Can an improved nutrition with foliar applications of mineral nutrient better help banana plants to prevent black sigatoka (bs) and post-harvest disease (phd) development ?
CONTEXT
Role of nutrition in plant-pathogen interactions
- Excessive potassium in French West Indies banana crop soils ==> K accumulation is antagonistic to the assimilation of Mg, Ca or B.
- Mineral nutrients = key factors for plant growth but also for plant-pathogen interactions
- Variable responses of Mg in banana-pathogen interaction :
– Decreased severity of yellow sigatoka when banana plants deficient in K, N, P, S or Mg in controlled conditions
– Lower percentage of infection of BS in areas where banana leaves contained lower Mg, high N, P, K, Ca, B and Zn
– Reduction of BS symptoms at harvest with foliar fertilization but non significant at vegetative phase or flowering
