THE PANAMA DISEASE OF BANANAS, OR 

 BANANA WILT 



AN important paper by Dr. E. W. Brandes was published 

 in Phytopathology, September, 1919, recording his investi- 

 gations, and the results obtained, with regard to the 

 " Panama disease " of bananas, which he prefers to call 

 u banana wilt." Selections from this paper were published 

 in the Agricultural News for February 21, March 6, and 

 March 20, 1920. 



After referring to the importance of banana cultivation 

 in Central America and the West Indies, Dr. Brandes 

 describes briefly the methods of cultivation. He then 

 alludes to the variation in the ability of the disease to 

 attack different varieties of bananas. It is a curious fact 

 that, in any particular region, this disease attacks most 

 severely, and sometimes exclusively, the variety which 

 is there most esteemed, and therefore most widely planted. 

 It is also interesting to note that varieties which are 

 strongly attacked in one country appear to be resistant 

 in another, although the disease may be present in great 

 abundance on some other variety. 



The reasons given for preferring the name " banana 

 wilt," as applied to this disease, in place of " Panama 

 disease " are stated to be (1) that the disease is by no 

 means confined to Panama, but is widespread in the 

 American tropics; and (2) that it is very similar both in 

 symptoms and in identity to the causal organism of the 

 well-known " cotton wilt," " okra wilt," " tomato wilt," 

 etc., and therefore the name " banana wilt "is in accord- 

 ance with the best usage among plant pathologists. 



It was in Panama and Costa Rica that the disease first 

 attracted wide attention on account of its destructive 



283 



