Comparative studies on chemical, hot and cold water treatments of banana suckers to control the banana weevil, Cosmopolites sordid us and the effect of paring suckers on banana nematodes in Uganda

Abstract

Chemical, bot and cold-water treatments were evaluated for effectiveness in cleaning banana suckers of weevils.
Preliminar ily, the effectiveness of paring suckers on removal of weevils and nematodes from banana suckers was validated.
Res ults indicated a 36.6%, 67.9% and 96.3% reduction of larvae in corms treated with cold water, hot water and Chlorpyrifos
(Dursban) respectively. Use ofDursban at a rate of 1.5 cc in a litre of water and soaking for one hour was recommended as
the best of the three meth ods for cleaning banana suckers. A test carried out to establish the dec:lining rate of efficiency
over successive use of the same solution indicated that the solution does not loose potency, hence can be re-used until the
volume cannot subm·erge suckers any more. With regard to paring alone, there was a 95% reduction of weevil eggs in pared
suckers. The number of larvae recorded from unpared suckers was significantly higher than that recovered from pared
suckers. No nematodes were recovered from pared suckers while both R. similis and H. multicinctus nematodes were
recovered in high numbers from unpared suckers.