Richard Ha writes:
We are seeing a real problem with Banana Bunchy Top Virus, which I wrote about here.
The number of cases we are seeing around town is alarming. This is on Kawailani Street in Hilo. The Department of Agriculture has been notified.
This is on Komohana St. in Hilo.
If you see the virus, call the Department of Agriculture.
A guest post by Lynn Paul Richardson:
Pressure on banana farmers, due to the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV), has been steadily increasing over the past four years in East Hawaii. At first, we would rarely see an infection. One infection every three months at our farm in Kurtistown was manageable. There were no cases visible from the main public roads between Kurtistown and Hilo.
Two years ago I began to notice infections in the Kea‘au village area. Most were on the edges of papaya farms, with a few in nearby yards. Papaya farmers often grow a few banana mats on the edges of their fields for home use. We have been educating these farmers about the importance of treating and destroying the infected plants.
Since the beginning of this year, 2014, there has been a large increase in infected plants in homeowners' yards in Kurtistown, Kea‘au and Hilo. These infections also are increasing in subdivisions such as Paradise Park.
WE NOW FIND AND TREAT THREE TO FIVE INFECTIONS ON OUR FARM EVERY WEEK.
BBTV was discovered in Australia 100 years ago. Their method of control is the ONLY successful BBTV control program that exists today. Government inspectors monitor for the disease on a continuous basis. They are allowed to treat BBTV whenever and wherever they find it.
Homeowners are only allowed to plant bananas where they can be seen from the public roadways. All persons must obtain certificates stating that banana plants are disease free before they can be moved to new locations. This keeps the disease pressure low on farmers and hobbyists. Wild bananas are destroyed to prevent them from becoming reservoirs for BBTV.
If Hawaii fails to create an effective BBTV control program, only farms with large buffer zones will be possible in the not-too-distant future. Backyard patches will fail at increasingly higher rates until they no longer produce.
As farmers, we think it would be wise to copy what Australia has been doing successfully. We do not need to reinvent the wheel and risk failure.
It may be possible to create a genetically modified banana that can resist BBTV. The drawback would be the loss of the many cultivars Hawaii currently enjoys, as the economics would dictate that only a few varieties could be saved through GMO technology. Banana farmers would prefer the non-GMO method.
Lynn Paul Richardson
Richard Ha writes:
We've noticed an uptick lately in the number of banana plants in and around Hilo town that are affected with the banana bunchy top virus (BBTV). Banana farmers are constantly watching for this, and lately we are seeing more of it.
We brought up this disturbing trend with Scott Enright, who is chair of the Department of Agriculture. Kamran Fujimoto had been concentrating on BBTV, but recently he has been focusing on fire ants and coconut rhinocerous beetle and traveling to O‘ahu.
Banana farmers have a tradition of being proactive. Lynn Richardson, who is a veteran banana farmer, had made a BBTV page on Facebook.
We would much rather be proactive and keep the disease under control than need to seek a GMO solution. Australia has a successful BBTV control program going, but it does have a law in place that allows inspectors to go into a person's yard to eradicate infected plants.
Our banana farmers report new infections as they see them, but we have been losing ground lately and it is a big concern.
Scott Enright listened to the banana growers and he immediately assigned two people to work with Kamran. Scott is not one to fool around. He moves fast.
Here I am, pulling my shift at the Banana Bunchy Top Virus Patrol booth at the recent County Fair.
An example of Banana Bunchy Top Virus. Each successive leaf is shorter than the one before. Before we brought this to the fair, we make sure to eradicate all the aphids. BBTV is spread either by planting infected plants or by the banana aphid.
A lost baby goat being carried back to its mama.
Young Tarring is a second-generation banana farmer. His dad Mike Tarring and I started growing bananas at about the same time.
And re: this question….
The answer is: Me, at 960-1057.
Richard Ha writes:
Incidents of Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) have been increasing in this past year.
Fortunately, the Department of Agriculture has filled the slot that became open when Kyle Onuma retired. Kyle did an incredible job with the resources he had.
Now Kamran Fujimoto has been placed in Kyle’s slot. He is good! It’s been just a few weeks since Kamran came on board, and he’s already treated 14 BBTV sites in the Hilo area, consisting of 38 banana clumps and 167 infected plants.
This video describes the disease, and the method of control.
“Three Minutes on Banana Bunch Top Virus: What You Need to Know”
Once the Hilo area is done, Kamran will turn his attention to the Kea‘au/Puna area. The BIBGA will help Kamran do a survey of the subdivisions. We will be sure to notify the community associations to coordinate.
Also, the Big Island Banana Growers is planning an education
program about the virus. It will consist of printed materials, social media, County Fair info and working with people who supply or sell banana plants. If you see an infected plant, call the Department of Agriculture at 974-4145.
People seeking banana keiki should make sure that the source
is not infected. Be especially careful when sourcing from the Kea‘au/Puna area. We are finding that many new infected plantings are originating from there.
Our approach is a collaborative one, and we are very grateful to homeowners who have been willing to help us. This is not only beneficial to commercial growers – if we work hard at eradication, homeowners will be able to continue raising bananas. If not, bananas will become very hard to grow at home.
O‘ahu is a good example of runaway BBTV in neighborhoods. Commercial growers are still growing bananas there, but for some homeowners, growing their own bananas is becoming only a memory.
This video, “Bananas at Risk in Kea‘au, Hawai‘i,” was taken just a short time ago, but the land has been bulldozed since.
The plants there must be eradicated, though, or the land will continue to serve as a reservoir from which BBTV can be spread.
A fellow banana farmer recently told me of an infestation of the Bunchy Banana Top Virus in Hilo.
I drove by to look and sure enough, most of the bananas at that site were infected.
If you see this symptom on banana plants, please call Kyle Onuma at the State of Hawaii’s Department of Agriculture.
Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) is one of the most serious diseases of banana. Once established, it is extremely difficult to eradicate or manage. BBTV is widespread in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Taiwan, most of the South Pacific islands, and parts of India and Africa. BBTV does not occur in Central or South America. In Hawaii, BBTV was first observed in 1989 and is now widely established on Oahu. In 1995 it was discovered in the Kona area of the island of Hawaii, and in 1997 it was found on the island of Kauai.
The virus is spread from plant to plant by aphids and from place to place by people transporting planting materials obtained from infected plants. There is no cure for BBTV. Some banana varieties, like the Cavendish types, are more readily infected with the virus, but no variety of banana is resistant. Banana plants that show symptoms rarely bear fruit, and because they are reservoirs of the virus, they must be destroyed. BBTV is a serious threat to Hawaii’s banana industry and to the productivity of banana plantings in home gardens…. Read the rest here
Banana Bunchy Top is a very serious banana virus. It adds another layer of cost to banana farming.
We need to renew our vigilance.
