CHITWAN: Banana farming in Chitwan has come under attack from a banana disease identified as Tropical Race 4 (TR4), a new variant of Panama disease.

According to Mahesh Regmi, head of the Programme Implementation Unit under the National Agriculture Modernization Programme, the disease has been confirmed on banana farms covering five bigha of land (one bigha is approximately 27,000 square feet) in western Chitwan.

Regmi added that out of the 55 bigha of banana plantations in the area, five bigha have been infected. The infection causes fruits to emerge prematurely from the banana stem during the bunching stage.

The seedlings of the infected plants were brought from Nawalparasi, it is said. Samples have been sent to the National Forensic Science Laboratory and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC) for testing. This is said to be the first case of this infection in the district.

To prevent further spread, Regmi said that agricultural tools and vehicles used in infected farms must be disinfected before being used on other farms, and no new banana seedlings should be planted until the infected farm has been fully sanitized.

Currently, banana farming covers 2,800 hectares of land in the district, of which 2,200 hectares fall under the “banana zone.”

According to the District Agriculture Knowledge Centre, the district produces 43,193 metric tons of bananas annually.