Banana freckle

Banana freckle is a fungal disease of banana leaves and fruit.

There is no risk to human health from eating banana freckle infected bananas.

It's a declared pest under Northern Territory (NT) Plant Health Act 2008.

The fungus is exotic to Australia and affects Cavendish and other varieties of bananas.

Banana freckle is a serious threat to the banana industry for commercial production as well as backyard growers.

The disease decreases plant health and productivity by reducing the amount of healthy leaf area, and affects fruit quality and appearance. This is of concern to the banana industry as it can impact production costs and marketability of fruit.

Property checks underway

Plant biosecurity inspectors are currently checking properties for banana plants, and signs of the disease around the greater Darwin and rural areas.

This includes properties close where the disease has been found.

If you receive a letter or reminder from the National Banana Freckle Response team, you can contact them to organise a suitable time for a plant health inspector to visit your property. Email bananafreckle.nt@nt.gov.au or call 08 8999 2136.

All properties close to where the disease has been found are being checked for banana plants.

If no evidence of the disease is found on your property, your plants won't be destroyed.

Appearance

Key characteristics of banana freckle include:

  • 'sandpapery feeling' spots, mainly on leaves and fruit
  • very small to large spots (1 to 4mm) and dark brown to black in colour
  • spots running together to form streaks
  • yellowing of the leaf, which can wither and die.

Spread

The fungal pathogen causing banana freckle is considered a ‘wet spore’ fungus. This means it lives well in water. It generally moves short distances by water droplet splashes and wind-driven rain.

The fungus is spread over larger distances by people moving infected fruit, leaves and suckers used for planting.

How to report

If you think you have seen banana freckle in the NT:

Submit a sample

You can submit a specimen for identification to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade (DITT).

To find out how to submit a sample, go to the DITT website.

More information

Read:

For information on managing banana freckle, go to the Australian Banana Growers’ Council website.

For biosecurity alerts and updates, go to the Biosecurity NT Facebook page.


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