DA offers 3 options to manage Panama disease in bananas

TAGUM CITY- There are three options for Fusarium Wilt management are available for banana growers to choose from among the interventions offered by  the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Guesting at Tagum Biz Talk at Big 8,  DA Regional Office 11 focal on Fusarium Wilt, Herna   Palma laid down the interventions made available by DA for banana growers who have in mind to manage  the spread of such disease in  their banana plantation.

Internet research says that Fusarium wilt popularly known as Panama disease is a destructive fungal disease in bananas. Caused by Fusarium oxysporum, it first became epidemic in Panama in 1890s and eventually devastated the Central American and Caribbean banana industries which used the ‘Gros Michel’ (AAA) variety in the 1950s and 1960s.

DA 11 experts on such banana disease present during the forum did not fully disclosed the  extent of Fusarium Wilt infestation in the Davao Region but they said such type of disease is affecting particularly the small-scale banana plantations.

The interventions, however, are offered to banana  growers who have  five percent of their banana plantations affected with such disease. But they can just pick one from three options:

Option 1:

Cavendish banana farmers can avail a maximum of 1,500 tissue cultured   seedlings of Giant Cavendish Tissue-Culture Variant (GCTCV) 219/218.

Along with this offer,  they are required by DA to supply the needed fertilizer. They should be willing to apply the appropriate technology in managing the GCTCV variants and willing to attend orientation, seminar, training on cultural management of the recommended Cavendish Banana variants.

Option 2:

Banana farmers can also opt for cash-for-work program to eradicate fusarium wilt.  DA provides P500 for every matt of bananas up to a maximum of 100 mats. DA Region Office 11 describes banana matts as groupings or mounds of bananas.

Given as an incentive for banana growers, this will only be  granted after the eradication process has been done, following a certain protocol prescribed by DA and after the validation of a DA plant pathologist.

However, the materials and labor expenses spent on eradication of fusarium wilt affected areas will be shouldered by the banana growers.

Banana growers who will opt to avail of the cash-for-work will also be given 10 packs of organic Trichoderma harzianum for every matt of banana or a total of 1,000 packs per hectare.  Trichoderma harzianum is an organic soil application to control fungal.


Option 3

Meanwhile, banana growers   may also opt to avail  of planting materials for crop shifting.  This option is open to growers with five percent or above of their banana farms affected by Fusarium Wilt. DA is offering them 1,000 seedlings of Cacao; 1,000 seedlings of coffee; 20 kilogram of corn seeds and; 2,000 grams of assorted vegetable seeds.

DA 11 Science Research specialist, Virgelio Gutierrez advised farmers to opt for shifting of crops if fusarium wilt affected areas of their farms expands beyond five percent.

“Magastusan pa ang farmers; di na kaya ma-manage.  (Farmers would be spending more; they would no longer be able to manage.),” he said in explaining why  farmers should choose to shift crops if wilt spread to more than five percent portion of  the banana plantation. (PIA 11/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan)