This document summarizes the tip over disease of banana, caused by the bacteria Pectobacterium carotovorum sub sp. carotovorum. The disease causes soft rotting of the rhizome and suckers, resulting in stunted growth and yellow leaves. In severe cases, the whole plant can topple over. It is prevalent in areas with hot, damp conditions. Management strategies include using disease-free suckers, removing infected plants, and applying chemicals like copper oxychloride or antibiotics to disinfect the soil.

1. TIP OVER DISEASE OF BANANA
STUDENT COURSE TEACHER
Boopathi.N Dr.Parthasarathy.S
2015021021 Asst.Prof.,(Plant Pathology)

2. Disease Name: Tip Over Disease of Banana
Other Names : Rhizome Rot or Head rot or Erwinia Wilt
Pathogen name:
Erwinia carotovora sub sp. carotovora (now renamed
Pectobacterium carotovorum sub sp.carotovorum),
possibly in association with Erwinia chrysanthemi.
Inventor:
Wardlaw (1950)

3. Systematic position
Kingdom: Bacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria
Class: Gammaproteobacteria
Order: Enterobacteriales
Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: Erwinia
Species: E. carotovora

4. History
 Wardlaw (1950) for the first time reported the bacterial
nature of bacterial head rot or rhizome rot of banana
from Honduras.

5. Economic significance
 Rhizome rot is a disease caused by bacteria in
banana. The disease is prevalent through out Kerala.
 The affected plants show discoloration and soft
rotting of rhizomes and suckers.
 In severe cases toppling of the whole plant can
happen.
 Therefore, appropriate management strategy should
be adopted to control the disease.

6. Distribution
 The two Erwinia species found associated with the
wilt occur worldwide, but the disease is not widely
reported.
 The disease is reported from Australia, the Federated
States of Micronesia, Palau and Marshall Islands.

7. Pathogen characters
 The pathogen is a Gram-
negative bacterium with
peritrichous flagella and it is
a rod shaped bacterium that
lives alone or aggregates
into pairs and chains.

8.  The pathogen is soil borne.
 The causal bacteria invade the rhizome directly after
planting via wounds or decaying leaf sheathes around
the central bud and cause the damage.
 The disease can be spread by infected plant debris,
plant wounds and injuries.
Infection and spread

9. Symptoms
 Affected plants show discolouration and soft rotting of
rhizomes and suckers.
 They have scanty roots with dark brown lesions and
necrotic tips.
 The entire roots get blackended and rotted.
 Badly affected plants remain stunted with water-soaked,
discoloured leaf sheath bases and yellow leaf blades
which give scorched appearance.

10. Crown rottening Drying of leaves
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11. Soft rotting of suckers
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12. Splitting of pseudostem Yellowish to reddish ooze
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13.  Pockets of dark water soaked areas and cavities develop
in the rhizome
 Small sized fruits are produced which may fail to emerge
from the shoot tip
 Newly planted rhizomes rot and fail to sprout
 On close examination, a soft blackened ring is seen on the
pseudostem at the soil level
 The pseudostem tips over, breaking across the rotted
portion, particularly at the ground level

14. Favourable conditions
 Hot and damp weather with plenty of rainfall trigger
the disease to occur.
 Water is required for the bacteria to invade into the
plant.

15. Management
Cultural method
 Good drainage and soil conditioning can control the disease to
some extent.
 Plant disease free suckers.
 Remove infected plants immediately.
 Remove plant residues after harvest.
 Avoid planting during rainy season and use of bigger suckers
(more than 500g) for planting.

16.  Practice crop rotation. Banana should not be grown
along with onion and other vegetables.
 Control nematodes and other insect pests that serve
as vectors of the bacteria to invade the plant tissues.
 Use of rhizomes with dead central buds and active
lateral buds prevents the appearance of the disease.
 Leave soil fallow for 6 months, especially in
summer.

17. Chemical Methods
 Disinfect the area with bleaching powder 0.1% (1g/L)
solution.
 Disinfect the irrigation water with bleaching powder 0.1%
(1g/L) solution.
 Spread bleaching powder or 10 % fresh cow dung slurry
(100g/L) in the banana basin.
 Drench soil with Bordeaux mixture 1% or copper
oxychloride 0.4% (4g/L).

18.  Before planting, treat suckers with copper
oxychloride 0.4% (4g/L) 30 minutes.
 Drench soil with antibiotics like Streptomycin /
Streptocycline 500ppm (500mg/L).

19. References
 https://www.ijcmas.com/6-6-
2017/V.%20Thiyagarajan,%20et%20al.pdf
 https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/8fa5/c82ec4df91c215
9c4061b125bc47275bd02d.pdf
 http://farmextensionmanager.com/English/Banana%2
0technology%20bank/pest%20doctor/Rhizome%20R
ot.html