Black Sigatoka Alert

Symptoms:

Small chlorotic spots appear on the underside of leaves. In time, spots expand and form thin brown streaks perimetered by the veins. When high humidity conditions are present for a significant period of time, the whole leaf could dry up and die.

Who Am I?

Black sigatoka is a fungal disease and destructive to all varieties. Damage to infected crops could easily result in 50% or more in yield losses. Black sigatoka favours periods of heavy rainfall and high humidity. it is spread mainly by winds and packaging materials from infected plant parts.

Control Measures

The following are some generic names of fungicides that are known being use in controlling black sigatoka: Azoxystrobin, propiconazole, tridemorph, bordeaux mixture, and methoxyacrylate.

*Names marked in red are considered to be highly poisonous to beneficial insects.

*Names marked in green are considered to be organic and IPM (integrated pest management) compatible.

Caution and careful notice should be taken when using any plant protection products (insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides). It is the grower’s sole responsibility to keep track of the legal uses and permissions with respect to the laws in their country and destination markets. Always read the instructions written on labels, and in a case of contradiction, work in accordance to the product label. Keep in mind that information written on the label usually applies to local markets. Pest control products intended for organic farming are generally considered to be less effective in comparison to conventional products. When dealing with organic, biologic, and to some extent a small number of conventional chemical products, a complete eradication of a pest or disease will often require several iterations of a specific treatment or combination of treatments.

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