An Agent-Based Computer Simulation on Banana Bunchy Top Disease

DOI: 10.22161/ijeab/3.2.43

Abstract:
Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) is an aphid-transmitted virus disease of banana plants. Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) is the causal microorganism of this disease. Infected plants rarely produce a fruit bunch after infection and do not fruit in subsequent years. This paper studied the factors that defined the rate of BBTD spread in this 2 X 3 factorial simulation experiment. Results indicate that within four months at the onset of infection, the presence of vector aphids with mild (25%) and severe (75%) infectiousness of BBTD can infect slightly more than half and almost all banana plants in a hectare plantation, respectively.

Keywords:
banana plants, Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD), Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV), mortality, infectiousness, symptoms.

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