Black sigatoka
| Black sigatoka | |
|---|---|
| Scientific 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 names | Black leaf streak |
| Causal agents | Mycosphaerella fijiensis |
| Hosts | Banana |
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.
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).
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.