Alternatives to chemical inputs in banana cultivation

Banana growers in the Caribbean are working in partnership with the Institut Technique Tropical and CIRAD on an initiative to reduce the use of chemical inputs. The innovations supporting this initiative are based primarily on alternative techniques to chemical control for managing plant-parasitic nematodes and the banana weevil. These techniques involve integrating cover crops into the cropping system to restore biological control mechanisms against pests, monitoring plot sanitation through biological tests, using healthy plant material (vitroplants) for the replanting of banana plantations, and setting up pheromone-attractant traps to capture the banana weevil. These techniques are incorporated into prototype cropping systems that have been developed and tested in real-world conditions as part of a participatory design and evaluation process involving producers, technical services and researchers.