Pre-planting treatments for management of banana fusarium wilt

Fusarium wilt is one of major constraints of Indonesian banana production. Land management before planting was objected to reduce Fusarium inocula in the soil and wilt incidence, and improve banana growth. Research has been conducted from 2005 to 2007 at Aripan experimental farm, where was naturally-heavily infested by tropical race 4 of F. oxysporum f.sp. cubense. Experiment was arranged in a randomized block design with four replications. Treatments were 1) solarization: plots were covered with transparent polyethylene plastic for 10 months, 2) rotation with maize: plots were planted with two periods of maize, 3) bare: no crop for 10 months, and 4) control: continuous planting of banana. Maize rotation and baring condition reduced Fusarium population in the soil, but could not escape from fusarium wilt of banana. Continuous planting of banana retained the population of fusarium in the soil. Solarization increased soil temperature until 52.35oC, which consequently suppressed Fusarium population in the soil, and reduced fusarium wilt incidence on banana. Fusarium wilt emerged at three months after planting on plot previously rotated with two periods of maize, bare for 10 months, and continuous planting of banana, while solarization was able to delay the disease emergence until six months. The first-three treatments resulted in logarithmic trend of disease development and reached peak at six months after planting, while the last treatment performed linier development until the end of observation. Among the treatments, solarization was the only treatment that produced yield.