The only time you would need to apply again is if the symptoms came back, but it is very unlikely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Hollyberry Lady (Post 79715)

Which variety is that red leaf banana plant?
: O

It looks like Abyssinian Red (Ensete ventricosum)? I'm not sure.

Thank you for the identification on that gorgeous variety. For now, until I get some experience, I am happy and satisfied with what I have, but one day that variety will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine...

: )