â ModerateðĐš
Pests
Banana Weevil Borers
Commonly affects: Musa acuminata, M. balbisiana (Banana)
Adult weevils chew notches in the base of the pseudostem, while larvae tunnel through the corm and stem base, causing weakened plants that can topple in wind.
Potential Causes
- 1Banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) adults laying eggs at the base of the plant
- 2Larvae tunnelling through the corm, weakening the plant's structural base
- 3Old, decaying plant material nearby providing breeding sites
Solution Steps
- 1Remove and destroy old pseudostems and corm debris after harvest, which harbour weevils
- 2Trap adults using pseudostem sections split and laid cut-side-down near plants, checking and destroying trapped weevils
- 3Plant clean, weevil-free corms or tissue-culture plantlets
- 4Mound soil around the base to make egg-laying more difficult
Prevention Tip
Clearing old plant debris after harvest removes the breeding sites weevils need to build up damaging populations.
