BANANA BUNCHY TOP VIRUS (BBTV) Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) moves from plant to plant by aphids. It stunts leaves, resulting in a "bunched" appearance. Generally, an infected plant does not produce fruit, although mild strains exist which allow for some production. These mild strains are often mistaken for malnourishment, or a disease other than BBTV. There is no cure. However, its effect can be minimized by planting only tissue-cultured plants (in vitro propagation), controlling aphids, and immediately removing and destroying infected plants.
BANANA BACTERIAL WILT Banana Bacterial Wilt (BBW) is a bacterial disease caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum. After being originally identified on a close relative of bananas, Ensete ventricosum, in Ethiopia in the 1960s, BBW occurred in Uganda in 2001 affecting all banana cultivars. Since then, BBW has been diagnosed in Central and East Africa, including the banana growing regions of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and Uganda.
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