andy17

Hey everyone,
I've noticed these yellow stripes appearing on the newest leaves on my Goldfinger. I have no clue what they could be. Any help would be really appreciated! Thanks

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Kostas

Not 100% sure but could be BSV as Goldfinger unfortunately can get it and the pattern seems similar. Post pictures of the leafs it opens from now on with close ups of the stripe patterns and it should soon be clear what it is!

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andy17

Thanks Kostas for the quick reply! I was kind of concerned it might be a virus. I don't know, it just started showing up on the newer leaves rather suddenly, but the plant looks really healthy overall other than the varegation/striping on the new leaves. So far, no tissue death or necrosis. I'll keep a watch on them and post new pictures in a week or two of these leaves. Two questions:

1) If it is BSV, is the fruit still edible?

2) If it is BSV, will the leaves and plant continue to get worse?

I bought the plant from a reputable company that did not sell any of the Mysore family plants at the time I bought it and have generally followed good hygiene practices when pruning old or damaged leaves. But, I suppose as I've read, this can already be in the genome of the plant itself. Thanks again for your help!

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Kostas

The fruit is edible on bananas with BSV but they usually are less productive. The plant usually gets worse but it can produce even close to normal leafs with excellent conditions. Once stress knocks the door though,like with drought,cold,frost or flower initiation,the plants usually get much worse then.
Goldfinger is an AAAB variety and as a variety with a single B genom,it carries BSV in its genom. It carries it without being expressed,without showing any symptoms and that's fine as its not transmit able in that form and not a problem to the plant. However, under certain conditions,it can start expressing it. Once it begins expressing it,there is no cure for the plant and it carries free virus particles that can infect other bananas if the correct mealy bug vector is present,and that's not too unlikely as the vectors are a few kinds of citrus mealy bugs present in citrus growing areas.

So as the new leafs open post pictures of the patterning to verify what it is and see...

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andy17

This is really helpful, thanks Kostas. The newest leaf looks much better, but it has just started unfurling, so it will be another week before it really hardens off and the color darkens. I've noticed that my Basjoo, which was a rescue plant that has never been fully healthy might actually have it as well. I never put two in two together and thought it was nutrients, soil, location, I've tried everything but its never really taken off. Which got me thinking, what if it was the source? Can BSV be spread by pruning shears or mechanical instruments or only by the mealybug? I always try to follow good hygiene with my pruning shears, but when I would be clipping off old leaves on several banana plants, I didn't always sterilize before moving on to a different plant. So that concerns me I might have accidentally infected my Goldfinger. Here are some updated pictures of the Goldfinger. Thanks for all your help!

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andy17

Here are some photos of my Basjoo.

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venturabananas

Not sure about BSV, but I know the conclusion about BBTV (bunchy top) is that virus can't be spread mechanically -- it requires a biological vector, namely banana aphids.

I'm not sure what's going on with your plant. Could be disease or environmental conditions (e.g., micronutrient deficiency or some other stressor). I'd give it a chance and see if it grows out of it. You might consider contacting Dr. Scot Nelson at University of Hawaii. He's an expert on banana diseases.

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Kostas

Its still inconclusive unfortunately from the photos what the streaks on the Goldfinger are from. Lets wait it out some more and see as Mark says as the pattern seen is not 100% right for BSV on the photos and there do are other random reason stripes and streaks can appear that arent viral.

Your Musa basjoo definitely doesn not have BSV.The damage on the leafs is either due to a nutritional deficiency or Cordana or another leaf spot fungus. None of these are too big of a problem and should be fixed with proper cultivation! The newer leafs seem totally healthy so its resolving itself already!

BSV thankfully cannot be transmitted by mechanical means but only by its insect vectors. So pruning tools,soil,water,etc cannot transmit it but its advisable to keep BSV infected plants(till you can dispose of them) or suspected ones(till you find out for sure) away from the rest to reduce the risk of transmission should the insect vector happen to be around.

If you can contact Scot Nelson or Gabe(Gabe15),even better as they both have much more experience on the subject than i do and have seen many more plants with them than i have. They helped me learn on it when i had problems with a few of mine. It doesnt take too long to be sure,1-2months at most and you will know for sure usually! Had to throw out a Mysore and a Chini Champa due to them expressing BSV...Both have been replaced though with plants from healthy mats and the new ones are totally healthy thankfully! No more 'Mysore' for me,it seems most all sold with that name are or get infected sooner or latter. I got 'Palayamkodan' instead which is a Mysore subgroup variety from India,supposedly the true Mysore,and i have had no BSV problems with it!

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andy17

Thanks Kostas for all your help, I really appreciate it. It's great to know that the Basjoo doesn't have BSV and that it can't be spread via mechanical means! That's definitely a huge relief. Are there any big giveaways after 1-2 months that makes it clear if the plant has BSV? So far, the plant doesn't seem fazed by the stripes-- it looks really healthy and is showing great vigor. There for a time (about a month and a half) right after I brought it out from winter storage indoors, it really struggled. I honestly thought I was going to lose it. Then, all of the sudden, it started coming back really nicely. Now it looks great other than the stripes. Since my Bajsoo looked so rough for a time and I thought it might have a virus, I thought that I might have infected the Goldfinger. But since that's not what's wrong with the Basjoo and pruning can't spread it, if the Goldfinger has BSV, it would have to be spontaneous or a pre-existing infection, although it was certified disease free from a reputable seller. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it does. I sent an email with a few pictures to Scot Nelson as well; do you all know how long it generally takes him to respond? Thanks again!

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Kostas

Certified disease free generally means that it was propagated through tissue culture which is good. However,tissue culture(TC for short) is known to activate the viral genome embedded in the banana genome of cultivars with a single B in their genetic composition(such as Goldfinger) and is what hindered this cultivar from taking over commercially as many plantlets ended up expressing the virus and were thus potential sources of infection with BSV. Bananas with BSV do can show vigor and grow well with good conditions but they still are ill and its very very improbable for one to heal on its own from this virus. So,even if a BSV infected banana grows well,it still is best to remove it as it acts as a pool for the virus and vectors may eventually spread it around,which none wants.
Usually,from my experience with BSV infected bananas(had 2 express BSV,a Mysore and a Chini Champa,both ended up in hospital waste for incineration),within 1-2months they usually grow leafs with typical BSV symptoms and can thus be recognized as such. It can take much longer however, in theory up to flower initiation which stresses the plant,but its usually pretty fast.
What doesnt seem right for BSV with your plant right now is that the streaks do not begin from the leaf rachis but somewhere midway between the rachis and the leaf edge,which allows room for it being a nutritional deficiency or random damage during leaf formation. We shall wait and see what the new leafs look like in the coming month(s).

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sunfish

I don't believe it is any big deal.It should be fine

andy17

Thanks sunfish, that's good to know!

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andy17

Thanks for all of the help. That's certainly very interesting about the commercial problems with Goldfinger developing BSV in cultivation. It seems that the streaking is getting better, but like you said, it will take a month or two before it's really clear what is causing it. In the meantime, I will fertilize it really well and try to support the plant the best I can to see if that has any impact on the streaking. What were the symptoms of your two plants that let you know without a doubt that BSV was to blame? Thanks!

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