Bananas and Food Security - Bioversity International

Afrique / Africa : B. Banful
quality because the farmers use what is available. Suckers are neither selected nor
trimmed before planting.
Other inputs (fertiliser, pesticides, etc.)
Fertiliser and pesticides are generally not used because of their high cost and lack of
knowledge of fertiliser and pesticide application on plantain and banana.
Disease
Black Sigatoka disease (Mycosphaerella fijiensis)
This is the most important disease of plantain and banana in Ghana. In 1985, the disease
was observed in some West African countries including Ghana (Wilson 1987). However, it
became epidemic in Ghana during the 1990’s when its devastating effect appeared in all
the six plantain producing regions. Presently, all known plantain and banana cultivars in
the country are susceptible to the disease (Hemeng et al. 1995).
Pests
Nematodes
Nematodes damage roots and weaken the anchorage of plantain. Several types of
nematodes have been identified, namely, Meloidogyne spp., Pratylenchus spp.,
Tylenchus spp., Helicotylenchus spp., Rotylenchus spp. Their attacks have been
associated with root lodging. The damage is severe if the land has been cropped with
plantain or when infected planting material is used (Gowen 1995).
Banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus)
The weevil is found in all the plantain and banana growing regions of the country. It is
considered a serious pest by most plantain farmers. Infected plants become very weak,
especially during the dry season, and fall over, resulting in drastic yield reduction.
Weeds
Five important weeds have been identified as having a serious effect on plantain in
Ghana. Their importance varies with the plantain growing regions. Although
Chromolaena odorata is the most predominant, other weeds such as Pennisetum
purpureum, Centrosema pubescens, Panicum maximum, and Ageratum conyzoides
also occur.
Others
Bush fires, uncommon in the past, have in recent years become perennial throughout the
country during the dry season (December—February), destroying growing crops and
organic matter in the soil. Erratic rainfall patterns attributed to indiscriminate tree
felling for timber and fuel wood have been associated with prolonged droughts causing
severe dehydration, widespread stem lodging of plantain and total crop failure.
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