THE EFFECTIVENESS
BANANA (MUSA X PARADISIACA) PEELS
USED AS FERTILIZER APPLIED IN
DIFFERENT KINDS OF PLANTS SAMPLES

RESEARCHER:
BERLENE GAIL H. LAMA

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
A banana peel, known as a banana skin in British English, is the outer covering of the banana fruit. As bananas, whether eaten raw or cooked, are a popular fruit consumed worldwide, with yearly production over 145 million tonnes in 2011, there is a significant amount of banana peel waste being generated as well. Banana peels are used as feedstock as they have some nutritional value. Banana peels are widely used for that purpose on small farms in regions where bananas are grown. There are some concerns over the impact of tannins contained in the peels on animals that consume them.[3][4] Banana peels are used as feedstock for cattle, goats, pigs, poultry, rabbits, fish and several other species. The specific nutrition contained in peel depends on the stage of maturity and the cultivar; for example plantain peels contain less fibre than dessert banana peels, and lignin content increases with ripening (from 7 to 15% dry matter). On average, banana peels contain 6-9% dry matter of protein and 20-30% fibre (measured as NDF). Green plantain peels contain 40% starch that is transformed into sugars after ripening. Green banana peels contain much less starch (about 15%) when green while ripe banana peels contain up to 30% free sugars. Banana peels are also used for water purification, toproduce ethanol, cellulase, laccase and in composting. Banana peel is also part of the classic physical comedy slapstick visual gag, the "slipping on a banana peel".[11][12] This gag was already seen as classic in 1920s America.[13] It can be traced to the late 19th century, when banana peel waste was considered a public hazard in a number of American towns.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
This study was conducted if this study could be successful using banana peels used as fertilizer applied in different kinds of plant samples.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
-To observe the effects on the plant.
-To determine which of different plants really affects.
-To determine if the study is eco friendly. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This study conducted to use banana peels used as fertilizer applied in different kinds of plant samples. This study sought to answer that if this study would be successful.

HYPOTHESIS
This experimental study was conducted very well and it became successful because of the effort given for the experimental process of using banana peels used as fertilizer in different kind of plant samples.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The researcher aimed to let others to become creative in many ways like using banana peels as paper. It is better to used this because it is cheaper the value but it’s very worth it.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS
This study was limited on banana peels only used as fertilizer.

CHAPTER II
Review of Related Literature

According to WARDLAW, C. W. Banana breeders must indeed be thankful that two botanical treatises on the banana have been published within two years, Bananas by N. W. Simmonds [cf. XXX, 2155] and the book under review, both by the same publishers. Whereas the former deals extensively with taxonomy the latter refers almost exclusively to descriptions of the symptoms, aetiology and control of all known banana diseases. The author has combed the literature thoroughly and has presented a vast number of facts in a well ordered and readable form, devoid of any critical appreciation of controversial information.
Panama disease is nowadays only of academic interest in countries such as Australia, Brazil and the West Indies where the Cavendish banana varieties are grown almost to the exclusion of the susceptible Gros Michel variety. Nevertheless resistance to this Fusarium root disease remains the primary factor for consideration in banana breeding work. This is the only justification of the repetition of so much detailed information about this disease which the author published in his Diseases of the Banana twenty-six years ago.
Leaf spot (Sigatoka disease), bunchy top, Moko disease and various fruit diseases are well described and illustrated. The ever increasing cost of controlling these diseases warrants their inclusion in the planning of breeding work because, unlike Panama disease, they are capable of seriously affecting all the commercial varieties at present being grown throughout the world.
The author has done a great service by collecting together so many references in one book. Unfortunately the high cost of the book is likely to prevent its acquisition by many people who would like to possess it. Many of the previously published illustrations, especially those of a technical nature, could well have been omitted in order to reduce the cost of production without detracting from the great value of the book.

According to SIMMONDS, N. W. This is as comprehensive a review of its subject as one could hope to find in a single volume of convenient size to handle, and the author is to be congratulated on the skill with which he has packed together an extraordinary amount of information without leaving any noticeable traces of the great effort that must have gone into its compression.
The book opens with a couple of chapters outlining the vegetative and floral morphology of the banana plant and the course of its development in the field: these are good and up to date, but not otherwise noteworthy. The next three chapters, on cultivars, show more of the author's quality. They present, for the first time in a generally accessible text, a clear exposition of the rational classification of banana varieties that has been worked out over the last thirty years at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture-chiefly by Simmonds himself. A key to the groups is followed by a short but useful chapter on the interesting Fe'i bananas of the Pacific, and then by notes on the principal clones of the various groups in the Eumusa series, with a wealth of observations on synonymy far exceeding anything of the kind that has been attempted previously. These three chapters, with the separate index of clone names given at the end of the book and containing nearly 1, 000 entries, constitute a systematic treatment of the edible bananas that has long been needed and, subject to minor revisions as new knowledge accrues, seems certain to be good for many years to come.
The middle chapters-almost half the book-deal with agriculture and trade, covering climates and soils, planting and management, harvest, transport and ripening, composition and utilization of the fruit, production and economics, and history. The author's treatment of these subjects is at once soundly scientific and thoroughly practical-a combination not always found in agricultural texts. Climate, for example, is dealt with by giving a careful analysis (by temperature and rainfall) of all the various climates in which bananas are grown, followed by discussion of the effects of unfavourable weather. Planting and management practices are not only described, but critically examined and related to underlying principles and local circumstances. The section on transport and ripening includes copious references to the great deal of physiological and biochemical research on which modern practice depends.
Pests and diseases receive one chapter each, and the problem of compression must obviously have been most acute here. A decision to concentrate on the three major diseases (banana wilt, leaf spot and bunchy top) and on literature published since Wardlaw's comprehensive review on banana diseases in 1935 has resulted in a really useful chapter, whereas any attempt to cover a wider range in forty pages must have led to a treatment too superficial to be worth while. For the pests, on which no monograph exists, an annotated list is given of 182 species and five are selected for fuller treatment. In the last chapter the author returns to his special field and gives a concise but adequate summary of the aims, methods and results of banana breeding from its inception in 1922 up to date.
It is not without significance that Simmonds has chosen "Bananas" as his title, whereas each of the three most important earlier books on the subject (Fawcett, 1913; Reynolds, 1927; and Kervégant, 1935) was entitled "The Banana". Those authors, though giving a general background, were most concerned with the banana of the export trade. Simmonds, without in the least under-estimating the importance of the trade, or of the very few clones on which it is based, sets these in perspective by reminding the reader that of an estimated twenty million tons of bananas produced annually in the world only about 15 per cent. enter trade. His opportunities for studying bananas in East Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific, as well as his intensive work in banana breeding over 15 years, have qualified him uniquely to paint the broader picture; and he has taken full advantage of them. One of the many merits of his book is the extent to which it incorporates personal observation. Nevertheless, he has also done a great deal of homework in the library, and his bibliographies leave nothing to be desired.
The usefulness of the book as a work of reference is enhanced by chapter summaries, and by the condensation of information into numerous tables. The production is good, and nearly a hundred well-produced photographs really illustrate the text as well as adorn it. In short, author and publishers between them have produced a fully worthy addition to the Tropical Agriculture Series. E.E.C
According to Stover, R. H.; Simmonds, N. W. The importance of perennial plants to tropical subsistence farmers is now fully recognized and, among these, the banana continues to hold a major place. As J. Costantin and F. Faideau wrote several years ago: "Il n'est pas de plante qui, à surface cultivée égale, fournisse, à beaucoup près, une masse aussi considérable de substance nourrissante". Readers are reminded in the preface that between 1965 and 1983 more than 1000 papers relating to bananas were abstracted in Horticultural Abstracts.
All those concerned with bananas as local crops or as export crops will be well served by this third edition which, in addition to updating the material in the first (1959) and second (1966) editions, describes the modern banana export industry along with the pertinent supporting research relating to agronomy, plant protection, plant physiology and breeding.
The chapters are as follows: 1. Botany: systematics, vegetative morphology and physiology, 2. Botany: flowers and fruits, 3. Horticulture: development controls and yield determinants, 4. Classification of banana cultivars, 5. The Australimusa series of cultivars, 6. The Eumusa series of cultivars, 7. Banana breeding, 8. Climate and weather, 9. Soils, 10. Cultivation systems, 11. Plantation and farm management, 12. Diseases and disorders, 13. Pests, 14. Packing stations and packaging, 15. Tropical plantation infrastructure, 16. Transport to market and ripening, 17. Quality evaluation and quality control, 18. Fruit physiology, biochemistry and nutritional values, 19. Utilization of fruit and plant by-products, 20. Production and marketing, 21. Recent history, and 22. Banana research - past and present.
Many diagrams and monochrome photographs are incorporated in the text, and banana ripening stages, meristem culture and deficiency symptoms are illustrated in colour. More colour photographs of diseases could perhaps have been included. The bibliography is comprehensive and an index of clone names and a general index are also included to assist enquirers. Synonyms of major cultivars are listed and there is an annotated list of clones by countries. This work will be seen as an essential reference book.
According to Lockhart, B. E. L.; Autrey, L. J. C. A virus with bacilliform particles measuring 131×31 nm was found in the sugarcane clones Mex. 57-473 and CP 44-101 grown in Morocco. This virus was also present in a sample of Mex. 57-473 from Hawaii. No foliar symptoms were associated with sugarcane bacilliform virus (SCBV) infection. The virus was transmitted mechanically to healthy sugarcane, and infection was detected reliably by enzyme immunoassay. SCBV was not transmitted by sap inoculation to banana or to any test plants other than sugarcane. Banana streak virus was transmitted by mechanical inoculation to sugarcane but induced no foliar symptoms. No serological differences were detected between SCBV and BSV, but lack of information on additional biological and other properties of the 2 viruses precludes the assumption they are identical. No serological relationship was detected between SCBV or BSV and the bacilliform viruses occurring in cocoa, rice, Canna indica, yam, Commelina diffusa and Kalanchoë blossfeldiana.
According to Jones, D. R. Banana, plantain and abaca diseases by R. H. Stover, 1972, and follows much the same format. Following an introductory chapter on banana and abacá (Musa spp.) and enset (Ensete spp.), fungal diseases of the foliage are described first, followed by those of the root, corm and pseudostem. Chapters on fungal diseases of fruit, bacterial diseases, virus diseases and nematode pathogens follow. There are 5 chapters devoted to non-infectious disorders, mineral deficiencies, injury caused by chemicals and toxic concentrations of elements and genetic abnormalities. The books ends with chapters on quarantine and the safe movement of germplasm, and breeding banana for disease resistance.
According to Lockhart, B. E. L. Bacilliform particles (119 × 27 nm) were consistently associated with a chlorotic and necrotic leaf streak disease of banana in Morocco. The virus was detected by electron microscopy, immunosorbent electron microscopy (ISEM), and enzyme immune assay in streak-diseased banana plants but not in symptomless plants or in plants infected solely with either cucumber mosaic virus or banana bunchy top virus. The disease was propagated vegetatively but was not transmitted through soil. Neither the disease nor the particles were transmitted mechanically to healthy banana or other test plants. The banana bacilliform virus was purified and an antiserum prepared. The disease, which occurs frequently in bananas in southern Morocco, was named banana streak disease, and the associated bacilliform virus is referred to as banana streak virus. In ISEM tests, BSV was trapped by its homologous antiserum but not by antisera to either cacao swollen shoot or rice tungro bacilliform viruses.
