Xanthomonas Wilt on Banana

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Xanthomonas wilt threatens banana farming in East Africa

A bacterial wilt previously restricted to Ethiopia has spread to East Africa. Banana xanthomonas wilt (BXW) is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum and affects all banana types, although with varying intensity. The pathogen enters the vascular system of the plant destroying the fruit bunches and eventually killing the entire plant.
The spread of the disease threatens the livelihoods of millions of people who depend on banana as a food and income source in the Great Lakes Region – an area that boasts the highest per capita consumption of banana in the world.

This website gives information about Xanthomonas wilt on banana.
The field work for this guide was made possible with the funding extended to ASARECA /Bioversity International by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) which together with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) executed the Crop Crisis Control Project (C3P) funded by the USAID. Field testing was carried out in collaboration with National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) scientists and Caritas Community-based trainers.

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