BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF POST-HARVEST FUNGAL PESTS OF DESSERT BANANA (Musa acuminata) IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE

Banana is the world's fourth most important crop of the food market next to rice, wheat and maize. In Côte d'Ivoire, banana is the third most important food crop. However, this crop is prone to several fungal diseases which hamper its post-harvest preservation. To control postharvest fungal diseases and with a view to finding an alternative to chemical control, the efficacy of the Bio-fungicides NECO 50 EC, ASTOUN 50 EC, PRORALY 50 EC, and FERCA 50 in vitro and in vivo were tested on postharvest fungi of dessert banana. Explants of the banana epidermis showing characteristic symptoms of phytopathogenic fungi and arranged in completely randomized design, were removed using a slide and cultured on PDA medium in Petri dishes. this study was repeated five times. Different concentrations of Bio-fungicides at 100, 200, 400, 500 and 1000 ppm incorporated into PDA culture media before fungus cultivation were used to assess bio-fungicide efficacy. Three fungal pathogens: Colletotrichum sp., Fusarium sp., and Botryodiplodia sp. were found. associated with symptomatic banana fruits. The highest growth inhibition of phytopathogenic fungi was obtained with the synthetic fungicide MIRAGE 450 EC (62.88%) at 0.5 ppm and the bio-fungicide ASTOUN 50 EC (60.78%) at 1000 ppm. With NECO 50 EC Bio-fungicide at 1000 ppm, an inhibition of 57.07% was achieved. In contrast, the lowest average inhibition of 37.42% was recorded with the bio-fungicide FERCA 50 EC . In view of their efficacy in in vivo and in vitro experiments, these Bio-fungicides could be used as an alternative to synthetic fungicides in the control of postharvest diseases of dessert banana. Key words: Bio-fungicides, dessert banana, fungi, synthetic fungicides.