Laboratory observations reveal that resistant banana cultivars cause larva mortality in a weevil pest, suggesting natural pest control potential.
In commercial banana (Musa paradisiaca) plantations with diverse cultivars, the banana psuedostem borer Odoiporus longicollis (Olivier) did not deposit their eggs, in pest resistant cultivars. In laboratory conditions, the weevils laid eggs on the pieces of pseudostem of pest resistant cultivar (topically applied with crushed juice of pest resistant banana cultivars), but did not hatch. The resistant cultivars contained very high contents of phenols, flavanoids and elevated activity of phenylalanine ammonia lyase, polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase caused allelopathy in endophytic larvae. Cytopathological changes in the hemocytes and major changes in protein profile on fourth day caused larva mortality. Banana cultivars with very low contents of phenols and flavanoids and related enzymes were susceptible to this pest. Application of urea fertilizer to banana cultivars lowered the contents of phenols and flavonoids due to the dilution effect.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Kavitha et al. (2020) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: