Frequency of Organisms Associated with Crown Rot of Bananas in Integrated and Organic Production Systems

The frequency of organisms associated with crown rot of banana (PCB) in Costa Rica was compared in two banana production systems. The organisms isolated were similar to those previously described by other authors and were common to the two systems ( integrated and organic), but the frequency of recovery, overall, was higher in the integrated system. Organisms more frequently found in the integrated production system were Erwinia spp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, Fusarium proliferatum, F. semitectum, F. graminearum, other species of Fusarium, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, F. verticillioides, F. sacchari, yeasts and fungi that did not sporulate. In organic farming the highest percentage of fungi isolated were F. subglutinans, Acremonium sp. and Colletotrichum musae. F. verticillioides was only recovered in the integrated system.