Black sigatoka

Black sigatoka
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Ascomycota
Class: Dothideomycetes
Order: Capnodiales
Family: Mycosphaerellaceae
Genus: Mycosphaerella
Species:
M. fijiensis
Binomial name
Mycosphaerella fijiensis
Morelet 1963
Synonyms

Pseudocercosporella fijiensis

Black Sigatoka
Advanced lesions
Common namesBlack leaf streak
Causal agentsMycosphaerella fijiensis
HostsBanana

Black sigatoka is a leaf-spot disease of banana plants caused by the ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis (Morelet), also known as black leaf streak. It was discovered in 1963 and named for its similarities with yellow Sigatoka, which is caused by Mycosphaerella musicola (Mulder), which was itself named after the Sigatoka Valley in Fiji. In the same valley an outbreak of this disease reached epidemic proportions from 1912 to 1923.[1]

According to new terminology, the Sigatoka disease complex is a cluster of three closely related fungi: Black Sigatoka and its congeners Yellow Sigatoka (Ps. musae) and eumusae leaf spot (Ps. eumusae).[2]

Plants with leaves damaged by the disease may have up to 50% lower yield of fruit, and control can take up to 50 sprays a year.[3]

  1. ^ Marín, D. H.; Romero, R. A.; Guzmán, M.; Sutton, T. B. (2003). "Black sigatoka: An increasing threat to banana cultivation". Plant Disease. 87 (3). American Phytopathological Society (APS): 208–222. doi:10.1094/PDIS.2003.87.3.208. PMID 30812750.
  2. ^ "Sequencing of fungal disease genomes may help prevent banana armageddon". August 11, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  3. ^ "Mycosphaerella fijiensis v2.0". Joint Genome Institute, U.S. Department of Energy. 2013. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2013.