Relación entre nematodos y la productividad del banano (Musa AAA) en Ecuador

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of nematodes on banana production. In 6 ha of a commercial banana farm in Ecuador, 110 suckers with a height of 1.5-1.75 m, from plants that had recently flowered, were sampled for root and nematode estimation in 2007. Roots were washed, weighed, and blended, and nematodes were recovered in a 0.025 mm sieve, expressing the population as number per 100 g of roots. At harvest of the mother plant, bunch weight, number of hands and the average calibration of the three central fruits of the outer row of fruits in the second hand were registered. With the exception of plant grouping by number of R. similis, the weight of functional roots was always correlated (r> 0.94; P< 0.0068) with total root weight. Independently of the plant grouping, the number of R. similis was alwayss correlated (r> 0.84; P< 0.0217) with total nematodes. When plants were grouped by total root weight, R. similis (r= 0.86; P= 0.0287) and total nematodes (r= 0.89; P= 0.0156) correlated with the number of hands per bunch. Total (r= -0.98; P= 0.0028) and functional (r=-0.96; P= 0.0080) root weight decreased as R. similis number increased when follower suckers were grouped by the R. similis numbers. Further research is encouraged relating the nematode population from banana plants, close to, or just at flower bud differentiation with its respective yield. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]