Managing banana bunch pests: towards more ecological approaches

Publication date: 11/03/2024
Extent: 54 pages

Contributions by: Charles Staver, Agricultural Scientist, USA; Luud Clercx, AgroFair, The Netherlands; Myriam Arias, INIAP, Ecuador; César Guillén Sanchez, University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica; Lieselot van der Veken, Pro Terra Agro, Belgium; and Marco Antonio Oviedo Cajas, Banana Specialist, Ecuador

Chapter synopsis:

Blemish-free bananas are a modern life staple. This chapter reviews management trends of bunch pests of bananas for export which cause cosmetic damage or trigger quarantine prohibitions in the context of changing regulatory and market requirements. The authors review six major insect pests of the banana bunch with a particular focus on understanding their life cycle as a basis for designing more ecologically-based pest management – red rust and flower thrips, aphids, scale insects, mealybugs and Colaspis beetles. Sections include monitoring pests and beneficial organisms, creating an environment less favourable for pests and more favourable for beneficial organisms, and direct control with insecticides and augmentation of beneficial organisms. The authors propose 5 cornerstone practices to ensure blemish-free bananas with a low level of rejects and reduced impact on human health and the environment – early bagging with bags containing non-toxic repellents, field sanitation and measures to promote conservation biological control - minimal pesticide use and increased hedge and cover plant diversity.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2022.0108.20