Dominica intensifies Black Sigatoka fight

Effects of Black Sigatoka

Banana fields across Dominica will be sprayed with fungicide as Dominica steps up it battle against the deadly Black Sigatoka disease.

Head of the Plant Protection and Quarantine Services, Ryan Anselm, said spraying is expected to begin early next week.

“Together with other banana companies including Fair Trade and DAPEX, we have trained the farmers in the identification and management of Black Sigatoka. The farmers are complying with the measures so in that case we are going to use this opportunity to use a fungicide to manage the disease,” he said.

Several measures have already been put in place to combat Black Sigatoka, which was detected on the island last month. Some of these measures include the de-leafing of banana and plantain trees and the destruction of abandoned fields, among others.

Anselm said government has activated an emergency task force and implemented regional field coordinators in different agricultural regions to look at the management structures of the disease.

He is also calling on farmers to be proactive and adhere to all practices mandated by the ministry to combat Black Sigatoka.

Black Sigatoka is a leaf spot disease of bananas and plantains that can cut a tree’s fruit production by 50 percent.

Government has estimated that it will cost $5-million to combat it.

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6 Comments

  1. love
    August 14, 2012

    true that

  2. lcm
    August 13, 2012

    Not sure the rainy season is best time to spray.

  3. August 11, 2012

    BE PROACTIVE! nice fancy words those days words means a lot. Am I the only one who remember when spraying of all banana fields across Dominica was mandatory? regardless of who owns it or weather it was two banana trees or a thousand. Correct me if I am wrong and do not understand the meaning of such a word,”PROACTIVE”. BASE on my understanding of the word I think spraying of our banana field in those days were proactive measures against such infestations. It goes to show how “REACTIVE” a society we have become. I rest my case.

  4. huh?
    August 11, 2012

    so that means agriculture balance about $4 million more from the budget

    • hmm 1
      August 12, 2012

      was just thinking of that too

  5. Doc.Love
    August 11, 2012

    Here we go again,the Skerrit Labor Government has activated an emergency task force, I understood that neither Mr. Clayton Shillingford nor Mr. Edison James was contacted. Please leave the politics out of this predisaster. We need the two men mentioned above plus Mr.Ambrose George and Mr. Martin on that task force.

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