Patterns of Relationship between Banana (musa spp.) types and the Banana weevil, Cosmopolites Sordidus (germar)(Coleoptera:Curculionidae)

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important food crop of the humid tropical lowland areas of the world. Banana production is beset by several problems, related to crop husbandry, selection of planting material, soils, diseases, and pests. Although more than 25 borers have been recorded on banana, the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus (Germar) (Curculionidae) is regarded as the major contributor to the general loss in plant vigour and yield. However, some banana cultivars have been found to show resistance/tolerance to the weevil's attack. Little is known about the mechanisms that render some cultivars resistant/tolerant. In this study the relationship between the banana plant and the banana weevil were investigated with the view of incorporating the results obtained into the existing IPM programmes on the control or management of the pest. The following experiments were conducted: 1. Banana cultivar characterization. 2. Banana weevil orientation/arrest towards banana plant parts. 3. Banana weevil arrest towards different cultivars (laboratory and field). 4. Banana weevil movement between banana cultivars 5. Preference/non-preference of banana weevil for different cultivars, and 6. Banana rhizome nutrition status. Six banana cultivars representing three genomes (AAA, AAB, and AB), and four traits (cooking sweet or desert, beer, and roasting) and adult weevils, 4-5 days old, were used in all the experiments.The resistant cultivar, soth (AAB), attracted less weevils than susceptible cultivars nakyetengu (AAA) and gonja (AAB), and the moderately resistant cultivar sukalindizi (AB). There was a differential response among the susceptible cultivars with nakyatengu (AAA) and gonja (AAB) being more attractive than mbidde (AAA) and lusumba (AAA). There was no significant difference between the moderately resistant cultivar sukalindizi (AB) and the usceptible cultivars (P