According to Stover, R. H.; Buddenhagen, I. W. Attempts since 1922 to breed a useful tetraploid from Gros Michel have been unsuccessful. There is a need for new, innovative approaches to banana breeding. One such approach with promise is to resynthesize new triploids from doubled diploids x diploids. New clones should be tested by plant physiologists and phytopathologists so as to give breeders information on possible defects. More support needs to be given to in vitro technique of manipulating the genetic potential of Musa. Classical genetics and cytogenetics also need to be revitalized. KEYWORDS: TROPAG | Musa | Fruit and nut crops | banana | crop improvement | disease resistance | fungal diseases | Fusarium oxysporum | fungal diseases | Mycosphaerella fijiensis | bacterial diseases | Pseudomonas solanacearum | nematodes | Radopholus similis | races | Honduras.
According to Novák, F. J.; Afza, R.; Duren, M. van; Omar, M. S. Vegetative shoot apices composed of a meristemic dome with 2 pairs of leaf primordia were excised from in vitro-cultured shoots of 7 clones of dessert banana (genomes AA, AAA and AAAA), plaintain (AAB) and bluggoe cooking banana (ABB). Mutations were induced with 60Co γ rays of 15, 30, 45 and 60 Gy at a dose rate of 8 Gy/min. Radiosensitivity was assessed by determining the relative increase of fresh weight of cultures and by the rates of shoot differentiation. Musa clones exhibited differences in radiosensitivity and post-radiation recovery. These differences were dependent on ploidy level and hybrid constitutions by genomes A (acuminata) and B (balbisiana). Considerable phenotypic variation was observed among plants regenerated from in vitro shoot-tips after mutagenic treatment. An early-flowering putative mutant plant of Grand Nain (GN-60 Gy/A) was selected in the glasshouse in the M1V4 generation. The mutant plant was micropropagated and its vegetative progeny was planted for field testing in a tropical environment. Leaf protein electrophoresis provided evidence of an altered genetic nature of the mutant plant in comparison with the original clone. The mutant showed a less densely staining protein of about 33 kD MW and lacked 3 other proteins and 2 bands of esterase isoenzymes, characteristic of the original Grand Nain. The potential of induced mutagenesis for genetic improvement of banana and plantains is discussed and a scheme of in vitro mutation breeding is outlined.
According to MEREDITH, D. S. This monograph gives a comprehensive account of the morphology, Ufe cycle and infection biology of the causal fungus; spore production, release, dispersal, deposition and longevity; the epidemiology, economic importance and assessment of the disease; and varietal susceptibility. Quarantine and legislation against M. musicola and control measures including phytosanita-tion and spraying with numerous fungicides (mainly copper), mineral oil and oil.fungicide mixtures are discussed. Special reference is made to the effects of oil spraying on the various stages of the fungus life history and on the host. One section deals with the symptoms, distribution, spread and control of M. fijiensis, black leaf streak, discovered in 1964. [See also H.A., 40: 2340, 9330.]-Univ. Hawaii.
According to Ploetz, R. C.; Herbert, J.; Sebasigari, K.; Hernandez, J. H.; Pegg, K. G.; Ventura, J. A.; Mayato, L. S. The occurrence of the disease (caused by F. oxysporum f.sp. cubense) on Cavendish and locally consumed cultivars in geographically diverse settings is detailed as it relates to reemergence of the disease. Production areas in which different cultural practices, cultivars, climatic and edaphic factors and populations of the pathogen are found are described. This paper was presented at the First International Conference on fusarial wilt of banana held in Miami, Florida, Aug. 27-30, 1989.
According to RHODES, P. L. The disease [banana black leaf streak: 43, 2974] is described. Symptoms are apparent first on the 4th or older leaves, depending on intensity of infection. Numerous reddish brown, linear streaks, 1.5 × c. 0.25 mm., on the under surface of the leaf, more concentrated towards the tip and left side of the lamina, lie parallel to the veins. They increase in size, darken in colour and become visible on the upper surface, and coalesce. In severe cases necrosis and death of the whole leaf may occur in 3-4 weeks, so that a plant may carry 3 apparently healthy leaves and the 6th leaf be nearly destroyed. In mild cases, however, spots 25 × 5 mm. remain discrete. Water suckers and plants with broad leaves near the ground are very susceptible, but plants in shade are less so. The typical blackened portions are soft, pliable, and oily to touch. The disease spreads less rapidly in the cool season, but all vars. are susceptible. Spray programmes adequate for Mycosphaerella musicola do not control it.
According to Gowen, S.; Quénéhervé, P. The banana root system, cropping systems and cultivation techniques are briefly described and the symptoms of damage, biology, life cycle, pathotypes, races and biotypes, survival, means of dissemination and host range of Radopholus similis, Pratylenchus, Helicotylenchus multicinctus and Meloidogyne spp., the main plant parasitic nematodes attacking Musa spp. are given. Details of the environmental factors affecting parasitism of banana nematodes, control measures and methods of diagnosis are covered in more detail.
According to STOVER, R. H . A series of scale drawings with measured levels of spotting was made to aid research workers in estimating percentage leaf destruction. Spotting intensity was classified into the 5 grades 0 (<10 spots/leaf)-4. (>33% tissue destroyed). In C. America most spotted leaves are grade 1. A form used in the field for recording leaf location and disease grade is shown, and methods of plotting the data are suggested. A simpler method for commercial use has already been described [50, 818].
According to Yirgou, D.; Bradbury, J. F. A naturally occurring wilt of banana caused by X. musacearum [RAM 47, 1389] was first observed in Kaffa Province (Ethiopia) on var. Du Casse Hybrid, which seem highly susceptible, and subsequently appeared sporadically in warm, moist areas in other provinces but not in irrigated banana plantations. Symptoms are at first a dull green lamina becoming scalded, flaccid, folded back on the midrib, brown and withered and finally collapsing at the petiole; the whole plant eventually rots. Sections of diseased fruit show yellowish blotches in the flesh and dark brown stripes in the placenta. Fruits turn brown and mummify. Insect transmission may occur since first symptoms on the fruit bunch are on bracts where insects congregate. Only enset was infected by isolates from banana. Control recommendations include destruction of diseased plants, prevention of leaf cutting or animal browsing in infested plots, disinfection of pruning knives, planting material to be taken from disease free fields, and, in the case of heavy infection, replacement with other crops for 2 yr. It is emphasized that care be taken to ensure that the bacterium is not spread to other parts of the world.ADDITIONAL ABSTRACT:The naturally-occurring banana wilt here described was first observed in Ethiopia in the cv. Du Casse Hybrid which appears to be highly susceptible. It has not yet been observed in irrigated plantations. The disease causes serious losses in ensete (Ensete ventricosa), where the most important means of transmission is through knives for leaf pruning; however, it is possible that insect transmission occurs in banana. Current control recommendations include the destruction of diseased plants, the disinfection of pruning or harvesting knives and the use of healthy planting material.
According to Nakasone, H. Y.; Paull, R. E. A broad survey of all aspects of tropical fruit production and usage is provided. The botany, ecology, general characteristics, breeding, cultural practices, harvesting and post-harvest handling, and utilization of the following tropical fruit crops are dealt with: Annona spp., avocado, banana, Averrhoa carambola, guava, litchi, longan (Dimocarpus longan syn. Euphoria longana), rambutan (Nephelium lappacium), mango, papaya, passion-fruit, pineapple, breadfruit, jackfruit, chempedak (Artocarpus integrifolia), durian, langsat and duku (Lansium domesticum), santol (Sandorium koetjape), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), wax apple, acerola (Malpighia spp.), chiku (Manilkara zapota) and abiu (Pouteria caimoto). The general aspects of the tropical climate and fruit-production techniques are discussed. The full development of the international markets for a number of these crops depends on the availability of suitable varieties, production and tree-management technologies, and suitable storage and insect disinfestation procedures. KEYWORDS: TROPAG | Averrhoa | Malpighia | Artocarpus | Durio | Lansium domesticum | Eugenia | fruit crops | botany | plant resources | crop management | cultivation | postharvest technology | uses. According to Gowen, S. A textbook is presented covering all aspects of the cultivation of banana and plantain. Subjects dealt with include: (1) the origin and development of banana and plantain cultivation; (2) systems of cultivation and management, including plantation establishment, irrigation, bunch management and ratooning; (3) Musa genetics; (4) plant breeding; (5) in vitro culture of bananas; (6) the response of the plant to the environment; (7) soils; (8) plant nutrition; (9) pests and diseases; (10) harvesting and fruit care; (11) ripening and biochemistry of the fruit; (12) the nutritional value of bananas; (13) processing; (14) banana and plantain cultivation in the East African highlands; (15) banana morphology; and (16) the world banana economy. KEYWORDS: TROPAG | Musa | Musa | crop management | cultivation | plant breeding | processing | fruits.
