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zfallon84 · 05-12-2018, 09:30 AM

Hey Bananagang,

I've got some issues going on with all of my bananas. Leaves are yellowing in ways that tell me that they need more nitrogen and magnesium (at the least). I've fertilized with "organic" 5-5-5 every two weeks. My watering schedule is "a good soak" every third or fourth day. My soil mix is equally perlite, manure, peat, and bark. I have most of my plants in fabric pots so that they air out. The banana at hand is in a fabric pot.

I'm worried about one plant. My first Blue Java. It's a bareroot pup that I received from nursery in North Carolina a few months ago. It has stayed at about 12" in height. In the last three weeks I have noticed that the leaves seem to be stacking up. All of my other bananas seem to have their leaves spreading with elongated petioles. This blue java seems to have shortened petioles. The leaves have laid down with gravity, are flexible, solid green- not the "bleached" look of a BBTV infected banana leaf. Though, they seem to be extra wavy, and appear to have (from my very untrained eye) dark green J-hooks on the underside of the leaves. Some of my bananas also have the J-hook appearance, but without any other distortion through these past weeks. I see no "morse code" that I can tell. I'll submit pictures.

Treatments that I have done since my previous post:
Tiny Black spots on Leaves, and pseudostem. Help?
- spray routinely with Neem oil (until the bottle ran out)
- spray routinely with Fungicide3 (from Lowes)

What I did last night:
- a foliar spray of fish fertilizer and 1tbsp epsom salt - 1gal mix

What I plan to do today:
- Add epsom salts to each pot
- Fertilize with 15-10-10 fertilizer
- water (going on day 4)

Here are some pictures of the Blue Java:
https://i.imgur.com/oPZRCdh.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/FY7CMex.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/Jaft2FP.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KIbPdjM.jpg

And here are some pictures of the underside of my two largest Red Dwarf pups:
https://i.imgur.com/T4idKG7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qYUSIhH.jpg

I am hoping that this is only a watering issue, or nutrient deficiency. I check the plants and our garden daily. I have not noticed any bug colonies other than some ants that took a liking to the fish fertilizer I sprayed last night. Numerous people in my neighborhood have bananas. None of them have these symptoms. I am not even sure that they Banana Aphid can live here in North Florida...

I'm really hoping for a nutrient deficiency!

Thanks!

05-12-2018, 09:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
zfallon84 Location: Jacksonville, FL Find me on the map! Zone: 9a Name: Zach Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 163 BananaBucks : 35,668 Feedback: 0 / 0% Said "Thanks" 440 Times Was Thanked 193 Times in 107 Posts Said "Welcome to Bananas" 44 Times	Nutrient Deficient, or BBTV? Hey Bananagang, I've got some issues going on with all of my bananas. Leaves are yellowing in ways that tell me that they need more nitrogen and magnesium (at the least). I've fertilized with "organic" 5-5-5 every two weeks. My watering schedule is "a good soak" every third or fourth day. My soil mix is equally perlite, manure, peat, and bark. I have most of my plants in fabric pots so that they air out. The banana at hand is in a fabric pot. I'm worried about one plant. My first Blue Java. It's a bareroot pup that I received from nursery in North Carolina a few months ago. It has stayed at about 12" in height. In the last three weeks I have noticed that the leaves seem to be stacking up. All of my other bananas seem to have their leaves spreading with elongated petioles. This blue java seems to have shortened petioles. The leaves have laid down with gravity, are flexible, solid green- not the "bleached" look of a BBTV infected banana leaf. Though, they seem to be extra wavy, and appear to have (from my very untrained eye) dark green J-hooks on the underside of the leaves. Some of my bananas also have the J-hook appearance, but without any other distortion through these past weeks. I see no "morse code" that I can tell. I'll submit pictures. Treatments that I have done since my previous post: Tiny Black spots on Leaves, and pseudostem. Help? - spray routinely with Neem oil (until the bottle ran out) - spray routinely with Fungicide3 (from Lowes) What I did last night: - a foliar spray of fish fertilizer and 1tbsp epsom salt - 1gal mix What I plan to do today: - Add epsom salts to each pot - Fertilize with 15-10-10 fertilizer - water (going on day 4) Here are some pictures of the Blue Java: https://i.imgur.com/oPZRCdh.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/FY7CMex.jpg?1 https://i.imgur.com/Jaft2FP.jpg https://i.imgur.com/KIbPdjM.jpg And here are some pictures of the underside of my two largest Red Dwarf pups: https://i.imgur.com/T4idKG7.jpg https://i.imgur.com/qYUSIhH.jpg I am hoping that this is only a watering issue, or nutrient deficiency. I check the plants and our garden daily. I have not noticed any bug colonies other than some ants that took a liking to the fish fertilizer I sprayed last night. Numerous people in my neighborhood have bananas. None of them have these symptoms. I am not even sure that they Banana Aphid can live here in North Florida... I'm really hoping for a nutrient deficiency! Thanks!