The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), in alliance with the Faculty of Agronomy of the Central University of Venezuela (FAGRO-UCV), the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC), and Venezuela's Musaceae Network (MUSAVEN), strengthened Venezuela's capacity to face the advance of the Fusarium Tropical race 4 (R4T) fungus, which seriously threatens the global cultivation of bananas. In Venezuela, the sudden wilt in Musaceae has had an impact on banana production since 2006.
During 2022, the Global Alliance against R4T, whose mission is to support the banana sector in the face of the challenges of the disease, accompanied the country in its fight against this disease with support from IICA.
A study on the situation of sudden withering in Musaceae in the country detected the presence of diseased plants with symptoms (yellowing of leaves, necrosis, and withering) in the eight production units sampled in the states of Aragua and Carabobo. The organisms causing the symptoms observed are Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense, predominant in most of the samples analyzed; Ralstonia solanacearum; and a bacteria that causes soft rot, which could be Pectobacterium carotovorum or Dickeya paradisiaca.
"The Global Alliance against R4T helped us build a work team in Venezuela that designed the sampling, involving the National Institute of Integral Agricultural Health (INSAI) and the UCV. This allowed us to start isolations and sequencing, and we'll soon start identifying the genetic fingerprint of the pathogens. We are on our way to identifying all the microorganisms involved in banana wilting in Venezuela and we hope to extend the sampling throughout the country," stated Edgloris Marys Sarabia, Head of the Biotechnology and Plant Virology Laboratory at IVIC.
"We're happy with the results because we found out that the aforementioned pathogens are involved in that sudden wilt of the bananas. The diagnosis was totally harmonious with the Andean Community's guidance. We studied several of the manuals and designed a system for sampling that was the initial part of the diagnosis,” stated Yonis Hernandez, head of Phytopathology at FAGRO-UCV.
According to experts, due to the complexity and the time required to introduce new resistant or tolerant varieties, the best way to combat Fusarium withering -a disease that cannot be eradicated-is to avoid its spread. Prevention through the use of certified plant material, quarantine controls, and conducting periodic surveys is the most effective way to combat the disease.
Due to the strategic importance of bananas as a food and income of family agriculture, it is necessary to strengthen the country's capacity to prevent, diagnose, monitor, and contain fungal outbreaks, as well as to raise awareness and disseminate information among agricultural communities.
Source: iica.int