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Pests
Thrips on Banana Plants
Commonly affects: Musa acuminata, M. balbisiana (Banana)
Silvery streaks and small dark specks (frass) appear on leaves and fruit skin, with fruit sometimes developing a rough, scarred surface.
Potential Causes
- 1Thrips feeding on leaf and fruit surfaces, rasping the tissue
- 2Warm, dry conditions favouring thrips population growth
- 3Nearby infested plants seeding new populations
Solution Steps
- 1Use blue or yellow sticky traps to monitor and reduce adult thrips
- 2Apply insecticidal soap or spinosad-based treatment for active infestations
- 3Remove heavily damaged leaves to reduce the population reservoir
- 4Bag developing fruit bunches in perforated plastic sleeves to protect from scarring
Prevention Tip
Bagging developing fruit bunches is standard commercial practice specifically to prevent thrips scarring on the fruit skin.
