1. SUMMARY

Brazil stands out as the fourth largest banana producer in the world, being the most consumed fruit by Brazilians and occupying the second position in production in Brazil. The State of Bahia stands out nationally with the largest area destined for this crop, but it ranks second in tons produced, losing to the state of São Paulo. Low productivity is related to the low technology adopted, varieties with low yield potential and susceptible to pests and diseases, in addition to inadequate crop management. The fruit is exported in a still small but growing quantity.

The phytosanitary quality of the fruit is also a loss factor for this chain, since only high-quality fruits, produced free of pesticide residues, pests and diseases can conquer new and demanding markets. Integrated pest management advocates the use of various techniques to control the population level of pests, thus minimizing Economic Damage; Knowing and identifying pests and diseases is extremely important to know for sure what tactics to adopt. 

The present work aims to carry out a bibliographic survey on the main pests and diseases that affect banana plantations in Brazil, in addition to describing the symptoms and possible control methods for these diseases and pests, analyzing the international market and the impacts caused. by the risk of contamination with Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense Raça 4, in addition to exposing the situation of banana producers inserted in covid 19 

2. INTRODUCTION

Brazil occupies the fourth position in the world in banana production, behind India, China, and Indonesia. (Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, 2018). The banana crop is the second most produced fruit in Brazil, behind only orange production. Banana production is distributed throughout the national territory, with the Northeast being responsible for 34% of production, occupying the 2nd place in greater production and the municipality of Bom Jesus da Lapa in West Bahia is considered the largest banana producer in the country. , representing 2.5% of national production (EMBRAPA, 2019).

India leads the production of bananas with more than 30 million tons and Brazil, in fourth place, has production of more than 6 million tons. In Brazil, bananas occupy the 11th position within the top 20 Brazilian commodities (FAO, 2018). in 2019, Brazil achieved a 16% increase in fruit export volume. Compared to 2018, an increase in banana export volume of 21% can be observed. Currently, the state of Bahia represents 10.25% of all exports, and fruit exports in the first half of 2020 represent 3.2%. (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, MAPA, 2020).

Brazil has an area for fruit growing of more than 2.5 million hectares. It is estimated that the production is equivalent to 33 million reais in gross values. The workforce is equivalent to 16% of the total Brazilian agribusiness. (Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Derivatives, ABRAFRUTAS, 2019). From an economic and social point of view, each hectare planted and harvested with bananas requires 2 to 5 workers, 

which would potentially represent, considering Brazilian production, 5 million jobs. Although Bahia has the ideal climate for banana cultivation, São Paulo leads the production of bananas despite having a smaller cultivated area and this is due to improved technological processes that result in greater productivity. Among the obstacles in the banana export process,

 there is the low quality of the fruit, which does not meet the international market, a highly demanding consumer. Growing high-quality bananas for export requires production, post-harvest, and marketing technologies that are more developed than those currently used. One of the factors of loss of fruit quality that becomes a limiting factor for export is phytosanitary management. Only fruits free from pests, injuries, disturbances, and diseases reach the international market. There is a high demand on the part of importing countries that the fruits do not host a disease-transmitting pest organism. Another factor that must be taken into account is contamination by pesticides, which is a constant object of observation by parts of importing countries.

It is estimated that the losses caused by arthropods (insects and mites) are approximately 7.7% annually, which is equivalent to 15 billion dollars (OLIVEIRA et al., 2014). In addition to the attack by arthropods, there is the presence of diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses that compromise the effective production of bananas. Some diseases such as Black Sigatoka for example can cause up to 100% crop losses.

Pest is defined as any plant or animal organism capable of causing damage to crops or plant production. Thus, the presence of pests represents damage and threat to small and large farmers. For effective pest control, the use of integrated pest monitoring (IPM) is recommended. Pests can be controlled through cultural, biological, varietal, chemical, genetic, or behavioral methods. When well adapted, an IPM reduces the excessive use of pesticides, aligning production with the sustainability trend of the domestic and foreign consumer market.

Despite the high demand on the part of importing countries, Bahia has an advantage in the process of increasing banana exports, as it has the most favorable climate for banana production, since in regions such as the South and Southeast where they suffer from the cold, losses in the quality of the appearance of the banana, which causes its skin to acquire a dark color, harming international commercialization.

3. LITERATURE REVIEW

Banana is the most consumed fruit in the domestic market due to its high nutritional value, it is a good energy source and has a high carbohydrate content, in addition to having vitamins A, B1, B2, and C, and mineral salts such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and magnesium (EMBRAPA, 20–).

Processed bananas are also part of the diet of the world population and with the consumer market trend toward vegan and vegetarian diets, the demand for bananas increases, for example, banana flour, banana biomass, and banana chips, which are processed foods widely used. by people who adhere to vegan and vegetarian diets (VEJA, 2019).

With more than 106 million tons produced, bananas occupy the first position in the world production ranking. In Brazil, the production corresponds to approximately 7 million tons of the total produced worldwide. This means that Brazil represents 6.9% of the total produced worldwide (Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, IBGE, 2019).

The Northeast has a banana cultivated area of ​​180,220 hectares with an average yield of 12.94 tons per hectare, totaling participation in Brazilian production of 34.2%. In the Northeast, Bahian production stands out, ranking second with a production of 828,284 tons per hectare, which is equivalent to a 12.2% share of national Brazilian production (EMBRAPA, 2019). Bahia leads banana production with an average yield of 24.15 tons per hectare. (EMBRAPA, 2019)

In Brazil, 95% of banana production is consumed by the domestic market, with per capita consumption in the year of approximately 25 kilos. About 98% of banana production is consumed in nature and the rest is processed, as in the case of banana chips, flours, purees, and sweets (EMBRAPA, 20–). According to SIMÃO (1998, p.39), quoted by da SILVA (2019) “Fruit cultivation is, at the same time, an economic, social and food activity”.

According to SIMÃO (1998, p.41), quoted by da SILVA (2019) ”The economic value of fruit growing is not only located in the production of fruits for the consumer market but is also based on the use of fruits for industrialization, creating wealth and generating social good”. According to GONÇALVES (2015, p.13), quoted by da SILVA (2019)