According to MURRAY, D. B. In greenhouse experiments the reduction in growth rate, as measured by the rate of leaf production, was determined for deficiencies of N, P, K, Ca and Mg. Supplies of nutrients in the corm permitted growth for some considerable time except in the case of lack of N. The leaf levels of these elements as they were affected by deficiency, were determined. Visual deficiency symptoms occurred at levels considerably lower than those at which growth was reduced. [See also H.A., 29: 4018.]- I.C.T.A., Trinidad.
According to Panis, B. The possibility of long-term preservation of embryogenic cell suspensions and in vitro meristems of banana (Musa spp.) germplasm through cryopreservation was investigated. An efficient cryopreservation protocol for embryogenic banana suspensions was developed for the cooking banana Bluggoe (ABB group) and applied to other cultivars. Growth studies revealed that an optimal cryopreservation ability corresponds with the early exponential phase about 7 days after the last subculture. Frozen-thawed embryogenic cell suspensions were successfully regenerated into normal plants. Chemical post-thaw viability determinations proved inaccurate. In vitro proliferating meristems were tested for regrowth capacity after subjection to 4 cryopreservation methods. Slow freezing and complete vitrification showed no regrowth. Encapsulation-dehydration resulted in the maximum post-thaw recovery of 8.1%. A simple and quick freezing method using sucrose in the pre-growth media was tested on 5 banana cultivars of distinct Musa groups and proved promising with survival rates between 6 and 42.5%. KEYWORDS: TROPAG | Musa | Fruit and Nut Crops | Musa bananas | embryo preservation | freezing | drying | germplasm conservation.
According to Sikora, R. A.; Bafokuzara, N. D.; Mbwana, A. S. S.; Oloo, G. W.; Uronu, B.; Reddy, K. V. S. A survey in Tanzania in February 1988 showed that a decline in banana production followed severe damage induced by the nematode Pratylenchus goodeyi combined with the nematodes Helicotylenchus multicinctus and Radopholus similis interacting with root- rotting fungi, the weevil Cosmopolites sordidus and poor agronomic practices. Preliminary studies demonstrated differences in susceptibility in some local cultivars to the weevil and nematodes.
According to Buddenhagen, I. W. Dessert Cavendish-type bananas (AAA), dessert AAB bananas (e.g. Silk, Pome, etc.), plantains (AAB), Bluggoe and other cooking types (ABB) and East African cooking and beer bananas (AAA) are described. In addition pathogenic variability in Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense, general genetic variability in Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense and evolution and genetics of resistance are discussed in this paper presented at the First International Conference on fusarial wilt of banana held in Miami, Florida, Aug. 27-30, 1989.
According to Crous, P. W.; Mourichon, X. The teleomorph name, M. eumusae, and its anamorph, Pseudocercospora eumusae, are validated for the banana disease formerly known as Septoria leaf spot. This disease has been found on different Musa cultivars from tropical countries such as southern India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Mauritius, and Nigeria. It is contrasted with two similar species, namely M. fijiensis (black leaf streak or black Sigatoka disease) and M. musicola (Sigatoka disease). Although the teleomorphs of these three species are morphologically similar, they are phylogenetically distinct and can also be distinguished based upon the morphology of their anamorphs.
According to Ploetz, R. C.; Thomas, J. E.; Slabaugh, W. R. The taxonomy, anatomy and general attributes of banana and plantain fruit, together with the distribution, importance, aetiology, epidemiology and control of their diseases. Important diseases of banana include rhizome rot (caused by Erwinia spp.), Moko disease (caused by Ralstonia solanacearum), black Sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis), yellow Sigatoka (M. musicola), anthracnose (Colletotrichum musae), Botryodiplodia finger rot (Botryodiplodia theobromae [Lasiodiplodia theobromae]), cigar-end rot (Trachysphaera fructigena and Verticillium theobromae) and Panama disease (Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense). The most important nematodes are Radopholus similis, Pratylenchus coffeae, P. goodeyi and Helicotylenchus multicinctus, while virus diseases include banana bunchy top virus.
According to WARDLAW, C. W.The whole industry of banana cultivation and export has in the last few decades turned on the possibility of growing types immune to disease, to the ravages of the all-important wilt, or Panama Disease, in particular. The one variety that we are accustomed to see on the dinner table, and which many of us even regard as the only type of banana, the Gros Michel, is fatally sus-ceptible to the disease. Various resistant varieties are known but all of them fall short as regards commercial requirements, some being deficient in one respect, others in another. Efforts to replace the Gros Michel have been made for some time and these have led to the growth of an entire new field of plant breeding, genetics and cytology, in itself a most fascinating study. It is obvious therefore that a knowlegde of the diseases of the banana, which are unfortunately many and various, is indispensable to everyone who is in any way concerned with the banana and its cultivation. Dr. Wardlaw has for the first time made this knowledge available to the public, in a general and comprehensive review of the information existing at the present time, a large amount of which, incidentally, he is personally responsible for, together with his colleagues at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture, Trinidad. All the most important fungal and bacterial diseases, not only of the banana, but of abacá (Musa textilis) too, are dealt with at length, and attention is also given to virus and physiological diseases, and to diseases incurred during storage. The information on the physiological forms of the wilt fungus, Fusarium cúbense, is reviewed and a list of the bacteria and fungi known to occur on the banana as saprophytes arid parasites further enhances the value of the book to the practical worker. The banana breeding work of the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture is outlined in the chapter on the Panama Disease and confidence is expressed that, in spite of the many attendant difficulties, this work will lead to the production of the desired new immune variety.
According to BUDDENHAGEN, I. W. ; ELSASSER, T. A. Bacterial wilt of banana in tropical America [cf. R.A.E., A 50 520] is caused by a specific race of Pseudomonas solanacearum [Ralstonia solanacearum] and originated on plants of the native genus Heliconia in Costa Eica. It occurs, however, in the absence of infected Heliconia, and its distribution cannot be entirely accounted for by transport on propagating material or by contamination from tools. In early 1961, a crop of Bluggoe cooking bananas in Honduras was attacked by the disease for the first time. The symptoms develop on the suckers and leaves of plants infected through the roots or by tools, but in this outbreak the flower buds and peduncles became blackened and shrivelled and the fruits in diseased bunches became blackened and rotted. Insects frequent banana flowers, and of 700 bees (Trigona corvina Ckll.) and wasps collected in a diseased patch over 20 days, 5 per cent, were found to carry the pathogen. In experiments, the disease did not develop on plants from the inflorescences of which insects were excluded. Droplets containing the bacteria begin to ooze from diseased peduncles and the bases of bracts about 15 days after infection occurs and continue for about ten days, and the bacteria may be carried during this time by insects to moist cushions on the peduncle from which male flowers have fallen; one new cushion is exposed each day over a period of three months, and each remains susceptible to infection for two days. No infection occurred when the buds were removed before the first cushion of male flowers was exposed. Distances of over a mile without Bluggoe bananas act as a substantial barrier, though spread over as much as five miles has been known to occur; the agent in such cases is not known. In commercial banana plantations, the risk of insect transmission is reduced by the practice of removing the buds from the male axis.
A similar outbreak occurred recently in Colombia, where the disease was spread by insects over 60 miles in 1-2 years, and the disease also occurs in Venezuela, where it is not native since Heliconia is absent. It is suggested that it was spread by insects from the more humid, lowland areas that favour Heliconia by a chain of flower infections, and that a similar occurrence can be expected in any warm area of tropical America where isolated plantations of Bluggoe bananas extend back to wet lowlands in which infected Heliconia occurs.
