Prácticas culturales para el manejo de la Sigatoka negra en bananos y plátanos

Black sigatoka (Mycosphaerella fijiensis) control consists in the continuous use of fungicide sprays and cultural practices. Cultural control reduces inoculum sources of the pathogen and favorable environmental conditions for its development, as well as it increases the vigor of the plants. In order to manage the disease it is necessary to know its behavior through the time, its relationship with the weather and the crop management. The most important cultural practice to reduce the inoculum source is the removal of the whole affected leaves or only the diseased portions of the leaves. The removed tissue is placed over the ground and the use of urea is feasible to accelerate its decomposition. An alternative practice is the "mini-composting" that consists in forming small heaps with the dead leaves and harvested plants for its quick degradation, which allows to reduce the pathogen inoculum and to incorporate nutrients and organic matters into the soil. The early pruning of the tips of the Young leaves before they show symptoms of the disease and the quick elimination of harvested plants reduce the inoculum. Also, the agronomic management of the crop helps to reduce the favorable conditions and to increase the vigor of the plants: this management considers plantation density, drainage systems, irrigation methods, control of weeds, chemical-biological fertilization, and nematode control.