ABSTRACT
Cultivated throughout the world, bananas are threatened by several diseases and pests. The greatest constraints are exerted by the nematodesRadopholus similis and several representatives of the genus Pratylenchusand by the black weevil of banana, Cosmopolites sordidus. Various fungal diseases are also major constraints in industrial production and, to a lesser degree, in local production. For example, yellow sigatoka due to Mycosphaerella musicola and black leaf streak disease caused by M. jijiensis result in harvest losses in large industrial plantations and necessitate costly pest treatment. In certain production zones, Panama disease due to the soil fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense prevents the cultivation of varieties of the Gros Michel type. Finally, viral diseases are spreading, or perhaps are simply better detected. Those of greatest concern are due to CMV (cucumber mosaic virus), BSV (banana streak virus), BBTV (banana bunchy top virus), and BBMV (banana bract mosaic virus).
