PARING AND HEAT STERILIZATION OF THE CORMS TO ELIMINATE THE BANANA ROOT WEEVIL COSMOPOLITES SORDIDUS GERMAR

Abstract

1. Other method s of control except the paring of the corms or suckers as carried out by the writer, have been investigated and found either unreliable or unpractical. Sterilization at 43°C for eight hours in an adequate sterilizer, kills the insect without injury to the plant tissues. This method may prove to be practical. 2. Paring the suckers heavily, that is, cutting away one inch or more of all the external surface and removing also the external leaf- sheaths of its stem, will eliminate all or practically all of the eggs and the newly hatched larvae which have not yet tunneled deeply. Upon paring, the presence of larger larvae is shown by their tunnels. It is better to pare off as much as the size of the corm will allow for greater safety. Corms even when very severely pared germinate well. 3. The method can be used equally well with bananas or with plantains, but the cultural practices followed make it more desirable for plantains. 4. Suckers showing no tunnels-presumably uninfested-should be selected, and even so, must be pared thoroughly. Corms showing tunnels are to be discarded. 5. Suckers for planting should be dug out as soon as they attain sufficient size. They should be taken from stools showing few or no tunnels in the mother corms and from the less infested plantations. If left on the ground overnight near plantain and banana plants, they may quickly become re-infested, especially after having been pared. 6. The paring must be supervised to make sure none of the old surface tissues are left on, or corms with tunnels passed as sound. 7. The pared corms are to be set in land free from the weevil and any plants that show infestation should be rogued and traps set to catch the weevils.