Tytaylor77

The past week or 2 there has been a brown streak on the side of new cigar leafs. In the pictures you can see how it looks after the leaf unrolls. It makes the leaf stick and not unroll that is why the leafs look torn and deformed. It is only where the brown spot is. No fertilizer changes. Only changes has been crazy heat 100-107 F. And extra watering once per day due to heat. I cut back on watering to see if it will change. Has anyone seen this? It is currently on 3 manzano and 1 gold finger. Seems to affect the manzano more.

Thanks

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Tytaylor77

Today after seeing a tiny black beetle type bug way down in the middle of the plant I decided to carefully dig deeper into it and also found a tiny grub. Was almost transparent it was so small. So now my question is what's the best way to kill em all!! I have some cyper WP. Also seven dust. I think a liquid would get down deeper and work better. Help!! What works best on bananas without harming frogs and lizards which I have a lot of.

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a.hulva@coxinet.net

What about the next leaf? Was it better, worse, same?

Tytaylor77

Next leaf on the goldfinger seems a little better. About the same on the manzanos. Now I have a gran nain showing it. About to do some bug killing my next day off work. Hoping it will solve it.

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Lau

How are you going to kill the bug without killing the plant?

Going Bananas

Ty
Im showing that same characteristic on my FHN tc MonaLisa.
It is root bound in a 5g pot.
The effect is considerably diminished after
I moved it to early morning sun and shade after 11am.
I never thought of it as a pest problem and more of a sunburn on the leaf.
It burns the leaf and leaves a hole/scars the leaf as it unfurls.
Its sunburn!

Tytaylor77

They are in full sun however there is no normal sunburn on the open leafs. Also it seems it is done inside the plant and already there right as the cigar leaf emerges from the plant. I will definitely watch it closely and maybe try to shade one and see what happened. Thanks for the info. Also below is a picture where parts look like they are chewed. Could just be a bug eating the weak parts I guess.

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Going Bananas

This ones an FHN tc MonaLisa.
Its showing the same sunburn characteristics like yours
starting out on the sun exposed side of the unfurled leaf...

I notice you have mona lisa as well...
Does it looked like yours?
Very vigorous grower and hangs on to the
darkest green leaves the longest.
At least 10 leaves at one time.

Thanx!

Tytaylor77

Yes that does look exactly like mine. Would also make sense that the manzano are affected worse. I'm sold. Starting to think it is sunburn. Then once the leaf unfurls it no longer burns.

Thanks again!!

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tanfenton

It seems likely to me that the presence of any bug is only a symptom of the underlying condition. Your problem seems to be micro-nutrient related. I wouldn't be surprised if poor drainage and a lack of potassium were also contributing. If you are willing to adjust your soil chemistry organically, I would recommend incorporating kelp meal into the upper inches of your soil and supplementing your waterings with emulsified kelp and fish.

N.

Going Bananas

I used Miracle Grow potting soil and have been using fish emul fert
also to supplement the growth spurt and warm weather.
The sunburn decreased with less exposure
of the unfurled leaf to direct light.

The opened full leaf loves the light!
Its sooo dark green and holds on to the leaf forever.
At least 2months growth of leaves..10total and still green on the MonaLisa.

Going Bananas

I dont have that problem on my FHN tc manzano though.
The almost vertical new leaf and eventual
long petiole will confirm this as the
real manzano from FHN.
Do you have the same?

venturabananas

Aside from the photo of bug-chewed areas, the rest show classic symptoms of calcium and/or boron deficiency. This is common, especially when bananas are growing fast and being "pushed" with abundant, fast-release fertilizer. These micronutrients might not actually be deficient in the soil/potting medium, but environmental conditions can make it difficult for the plant to uptake them. I've found that a foliar spray of micronutrients can help if it includes calcium and boron. The longer-term solution for me has been to switch to slow release fertilizers. I wouldn't recommend messing with the soil chemistry unless you've done a plant tissue analysis and soil analysis to be sure you know that some element truly is deficient in your plants and soil. Slower growth (e.g., during cooler weather or if you provide less fertilizer) will probably solve the problem.

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PR-Giants

Yeah, here that happens quite a bit after a heavy rain. Your soil chemistry could be perfect but the extra water speeds growth and shows classic flush. Once it bends, the sun rays have a better angle for burning. If you cut 'em early on you can minimize the damage.

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Tytaylor77

Thank you guys so much. I'm now convinced that's the problem. I have never added any boric acid or gypsum to the soil. I "home test" for NPK but nothing else. I may try to add a little and see what happened. Thanks again for everyone's help!!

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tanfenton

TT:

It probably goes without saying that any changes that you might make to your care of the plants be carried out slowly and deliberately. Take time. Breath. Bananas are pretty rugged when they get up to about hip-height. It's perfectly plausible that they might grow out of the current behavior without any deviation in your current routine. Very often, we're expecting real miracles out of products like Miracle Gro and others, when the solution is rarely so simple. Look at Rmplmnz's yard or robguz24's yard. I'm sure that both men can attest that they are growing better fruit now than at any point in the past, not simply because of the experience that they have gained in the process but also because building good soil takes time and a mindset of moral stewardship toward the land. You have to realize that your subdivision, like most any in America, was authored with the brute force of an assault on the landscape, leaving some areas with an awful, human-imposed stain to the earth. It should be our goal not just to grow bananas but to ameliorate this situation and be grateful that some modest fruit is the result.

N.