SIGATOKA LEAF SPOT

Presented by Tula. Sowmya

INTRODUCTION:
Mycosphaerella musicola is a fungal plant pathogen, which is the causal agent of Yellow Sigatoka leaf spot disease on banana plants

CHARACTERISTICS:
Sigatoka leaf spot disease (SD) is a disease of bananas and is caused by the ascomycetous fungus, Mycosphaerella musicola. This pathogen can be distinguished morphologically from Mycosphaerella fijiensis, which causes black leaf streak disease (BLSD), by the characteristics of the conidia and conidiophore. The anamorph of M. musicola, Pseudocercospora musae, lacks the thickened cell walls that are present at the base of the conidia of Paracercospora fijien, the anamorph of M. fijiensis, and are shorter and less wavy.

DISTRIBUTION:
Mycosphaerella musicola was first reported from Java in 1902 and by 1962 was found in most banana growing regions of the world. Although it is spread over short distances by conidia and ascospores, over long distances it is the movement of infected germplasm such as diseased leaves and suckers that is likely to be responsible. In the Pacific islands and in lowland areas of South America and Africa, symptoms of SD are now rarely seen and BLSD has largely supplanted it. SD is more adapted to cooler regions and often predominates at altitudes over 1200 metres while BLSD is rarely seen at such elevations

LIFE CYCLE:
When spores of M. musicola are deposited on a susceptible banana leaf they germinate within three hours if there is a film of water present or if the humidity is very high. The optimal temperature for germination of the conidia is between 25-29C and for the ascospores, 25-26C. The germ tube grows epiphytically over the epidermis for about five days before penetrating the leaf via a stoma. Once inside the leaf the invasive hypha forms a vesicle and fine hyphae grow through the mesophyll layers into an air chamber. More hyphae then grow into the palisade tissue and continue on into other air chambers, eventually emerging through stomata in the streak that has developed

SYMPTOMS:
It is not always easy to differentiate between the symptoms of SD and BLSD. The first sign of disease in SD is the appearance of small yellow streaks on the upper side of leaves while in BLSD small, dark brown streaks appear on the lower surface of leaves. These streaks enlarge and coalesce forming necrotic lesions with light gray centres and yellow perimeters. Large areas of leaf can be damaged causing a lowering of photosynthetic ability, a reduction in crop yield and premature ripening of the fruit. BLSD is the more serious of the diseases as the symptoms emerge on younger leaves and it affects many cultivars that have developed resistance to SD, including the plantain subgroup

INTEGRATED MANAGABSTRACT:
Leaf spot or sigatoka disease of banana causes considerable yield loss in every year and it may goes up to 50% or more in severe cases. Different management approaches were tried in this investigation including chemical fungicides, botanical oils and a bacterium inoculant (Pseudomonas fluorescens). Among the 10 fungicides assessed, Propiconazole showed best performance against the disease followed by Chlorathalonil and Tridemorph. Five botanical oils tested, of which Neem oil found to be the best to reduce the disease severity

HOW TO C

TRANSMISSION:

When the conidia are released, they are disseminated by water while the ascopores are discharged during wet periods and dispersed by wind. The unfurling leaf and the first open are initially infected. Under a crowded canopy and humid condition, the conidia can rapidly spread the disease on a susceptible variety.

SYMPTOMS:
Initially, tiny brown streaks appear on the underside of the third and fourth leaves. After the streak stage, spots develop in a similar way as in yellow sigatoka. Streaks elongate into reddish-brown that later become dark brown or black.

Dense aggregation of the black streaks may form and when these areas become water-soaked, the leaf turns black, dries up rapidly, and becomes brown.

CULTIVAR REACTION:
All commercially grown varieties such as Cavendish, Grand Maine, Lakatan, Latundan, Bungulan, Saba or Cardaba, and Seorita are susceptible to this disease.

CONTROL MEASURES :
1. When planting bananas, you should consider the recommended population per unit area to avoid overlapping of leaf canopy that would create favorable microclimate for disease development. 2. Remove infected leaves to prevent faster spread of the disease. Cut the whole leaf when 75% of the entire leaf is spotted. If, infection is 50% or less, the leaf must be trimmed to remove spotted areas. However, deleafing should not be overdone. 3. Provide drainage canals to avoid waterlogging that triggers high humidity favorable for disease development.

4. Maintain proper plant nutrition. 5. Institute a planned chemical control program. For small farmers, apply fungicidal spray at the rate of 100 L/ha with either Dithane M-45 at 35 g/L, Daconil at 2 g/L, or Benlate at 1-2 g/L water at an interval of 14-21 days. Proper and adequate shaking of the spray solution must be maintained to avoid phytotoxicity on banana leaves and fruits.