COMPARATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF THREE SYSTEMIC FUNGICIDES ON THE FUNGI RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CAVENDISH SUBGROUP GRANDE NAINE BANANA POST-HARVEST DISEASES IN COTE D IVOIRE.

Post-harvest diseases reduce the market value of bananas and cause huge losses of production intended for export; despite the application of various antifungal molecules in post-harvest treatment. In order to help improve banana quality and reduce the number of fungicidal molecules to be used in chemical treatment, a study on the sensitivity of fungal strains responsible for post-harvest diseases to three systemic fungicides was conducted in C?te d?Ivoire. For two years, the sensitivity of Botryodiplodia sp., Colletotrichum sp., Fusarium sp. and Musicullium sp. isolates to fungicidal molecules of Azoxystrobin, Boscalid and Imazalil at the recommended doses of 1200 ppm, 300 ppm and 500 ppm respectively, was tested in vitro on PDA medium and in vivo on Grande Naine banana. The Imazalil molecule inhibited more the growth of the different fungi under controlled conditions. In vivo, bananas inoculated with Botryodiplodia sp. and Fusarium sp. isolates but not treated with fungicides developed crown rot. Colletotrichum sp. and Musicillium sp. isolates caused epicarp necrosis and distal end rot, respectively, in bananas not treated with fungicides. The bananas inoculated with fungi and treated with Boscalid and Azoxystrobin developed symptoms of post-harvest diseases. However, the bananas inoculated with the different fungi and treated with Imazalil showed no symptoms of post-harvest disease. Imazalil alone is effective against the fungi responsible for postharvest diseases of Grande Naine banana in storage intended for export.