proletariatcsp

My super dwarf stopped growing and the leaves are splitting the psuedostem, it seems very healthy and there are no signs of rot or aphids, the leaves have no dots, lines or discolortaion of any kind. As you can see from the pic the large leaf to the left was completely healthy before this, notice how much smaller the following leaves are! AHHHHHHHHHH

Is there anything that can cause this to happen other than Bunchy Top?

I do fear though, that this is bunchy top, because my Dwarf Cavendish has morse code on two of the leaves, and the newest leaf opened way early and would not hold itself upright for 3 days.

If there is some other cause of this please let me know? If I lose these plants I think I will be done with gardening. Besides, I kind of miss not having to water the artificial plants, that don't get sick.

Bananaman88

How are you fertilizing and watering? The leaves don't look to have any sort of nutrient deficiencies so I don't really think it's undernourishment. If you're overwatering that could be causing stunted leaves due to rotting roots. Knock the plant out of the pot and inspect the roots.

Gabe15

That plant does not have bunchy top, and especially if you haven't seen any aphids (its only vector). I'm not aware of any bunchy top in Florida, and unless you definitely know that it is present in your area, it is not a possibility. It would greatly help if you could show a picture of your Dwarf Cavendish with the symptoms you are describing.

I have had the same growth problem with Super Dwarf Cavendish in the past, and usually it was due to an accumulation of fertilizer in the soil, this can easily build up in containers and cause this pseudo-bunchy top look to the plant. Can you give little history of this plant, like when you got it, when you repotted it, and how long it had been growing fine before making these small leaves?

__________________
Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

proletariatcsp

Thanks Bananaman, Gabe,

I bought this plant a year ago, it overwintered inside and continually grew. They plant you see today is actually a pup from spring, the parent broke when another plant fell on top of it. I transplanted it about 2 months ago, I know the pot looks big for its size but, its mat needed a bigger container, roots were poking out every which way. I have fertilized it once or twice since repotting with MG all-purpose very dilluted (says to use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon, I use 1/2 teaspoon per 5 gallons) Perhaps drought may be indicated rather than overwater? I believe I let it dry a few times as I was afraid the soil was holding too much water.

Let me show you the morse code and streak areas on the Dwarf Cav.

This is the first leaf to show this, about the 5th leaf on the pstem. Top of leaf view.
Notice the white streaks and the white spot.


This is the bottom view. You can see the rest of the leaf is normal.


This is another leaf, showing the same symptoms. Left side of the leaf is normal, right side has morse code.


Another angle.


This is the newest leaf, with symptoms becoming visible.

Bananaman88

I think it's a nutrient deficiency. Try fertilizing with a balanced fertilizer with micronutrients and see if it gets better. Some places sell fertilizer blended especially for bananas. I think Stokes Tropicals does.

proletariatcsp

thanks Bananaman, I am familiar with Stokes. Although, a little on the expensive side.

i just picked up a citrus liquid for my pineapples today, maybe I could use some of it? My soil pH is consistantly 6.5-7. The liquid has no NPK, just micro's of sulfates and no maganese. Perhaps my plants need calcium too, not sure if MG has that or not?

I hope you and Gabe were right, and I am simply over reacting on the bunchy top idea, its just that the symptoms match the photos. Though I have thought of two other possible causes besides your nutrient suggestion.

My neighbor and I are loosing our tomato plants. We suspect tylcv, or a mosiac such as tobacco since I smoke cigarettes. Leaning more toward tylcv since the plants are still barely fruiting, and the peppers seem to be tolerant and are still growing. The tomatos are dying from the bottom up, growth has stopped and leaves are deformed, yellow and green mottled, and curled upwards. I here that these are transferable via the white flies to herbs? Which we have swarms of.

The other discovery I made was with the outdoor-ish carpeting we have on the balcony. It has molded pretty bad on the underside and unfortunately when it rains the water seeps through and drips on all of my plants. I discovered this when i left my rain buckets to gather water from the balcony runoff and the water was rust colored. Perhaps this could be the cause?

Well thanks in advance for your time and consideration. And with any luck I will have all this figured out before the season is over.

Kylie2x

Sandy has some fretilizer for sale in the sale~trade~auction forum.. I recall it being reasonable price wise...