Kill Banana Tree

There are many things out there that can kill banana tree plants and cause devastation to banana plantations. You have probably heard names such as Panama wilt disease, Banana bunchy top, Sigatoka, and Black leaf streak (black sigatoka) and read about the problems that nematodes, fungi, viruses and bacteria have caused, and continue to cause, for countries where the economy relies heavily on banana production and export.

The most famous banana killer is probably the dreaded Panama wilt disease that viciously attacked the extremely popular banana cultivar known as Gros Michel during the mid 20th century. At the advent of the 1900s, virtually all bananas produced for the export market were of the Gros Michel since this banana can be stored and shipped to non-tropical nations without going bad during the journey. By 1960, Gros Michel has nearly been eradicated and banana growers were forced to look around for a possible substitute. Today, a majority of the exported bananas are instead Cavendish bananas. A new strain of Panama wilt has however emerged and proven potent enough to attack Cavendish bananas as well.   

Kill banana tree using kerosene

Since bananas are such an important food crop world wide, diseased bananas are normally killed as soon as an infestation is detected in order to prevent the spread of disease. Banana tree plants are amazingly resilient and once they have been established in a favorable environment and simply cutting them down will certainly not kill them. As long as the rhizome is alive and the soil temperature is high enough, it will continue to send up new pseudostems.

One way to kill banana tree is to use kerosene. Kerosene, also known as paraffin oil, is a colorless flammable hydrocarbon liquid commonly used as heating fuel. If your banana plant is taller than 1 meter, you will need at least 200 ml of kerosene to kill it. Pour the kerosene into the banana plant at the growing point. If your plant is smaller than 1 m, 100 ml will be enough, and 50 ml is normally sufficient to kill suckers. Kerosene will kill banana tree by pouring down into the plant tissues and destroy them. In most cases, your banana plant will be dead within 5-7 days. Kerosene is popular since it is cheap, readily available (especially in third world countries) and capable of killing not only the banana plant but also any aphids that may be hiding in the plant. When your banana tree is dead, dig out the rhizome and cut it into several pieces, otherwise it will regenerate. Many banana farmers chose to burn the rhizome to be on the safe side.