According to Blomme, G Root system development in Musa plants and its relationship to other plant parts were studied. Considerable genetic variation in root system size was found; however, strong correlations between the root and the shoot system, and similar shoot-root ratios were observed for a wide set of genotypes. These results indicate that breeding for relatively larger root systems may be cumbersome. Since the root systems of lateral shoots (suckers) are positively correlated with aerial growth, breeding for a regulated suckering (i.e. 2-3 vigourous suckers) may enhance the anchorage strength of a mat. Plantain hybrids with a regulated suckering will be less susceptible to toppling compared with plantain landraces, which predominantly exhibit an inhibited suckering. The root system size of the main plant was not related with sucker development across a wide range of genotypes. Methodology was developed for fast and non-destructive root system assessment. Regression models were designed to estimate root traits from easily measurable shoot traits. In addition, variability in mat root system size can be assessed by evaluating soil core root samples. These methods could help Musa breeders in assessing the root system size of a large number of hybrids. KEYWORDS: TROPAG | Musa | Musa | root systems | aerial parts | growth | plant developmental stages | suckers | ratooning | varieties.
According to Stover, R. H. The current status of the disease caused by F. oxysporum f.sp. cubense in Africa, Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and the subtropics, in vitro research: identification of strains, in vivo research: pathogenicity and race determination and soil ecology are briefly reviewed in this paper presented at the First International Conference on fusarial wilt of banana held in Miami, Florida, Aug. 27-30, 1989.
According to Morton, J. F. The botany, origin, distribution, varieties, climatic conditions, soil conditions, propagation methods, cultural practices, post-harvest techniques and utilization aspects op < > 130 fruit crops and related (wild) species are discussed. Species discussed include: akee, avocado, bael fruit, banana, breadfruit, bilimbi (Averrhoa bilimbi), carambola, carob, cherimoya, chinese gooseberry, citrus, date palm, durian, feijoa, fig, granadilla, guava, jackfruit, jujube, kumquat, litchi, loquat, mamey apple, mango, mangosteen, papaya, passion fruit, peach (var. Red Ceylon), peach palm, persimmon, phalsa, pineapple, pomegranate, rambutan, sapodilla, sapote, soursop, sweetsop, atemoya (Annona squamosa x A. cherimolia), custard apple (Annona reticulata), ilama (Annona diversifolia), soncoya (Annona purpurea), wild custard apple (Annona chrysophylla syn. Annona senegalensis), biriba (Rollinia mucosa), Amazon tree-grape (Pourouma cecropiaefolia), ceriman (Monstera deliciosa), Mysore blackberry (Rubus niveus), sansapote (Licania platypus), and Surinam cherrry (Eugenia uniflora). KEYWORDS: TROPAG | Citrus | Annona | Artocarpus | Spondias | Pouteria | Syzygium | Fruit and Nut Crops | fruit crops | crop cultivation and maintenance | crop potential | cultural practices | varieties | wild species | fruit trees | tropical fruits | Tropical Regions.
According to BUDDENHAGEN, I. W. In a survey of abandoned banana plantations in Costa Rica P. solanacearum [38, 534] was isolated from 9 wilting weed spp. Young banana plants were inoculated with these isolates by pulling down the outermost leaf sheath to expose a clean surface and injecting 1 ml. of bacterial suspension into the pseudostem. Only isolates from Heliconia were pathogenic. Thus 2 strs. were distinguished, the ' banana strain', which could wilt tomato and Physalis angulata but was not isolated from them in the field, and the 'weed strain'. The degree of pathogenicity of isolates within the banana str. varied considerably; some ('normal') caused rapid wilting, others ('normal bending') also bending or breaking on of the plant, and some ('distortion') malformation and stunting. The banana and weed strs. [cf. 40, 14] were distinguished by colony appearance on a tetrazolium medium. Susceptlbility to a bacteriophage from a banana isolate was not correlated with str. differences.
According to SIMMONDS, N. W. Botanists and geneticists will welcome this book, which has been written primarily for them, and, in effect, supplements the author's more general account of the bananas as a crop published in 1959 [H.A., 30: 1445]. Those who have a special interest in the genus will recognize the work as a masterly summary of all the information-taxonomic, geographical and cytogene-tical-that throws light on the evolution and distribution of Musa. For them it will be indispensable. A much wider circle should derive pleasure and profit from it as a notable contribution to the literature of crop-plant evolution. In the first four of the eight chapters the author surveys the relationships and evolution of the wild species of Musa, not restricting himself to the few which have given rise to cultivars. In the second half of the book he shows how, in the cultivars, parthenocarpy, sterility, polyploidy, hybridity and somatic mutation have contributed to variation in characters useful to man. The inter-relationships between these occurrences are discussed, citing physiological observations on fruit development that have bearing on the development of other seedless fruits. The evidence from comparative morphology, cytology, breeding behaviour and other lines of enquiry is then skillfully summed up in a hypothesis to account for the present distribution and diversity of the edible bananas. The picture is as clear and plausible as any that we have for other crops, notwithstanding the peculiar difficulties presented by an assemblage of sexually sterile clones'-E.E.C. .-.
According to BLAKE, C. D. The bionomics and pathogenicity of Radopholus similis on banana and the nature of its association with Fusarium are described. Meloidogyne, Helicotylenchus and Pratylenchus arc also briefly considered as parasites of banana and other nematode parasites are listed. Paring, pralinage and hot water treatment of banana sets have proven important in control. Flooding or rotation with fallow or cover crops appears promising due to the limited survival of R. similis in the soil in the absence of a host. DBCP has proved effective in the Ivory Coast but remains to be tried elsewhere. The economics of control are discussed. P.S.G.
According to Purseglove, J. W. Since Professor Purseglove's first two volumes in this series, covering the dicotyledonous tropical crops, were published in 1968 they have become a standard work of reference. The two volumes on monocotyledons now presented complete the series, and admirably maintain the standard of the earlier ones.The sub-headings under which information on all but very minor crops is given are the same as in the previous volumes. They comprise essentially three aspects - uses, production and trade; the biology of the plant including its botany, biochemistry and genetics; and field subjects, including propagation, husbandry, and pests and diseases of economic significance. With such a wide spread of information to provide, the author naturally cannot particularize in every detail. He performs a more valuable service in bringing together enough knowledge to satisfy a very large proportion of those who need to seek information about an individual crop grown in the tropics.In other respects too these volumes follow the precedents of the earlier ones. Miss Marjorie Wong, who was one of the two illustrators of the first two volumes, has again provided the black and white drawings of all the more important species in the new ones. The author continues to be, for the purposes of this work, a "lumper" of species in such difficult genera as, for example, Sorghum and Saccharum, an attitude which will be a relief to those users of these volumes whose interests are agricultural rather than botanical.There is little need for a long review of this work because the competence of its coverage leaves so few grounds for complaint. Neither errors of fact nor omissions of any important item among the vast range of information offered obtruded themselves upon this reviewer. Such success is no doubt due to Purseglove's exceptionally wide experience in different regions of the tropics. His inclusion of orchids as a "crop" is an instance which no doubt reflects the interest he took in them when he was Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens. If a criticism can be made of the relative allocation of space to different subjects, it is perhaps that the sections on pests and diseases are sometimes so terse as to convey rather inadequate information for practical purposes - a state of affairs which is the more understandable because of the immense number of these pathogens.In a work on monocotyledonous crops, many readers will turn at once to see how far the author has included grasses which, whether natural or planted, are used to provide grazing or forage. The author recognises the dilemma in his introduction, and has adopted the compromise of including "a brief account of the principal grasses planted for pastures and fodders" but omitting those whose importance is in natural grasslands. The grasses included are a little difficult to find quickly because if they belong to the same genus as a cereal they are treated with it, but if they have no "crop" relative they are lumped within the few pages 124-129.A number of misprints do unfortunately obtrude themselves. Indexing errors are always annoying, and pangola grass is mentioned twice on the unindexed p. 126 but not on p. 120 as indexed. Most of the misprints are in proper names and some could provide a trap for the uninitiated. The banana cultivar Lacatan is misprinted as "Latacan" on p. 352, and the Fouta-Djallon region of Guinea is twice printed as "Fonta-Djallon" on pp. 142 and 143. There is no doubt, however, of the congratulations due to Purseglove on his successful accomplishment of the immense task he had set himself.G.B.MASEFIELD.
According to Hwang, S. C. The mass propagation of plantlets and screening procedures, Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense resistant mutants obtained from plantlets and improvement of resistant mutants in Taiwan are described in this paper presented at the First International Conference on fusarial wilt of banana held in Miami, Florida, Aug. 27-30, 1989.

