By Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter 
Hall
AN EXPERT from Costa Rica will arrive in the island next week to work with the Banana Board to help in the eradication of the dreaded Moko disease now affecting the banana industry.
Dr. Marshall Hall, Group Managing Director of the Jamaica Producers Groups, told The Gleaner yesterday that the Group decided to seek assistance from Costa Rica because it was among the major banana exporting countries which have successfully fight the disease.
"We just want to make sure that what we are doing is the latest," he said. Just last week the disease was discovered at the Eastern Banana Estate in St. Thomas where 100 acres of bananas were destroyed because of the disease.
"We are now moving to contain and eradicate the disease," said Dr. Hall. He pointed out that the latest find should not have much impact on the company's export earnings. The overall loss, he said, only represented three to four per cent reductions in production.
Dr. Hall said, "we are going to have to take certain acres out of production. There is now a lot of work to be done. Moko disease is in Jamaica and therefore we are permanently on guard for it," he said.
Asked about the possibilities of job loss on the farm, Dr. Hall said that it was too soon to say, but if the decision had to be taken "job loss would be minimal."
The disease was first detected late last year and had been curtailed in the parish of St. James in five areas, including Montpelier, George's Valley, Silver Grove, Vaughnsfield and Brown's Town.
Since then, the Ministry of Agriculture has been working to eradicate the disease. Up to last month, a total of $1.2 million in assistance had been paid over to farmers who have lost banana fields due to the disease. This is part of $4 million in aid earmarked for the farmers who have suffered financial losses due to the disease.
Symptoms of the disease include the unusual yellowing of the leaves of banana trees before they begin to wilt and then, finally, die along with the rest of the plant.
In order to prevent the spread of the disease, farmers are urged to:
-inspect fields carefully each week for symptoms
-mark the location of unusual yellowing and wilting, immediately reporting to the nearest RADA, banana industry or JAS officer/office.
- do not touch or disturb the suspected plant, nor remove any sucker, fruit or leaf from a field suspected of having the disease.
- disinfect all tools used in the field if they suspect that the disease is present.
- use household bleach (1 part bleach to 9 parts water) after removing any soil or plant remains present on the tool.
-shoes should similarly be disinfected, when coming from an infested field. A spray bottle will make this easier.
