A New Way of Reducing Banana Crown Rot by Male Bud Removal

Dessert bananas are one of the most important fruit crops for global food security. Unfortunately, they face numerous phytopathogens, including Fusarium spp. and Colletotrichum musae , which cause post‐harvest diseases. Several sources of contamination have been identified in the field and storage facilities. However, no study had yet been conducted on vascular contamination through ascending necrosis from the floral stalk tip. The aim of this study was to assess how stalk necrosis affects crown rot development, and to propose a new stalk cutting method to reduce this post‐harvest disease. In our first experiment, we isolated a pathogenic strain belonging to the Fusarium solani species complex (FSSC) from the tip of the stalk, internal stalk tissues and crown rot lesions, suggesting a previously undescribed pathway of vascular contamination from the floral stalk to the fruit crown. The second experiment showed that a new “umbrella cut” treatment of the male bud significantly limited the development of stalk necrosis and, consequently, pathogen ascent toward the crown. This new cutting method was found to improve fruit resistance to FSSC isolate CIRAD no. 5 and C. musae , with reductions in internal crown rot of 38% and 25%, respectively. In addition, total phenolic content was significantly higher (+27%) in the fruit peel subjected to this cutting method, contributing to the lower susceptibility of fruits to crown rot pathogens. These findings suggest that the proposed “umbrella cut” treatment represents a simple, low‐cost and effective strategy to reduce post‐harvest diseases in dessert bananas, without generating negative externalities for production systems or the environment.