According to Beckman, C. H. Following a discussion of the interactions of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense within the xylem tissues of banana, studies on F. wilts of cotton (F. oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum and tomato (F. oxysporum f.sp. lycopersici)) are described with respect to basic concepts and models for resistant and susceptible interactions. This paper was presented at the First International Conference on fusarial wilt of banana held in Miami, Florida, Aug. 27-30, 1989.
According to Daniells, J.; Thomas, J. E.; Smith, M. The banana cv. Mysore, which would otherwise be useful as a source of disease resistance in Australia, is contaminated with banana streak badnavirus, causing typical yellow streaking of the leaves. In tests during which Mysore was screened for female fertility, a triploid hybrid was found to contain BSV, confirming seed transmission of the virus. Attempts are being made to free Mysore from the virus by meristem culture.
According to Ploetz, R. C. Fungal speciation, variability in Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (geographic origins, race specific virulence, vegetative compatibility, phenotypic characters and comparisons of DNA), and phylogenies for populations of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense are discussed. This paper was presented at the First International Conference on fusarial wilt of banana held in Miami, Florida, Aug. 27-30, 1989.
According to Stover, R. H. Banana leaf spots were collected from the Pacific and Central and S. America. Mycosphaerella musicola was present in Central and S. America except in Honduras where M. fijiensis var. difformis was also present. This var. was found in Fiji, Tonga, W. Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Taiwan. M, fijiensis alone was present in Hawaii and the Philippines. In the Pacific M. musicola was observed in a collection from near Bogor, Java and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Single ascospore cultures showed M/ fijiensis and M. f. var. difformis to form a single indistinguishable cultural group whereas M. musicola formed a separate distinct group. Cultural variation among single ascospore isolates was much greater in the former group than in the latter. The former produced 2 main types of culture on mycophyl agar; a dark grey or grey-brown colony with a crenate edge (DGB) and a pale grey and pink colony (PGP). The DGB cultures produced more conidia when first isolated and with time became unstable, yielding PGP cultures.
According to EDWARDS, D. I.; WEHUNT, E. J. Isolates of Radopholus similis from bananas in Honduras and Panama were used in tests of a number of weeds, crops and potential cover crops to determine the nematode's host range. 6 crop plants and 4 weed species are recorded as new hosts. Citrus spp. were not attacked by either isolate of the nematode. Zea mays and Vigna sinensis [Vigna unguiculata] were hosts of the Honduras isolate but not of the Panama isolate. The opposite was true for Tephrosia vogelii, suggesting that more than one "banana race" of Radopholus similis may occur in Central America. M.T.F.
According to Elphinstone, J. G. This overview highlights current information on the global situation of bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum) through review of the recent literature and over 100 additional reports submitted for presentation at the 3rd International Bacterial Wilt Symposium, South Africa, 2002. To obtain a more detailed impression of the current status on major crops (such as banana, potato, tomato and ginger) in some areas (including North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa), a questionnaire was distributed to 56 experts in 25 countries and the opinions obtained are reported. Currently-used diagnostic methods and their role in surveying pathogen distribution and preventing further spread are discussed.
According to Mourichon, X.; Fullerton, R. A. The current geographical distribution of the 2 species Mycosphaerella musicola and Mycosphaerella fijiensis in the main banana-producing areas of the world is reviewed. The highly pathogenic activity of M. fijiensis and its wide distribution in Africa, Latin America, SE Asia and the Pacific is one of the main limiting factors in banana and plantain growing. From authors' summary. KEYWORDS: TROPAG | Musa | Fruit and Nut Crops | banana | plantain | fungal diseases | Mycosphaerella fijiensis | fungal diseases | Mycosphaerella musicola | pathogenicity | Africa | Latin America | Southeast Asia.
According to Magnaye, L. V.; Espino, R. R. C. This disease was first noticed in Davao City, Mindanao, in 1979 and has since become widespread among locally grown cultivars. Symptoms include distinct discontinuous streaks along the primary veins, which appear to be irregularly thickened, and scattered white to yellowish streaks running from the midrib to the leaf margin. After removal of the dead leaf sheath, spindle-shaped streaks or stripes, sometimes with mosaic patterns are visible on the pseudostem. The disease is transmitted in a non-persistent manner by Aphis gossypii and Rhopalosiphum maidis and is probably caused by a virus. A similar disease has been reported from India.
According to MAGEE, C. J. P. A summary is given of recent work in Australia on the transmission of the virus causing bunchy top of banana [cf. R.A.E., A 16 66], which has a specific Aphid vector, Pentalonia nigronervosa, Coq., and is destructive only to species of the genus Musa. Attempts to transmit it by mechanical inoculations have been unsuccessful. Efficient transmission has been obtained with both winged and wingless agamic viviparae of the Aphid, and with each of the four nymphal instars preceding each of the adult forms. These are the only forms in which the Aphid occurs. Approximately 46 per cent. of 233 individuals of all stages, fed as nymphs on recently infected plants, have transmitted the disease in subsequent trials. Adults fed on infected leaves acquire the virus much less frequently than nymphs. Nymphs carry the virus through their moults, but it is not transmitted by infective adults to their progeny.
Infection apparently occurs when a minimal dosage of the virus reaches the plant, as an increase in number of infective Aphids during inoculation affects only frequency of infection and not the severity of symptoms or the minimum incubation period. The virus is not transmitted by infective Aphids that feed for less than 10.5-2 hours on susceptible plants. For acquisition of the virus (by nymphs), an unusually long period, of a minimum of 17 hours, is required; to obtain a high percentage of acquisition, a feeding period of 24 hours is advisable. Temperatures of 10 and 15°C. [50 and 59°F.], by retarding the activities of infective Aphids and their inclination to feed, reduced the number of successful inoculations obtained under the conditions of the experiments, and may be of some importance in determining the low winter incidence of the disease. The virus can be retained by infective Aphids in daily transfers to fresh plants for periods as long as 13 days after removal from infected plants. During this infective period, most, but not all, of the plants infested contract the disease, indicating that special requirements besides the mere feeding of infective Aphids on the leaves of young plants are necessary for transmission.
There is a delay or waiting period in the development of infective power by P. nigronervosa after feeding on infected plants. The duration of this period seems to depend on the individual, and to vary from a few hours to approximately two days. The position of inocula-tion by infective Aphids on the leaves of young plants does not greatly influence the rate of infection or the incubation period of the disease. In infected leaves detached from plants and maintained in a fresh condition, the presence of the virus can be demonstrated after a lapse of at least 12 days. Although the virus causes systematic infection, it does not pervade infected plants. Its presence has been demon-strated only in the first-symptom leaf or leaves subsequently developed. Within the first-symptom leaf, which usually contains relatively few virus channels, as indicated by the presence of green streaks or vascular bundles showing abnormal phloem structure, the virus is present only in the region of these abnormal areas. Ageing of infected plants, if accompanied as usual by pronounced retardation in growth rate, leads to a pronounced fall in availability of the virus. Such plants may be stimulated to more rapid leaf-production by improving their environment, and again rendered highly infectious.
According to Strosse, H.; Houwe, I. van den; Panis, B. The International Musa germplasm collection is sited at the INIBAP (International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain) Transit Centre at K.U.Leuven. By now, more than 1000 different accessions of shoot tip cultures have been initiated in vitro, multiplied and maintained at reduced temperature conditions (16±1°C). Shoot cultures are grown on MS medium, supplemented with 30 g sucrose/litre, 2.25 mg 6-benzyladenine/litre and 0.175 mg IAA/litre. Compared with the culture medium on which shoot-tips are maintained, a 10-fold decrease in cytokinin content (0.225 mg benzyladenine/litre) induces regeneration of rooted plants. In contrast, adding 22.5 mg benzyladenine/litre to the culture medium results in suppression of the apical dominance in shoot-tip cultures and a reduction of corm and leaf tissue between meristematic tissue. Highly proliferating meristem cultures are obtained and used as starting material in the scalp methodology. Initiation and maintenance of cell cultures is rather labour intensive and time consuming. However, since 1 ml of settled cells of a highly regenerable cell suspension can yield more than 100 000 plants, cell cultures are most suitable for mass clonal propagation. Moreover, embryogenic cell suspensions are highly preferred as target material for protoplast culture and genetic engineering since the risk of chimerism is circumvented because of the unicellular origin of regenerated plants.
According to Gold, C. S.; Pinese, B.; Peña, J. E. This chapter covers the phenology of banana as well as the different pests infesting its rhizome, pseudostem, flowers and fruits. The taxonomy, morphology, biology and control of such pests are discussed.
According to Gold, C. S.; Messiaen, S. This factsheet provides information about the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus, a pest of bananas (Musa spp.), plantains and ensete. It includes details about its biology, life cycle, symptoms, distribution, control and research needs, and photos of the pest and symptoms.
According to TURNER, D. W. A review on the growth of the banana plant and its individual organs which includes discussions of the relationship between leaf production and flower induction, methods of estimating the occurrence of flowering, and hypotheses concerning the mechanism of flowering and the nature of fruit growth. [For related work see H.A., 41: 2502.]-Trop. Fruit Res. Stat., Alstonville, N.S.W.
According to Thangavelu, R.; Sundararaju, P.; Sathiamoorthy, S. Plant extracts for the control of plant disease are emerging as alternatives to conventional fungicides as they are generally safe to humans and environmentally friendly. The extracts of 50 plants were screened in vitro against the anthracnose causing fungal pathogen Colletotrichum musae. The extracts of Solanum torvum, Jatropha curcas and Emblica officinalis [Phyllanthus emblica] inhibited the mycelial growth of C. musae. S. torvum extract at 25 and 50% (w/v) completely inhibited the growth of C. musae while those of E. officinalis and J. glandulifera restricted growth to 7.6 mm day-1 at 50% concentration. The same extracts were tested in vivo at room temperature (28±2°C) and in cold storage (13.5°C) against anthracnose disease on the banana cultivars Robusta (AAA), Rasthali (AAB) and Ney Poovan (AB), S. torvum extract was very effective in reducing the incidence of the disease, better than a standard treatment with the fungicide benomyl (0.1%). The extracts also significantly increased the shelf life of bananas, particularly their green life, where S. torvum extract was the best. The shelf life was extended by 16-20 days compared to the control; in most cases the extension was significantly longer than that afforded by benomyl. Hence, plant extracts, particularly of S. torvum, can be used not only for the management of anthracnose disease but for increasing the shelf life of bananas.
Acccording to MINZ, G.; ZIV, D.; STRICH-HARARL D. The authors have found the spiral nematode, Helicotylenchus muticinctus, associated with failing Musa cavendishii plantations. The yield of infested plantations declined to an uneconomic level in three years, infested plants were poorly anchored in the soil and lesions containing H. muhiánctus developed in the root cortex. The authors consider that spiral nematodes do not persist in the soil without a host plant and that they are introduced to new plantations by the planting of infested material at establishment. Treatment of soil before planting with 1, 2-dìbromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) at 10 to 20 litres per 1, 000 sq.m. and adding DBCP at 10 litres per 1, 000 sq.m. to irrigation water for applying to established plantations, are recommended as control measures. Methods for applying the nematicide and for obtaining nematode-free planting material are discussed. C.D.B.
According to Davis, D. R.; Peña, J. E. The general distribution and recent introduction into Florida of the banana pest Opogona sacchari are reviewed. Currently, the principal damage caused by this species in Florida consists of larval stem-boring in certain nursery stock, and ornamental palms in particular. The biology of the species is summarized and all stages of the insect are described, supplemented by numerous illustrations.
According to LEACH, R. During an examination of banana leaves infected with Cercospora musae in Jamaica the author observed two-celled spores, apparently ascospores, which had developed germ-tubes and appressoria similar to those of C. musae, Perithecia producing such spores were found without much difficulty and single ascospore isolations gave rise to cultures identical with those of C. musae, and yielding conidia of C. musae by the method of Meredith and Butler [R.A.M., xix, p. 228]. Inoculations of heart leaves of Gros Michel plants with suspensions of conidia so obtained repeatedly gave rise to typical leaf spot lesions on which the conidia of C. musae were abundantly produced. The perfect stage, which is named Mycosphaerella musicola n.sp. [without a Latin diagnosis], is characterized by dark brown or black, amphigenous, erumpent perithecia, scattered on mature leaf spots, having a short protruding ostiole, a well-defined dark wall, and measuring 46'8 to 72 (mean 61.8) µ in diameter. The oblong-clavate asci measure 28.8 to 36 by 8 to 10.8µ. The bicellular, hyaline, obtuse-ellipsoid ascospores measure 14.4 to 18 (mean 16.7) by 3 to 4µ, are slightly wider in the upper than in the lower cell, and do not show a marked constriction at the septum except when dead. No paraphyses were noted.
At 70° to 84° F. the most rapid ascospore germination occurred in 2 0.5 hours on plain agar. The germ-tubes nearly always grew out from both ends, though not simultaneously; they never developed from the sides. The robust hyphae, 2µ wide, grew out in line with the long axis, no side branching occurring during the first 24 hours, when the growth rate was not above 5 µ per hour. Evidence of ascospore infection of banana leaves was obtained experimentally.
Ascospore discharge is not dependent on the presence of surface moisture on the leaf spots, and can take place from the lower leaves when their shaded position prevents the formation of dew, and thereby suppresses conidial production. The ascospores are also essentially wind-borne, while the conidia are readily removed from the sporodochia by water but not by wind. If there is a large population of heavily spotted leaves, ascospores may reach the heart leaves in as great abundance as do the conidia. Natural infection of a newly opened heart leaf may be as severe as that by conidia.
Ascospores may well reach the heart leaves without coming into contact with spray material, so that spraying cannot be relied upon to control this form of infection. Ascospore production and discharge appear, however, to be purely seasonal, and it would therefore seem that control would be assisted by the collection and disposal of all dead, spotted leaves before the season of ascospore discharge.
The disease was probably spread comparatively rapidly through Jamaica by means of the ascospores, as bananas are generally taken to the coast packed with infected trash leaves from which ascospores might be more easily disseminated than conidia.
[A popular account of the discovery of the ascigerous stage of C. musae is also given by the author in J. Jamaica agric. Soc., xlv, 3, pp. 80-81, 1941.
According to VON LOESECKE, H. W. This is Volume I of " Economic Crops ", a new series of monographs on the chemistry, physiology and technology of food and food products. That fact helps to explain the book's peculiar scope, which is not indicated by its over-simplified title.
The longest chapter (a quarter of the whole text) is devoted to chemical changes during ripening, which are evidently in the author's own field of research, and the next longest deals with commercial storage and ripening methods. These chapters, with shorter ones on transportation, banana products and nutritive value, and statistical tables of world production and trade, will be useful to some readers. They are not easy reading, because the author's method is to pick salient points out of every publication he can find, without expressing any critical conclusions. The effect is that of a string of abstracts, serving to guide the interested specialist to original sources-the unquestionably useful feature of the book is the bibliography of 488 references presented in footnotes-but leaving the non-specialist baffled and confused, with no clear picture of the present state of knowledge in the field covered.
The sections touching briefly on the origins of the banana plant, and its structure, development, cultivation, diseases and pests contain some thoroughly bad features and draw a picture so out of perspective as to be positively misleading in certain particulars. This applies particularly to the first six pages, where genetical and taxonomical conclusions drawn from a quarter of a century of banana breeding in Trinidad and Jamaica have been completely ignored. In the chapter on diseases, " bunchy-top" would appear, from the amount of space devoted to it, to be a minor affliction; and bacterial wilt, though mentioned under Panama disease, is not further dealt with at all. Wardlaw is freely cited, sometimes inaccurately, but his masterly textbook of 1935 is omitted from the bibliography. There are numerous minor errors that should have been corrected in proof. E.E.C.
According to AUBERT, B.; CATSKY, J. The effects were studied of 4 different R.H. values on banana leaf segments at a moderate light intensity. After a time lag of about 25 min. the rate of opening of stdmata increased as R.H. decreased. At a R.H. of about 43% stomatal resistance and CO2 influx oscillated rhythmically, indicating synchronization of these 2 processes. The initial water potential of about -2 atmos. decreased to -6 atmos. in leaves at 43% R.H., but did not change at 88% R.H.-Stat. cent. Biochim., Versailles.
According to Gardner, D. E. F. oxysporum f.sp. passiflorae, which causes vascular wilt of passion fruit (P. edulis f. edulis), also attacked inoculated banana poka (P. mollissima) seedlings. Other non-crop Passiflora spp. (P. ligularis and P. foetida) were susceptible, whereas P. edulis f. flavicarpa, the cultivated passion fruit in Hawaii, and P. suberosa were resistant. This work is part of an initial evaluation of possible biocontrol agents for banana poka.
According to Fogain, R.; Price, N. S. In field trials, a total of 52 varieties of Musa were tested for banana borer weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) damage by assessing the corm for galleries. Of the varieties tested, AAB plantains as a group showed the highest susceptibility, while AAA bananas generally escaped attack. The susceptibility of varieties belonging to more unusual subgroups tended to be midway between these two extremes.
According to Roche, J. An introduction to global trade in bananas is presented. Chapters cover: physical characteristics, botany, harvesting and research; production; history of world trade; imports and consumption; international companies; production in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia; the EU banana regime; the reefer business; costs and prices; how bananas are traded; and prospects for the future.
According to Mesquita, A. L. M.; Alves, E. J.; Caldas, R. C. Adults and larvae of the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) were fed on rhizome pieces of 17 banana cultivars to study feeding and oviposition preferences and effects on the life-cycle. It was concluded that adults preferred particular cultivars for feeding and oviposition. The lifecycle is influenced by the cultivar; susceptibility varies between and within genomic groups. The cultivars Figo Vermelho (Bluggoe; ABB) and Ouro (Sucrier; AA) and those of the Prato subgroup (AAB) are evidently resistant, while Nanica (AAA) and Leite (AAA) are susceptible. KEYWORDS: TROPAG | Musa | Fruit and nut crops | banana | insect pests | Cosmopolites sordidus | insect biology | life cycle | pest resistance.
According to Gowen, S. R.; Edmunds, J. E. Extraction of nematodes, usually Radopholus similis and Helicotylenchus multicinctus, from banana roots was most efficient when macerated roots were incubated at 27 to 31 deg C for 2 days in hydrogen peroxide. The optimum concentration of hydrogen peroxide was 10 ml of 30% (100 volume) solution in 1 litre of tap water. Efficiency of extraction was also affected by the weight of root processed. On a 200 cm2 sieve area more nematodes were extracted from 20 g of macerated root tissue than from 40 g.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following terms used in the study are defined for clariy and better understanding for the readers.

Banana peel - known as a banana skin in British English, is the outer covering of the banana fruit.

Plants - also called green plants, are multicellular eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae.

Molds - are a large and taxonomically diverse number of fungal species where the growth of hyphae results in discoloration and a fuzzy appearance, especially on food.

Deckle - is a removable wooden frame or "fence" used in manual papermaking.

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter describes the methods and procedures in conducting and gathering data regarding to a research titled Banana (Musa x paradisiaca) peels used as fertilizer. This includes research design, statiscal treatment, materials, procedures, data gathering and data analysis.

RESEARCH DESIGN
This study used experimental research design in order to experiment Banana (Musa x paradisiaca) peels used as fertilizer applied in different kinds of plant samples. STATISCAL TREATMENT Treatment 1 | Banana peels | 100 grams | Treatment 2 | Banana peels | 200 grams | Treatment 3 | Banana peels | 300 grams |

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT * Banana peels * Tray for the oven

PROCEDURES
Place a tray in the oven and lay banana peels on it. Place the banana peels on the tray with the outer skin facing down so that they don't stick to the tray. Leave the tray with the banana peels in the oven when you cook other food. Save energy by piggy-backing on your normal oven usage. Don't turn the oven on just to roast the banana peels. Just leave the tray in the oven until you're cooking something else. After the banana peels are cool, break them up and store them in an airtight container. Use as a fertilizer. Spread the banana peel mulch around houseplants and garden plants. The cooked peels will fertilize the plants as they break down.

DATA GATHERING
Those materials that the researcher used in this study were bought in the market and some were given by concerned people.

DATA ANALYSIS
The researcher recorded properly every part of the study, the procedures and the treatment so that she can actually analyze it in every treatment.

CHAPTER IV
Results and Discussions
This chapter dealt with the analysis, discussion and interpretation of the gathered data. The collected data were presented in the tabular and textural from and statiscally analyzed and computed in accordance with the objectives and hypothesis to find out the study of Banana peels used as fertilizer.
Table 1. Evaluation in terms of the quality in the paper made in banana peels. Treatments | 10 minutes | 15 minutes | 20 minutes | Total | Mean | T1 | | | | | | T2 | | | | | | T3 | | | | | | | | | | | | Table 2. Evaluation in terms Treatments | 5 minutes | 10 minutes | 15 minutes | Total | Mean | T1 | | | | | | T2 | | | | | | T3 | | | | | | | | | | | |

CHAPTER V
Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
This chapter presents the summary of findings, and conclusions drawn from data gathered and recommendation study.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn.

Recommendations
Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made.

Appendices

General Tabulation Treatments | 10 minutes | 15 minutes | 20 minutes | Total | Mean | Grand Mean | T1 | | | | | | | T2 | | | | | | | T3 | | | | | | | T4 | | | | | | | Total | | | | | | |

The table shows the overall results of all treatment that has been observed. It shows that treatment _ got the highest mean regarding the general tabulation, of the Banana peels used as fertilizer.