Bacterial Leaf Spot and Necrosis Disease of Banana

Banana is one of the important fruit in tropical humid areas. In Iran it grows under plastic cover in the Mazandaran and Golestan provinces. Bacterial leaf spot and necrosis disease of banana have been reported from these provinces. Symptoms of this disease are seen as necrotic spots on central young leaves. Spreading these spots, the diseased leaves become completely rotten and the plant growth will stop. Causal pathogen is the bacterium, Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum, which produces yellow mucoid colony. This is agram-negative, non-fluorescent, oxidase negative and catalase positive bacterium. Pathogenicity test of bacterium can be proven by its inoculation to banana leaves. Disease symptoms, sampling, isolation and methods of pathogenicity test of the bacterium, and disease management have been described in detail.