Banana susceptibility to wound anthracnose : Effects of flooding, early-harvesting, and source-sink ratio modification

WOUND anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum musae, has a major impact on the quality of export bananas worldwide. Fruits harvested at an advanced physiological age seem to be more susceptible to anthracnose. We examined the relationship between the fruit physiological age, measured by the temperature sum (in degree days - dd), and the susceptibility to wound anthracnose by analysing the effects of three factors: - Flooding - a stressful growing condition - in a greenhouse; - Early harvesting of bananas under two climatic conditions; - Source-sink ratio modification by removal of leaves or hands. (Texte intégral