- Kanjarai leaf spot disease is a fungal disease affecting banana varieties such as robusta, gros michale, sandana valai, nali poovan, rasthali, karpooravali, monthan and grand naine.
- It is caused by the fungus Mycospharella musicola and is prevalent in many states of Tamil Nadu.
- It begins as a narrow spindle shaped light yellow or brown coloured streaks on the leaf lamina parallel to the veins. This gradually enlarges into linear, oblong brown to black spots.
- The central portion then undergoes necrosis (cell death), gets surrounded by a dark brown band which is then surrounded by a yellow halo.
- Emergence of several such spots leads to death of the leaves, reducing the photosynthetic area and thus the yield.
- The disease spreads rapidly during conditions of humid weather and rainfall.
- Fields without proper drainage, closer spacing, heavy weed or grasscover, frequent irrigation and failure to remove suckers increase the relative humidity spreading the disease more rapidly.
- Depending upon the severity of the disease, one of the 4 fungicides can be sprayed on the lower surface of the leaves:
- Carbendazim at l gm/lt.
- Propiconazole at 1 gm/lt
- Mancozeb at 2 gm/lt
- Chlorothalonil at 2 gm a lit at 20 days interval.
- Wetting agents such as teepol or sandovit at one ml / litre of water should be added to the fungicide before spray.
- Read at:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-sci-tech-and-agri/kanjarai-leaf-spot-management-in-banana/article6265770.ece