94 THE BANANA 



approach the stem connected by wrinkles ; stem J-f in. 

 long, thin, compressed. It has been known in Jamaica and 

 Trinidad for some years. A planter in Jamaica, who has 

 had great experience, writes as follows : " I am of opinion 

 that this disease only makes its appearance upon young 

 plants that are growing on very poor or water-logged land. 

 I have seen it in my fields repeatedly, but it has no 

 detrimental effect on healthy plants. The sucker that it 

 makes its appearance on is generally a weak one, which 

 in any case would not be kept to come to maturity. The 

 disease seems harmless, as I find it plentiful in my banana 

 walks upon such suckers as have suffered injury, but it 

 does not attack the strong, healthy ones. Personally, I 

 have no fear of its doing material damage." 



Outbreaks of the Surinam Panama disease * occurred in 

 Jamaica in 1911, but the disease was promptly suppressed, 

 and has not made its appearance since. In one case the 

 plants, after being cut down, were chopped up and treated 

 with heavy dressings of lime ; in another case the plants 

 were destroyed by fire. According to the Infectious Diseases 

 of Plants Law all bananas within a distance of twenty-two 

 yards of any diseased plant must also be destroyed ; and 

 the infected land must be surrounded by a fence sufficiently 

 strong to prevent people passing through, and to keep out 

 straying animals. All instruments used on the diseased 

 plants are disinfected by fire, and no banana plants may 

 be grown on the land for a certain time until there is no 

 risk from resting spores which may infect the land. 



Other diseases of the banana have been observed since 

 January 1911 : one, a rot of the heart-leaves, was sup- 

 pressed by cutting away the infected portion, and spraying 

 with Bordeaux Mixture ; another, caused by a fungus 

 attacking the roots and outer portion of the bulb, and 

 carried by cutlass infection from plant to plant, was quickly 

 put down ; a third, the " banana spot disease," spread so 

 rapidly that very prompt measures had to be taken, and 

 the plants were destroyed by fire. No botanical examina- 

 * Ann. Rep. Dept, Agric., Jamaica, 1912. 



