Assessment of an Integrated Risk Tool to Aid Management of Fusarium Wilt of Bananas

Abstract

Banana producers worldwide face escalating threats from Fusarium wilt of banana Tropical Race 4 (TR4). To help banana growers in assessing and managing the disease risk we developed a participatory, scenario-based decision support tool.
The decision tool integrates agronomic production factors together with knowledge of grower motivation, using five management principles: prevention, protection, inoculum reduction, resistance, and people management, across four different disease threat scenarios. The decision tool was developed in an iterative process, that resulted in an Excel based scoring tool. A pilot study was conducted with 61 banana growers (Australia n=22; Philippines n=21; Indonesia n=18), which captured scenario selection (1-4), overall risk scores (0–100), and categorical risk ratings (low, medium, high) for each disease management principle. Results from the pilot study revealed
Australian banana growers predominantly selected scenarios 1–2 (mean scenario score 1.91 ± 0.13), where Fusarium wilt was not present on the farm and had lower mean Fusarium wilt risk scores (32 ± 2.0), reflecting strong prevention (95 ± 5 % low risk) and people management practices (81 ± 9 % low risk). Philippine growers faced widespread Fusarium wilt epidemics, (scenario score 3.62 ± 0.11; score 46 ± 2.2), with 62 ± 12 % adopting low risk resistance via somaclonal variants. Indonesian banana growers tended to have the smallest farm size (<500 m2) and presence of all four disease scenarios (scenario score 3.06 ± 0.22; score 44 ± 2.8). They exhibited mixed disease management practices, tending to rely on low-risk cultivar resistance (50 ± 11 %) and inoculum reduction (67 ± 11 %).
Grower feedback highlighted the tool’s usability and ability to facilitate discussion around disease management. By quantifying risks, the decision support tool enables strategic farm resource allocation, within a framework suited to TR4 management across different scales of banana growing and disease scenarios.