Recent advances in the control of crown rot of banana in the Windward Islands

This review gives an account of control approaches used against the crown rot disease complex of banana in the Windward Islands during the past 20 yr. Fungicide-impregnated pads which were unique to the islands and offered advantages to the smallholder production system were replaced by a mini wet-pack in which bananas are dip-treated in a fungicide suspension, a procedure which was less error-prone. Neither method effected consistent disease control and was acceptable in terms of worker safety and environmental protection. Several regional R&D activities towards improved and environmentally friendly crown rot control are presented. They include cultural methods, physical methods: mode of fungicide application, natural chemicals as alternatives to synthetic fungicides and biological control. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd, All rights reserved.