Three species of Pseudocercospora are known to Sigatoka leaf diseases in banana. M. musicola causes yellow Sigatoka, M. fijiensis causes black Sigatoka and P. eumusae causes eumusae leaf spot. Of which P. eumusae is widely spread in India and causes severe yield loss in banana. Primary lesions caused by M. musicola, M. fijiensis and P. eumusae are very similar in appearance , consisting of dark brown to black specks that develop into streaks several millimetres long, witha grey centre, surrounded by a yellow halo. Differences in symptoms are mostly related to the presence, nangture and position of fruiting structures, but these are not rapidly discernible macrospically. Among the germplasm accessions, cv. Manoranjitham was found to be resistant and cv. Grand Naine was found to be susceptible against eumusae leaf spot.
The root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus coffeae causes extensive root damage to banana which results in serious economic losses.P. coffeae causes damage symptoms similar to those observed with other root lesion nematodes such as Radopholussimilis: stunting; lengthening of the vegetative cycle; reduction in the size and number of leaves, and in bunch weight; reduction of the productive life of the plantation; toppling. Roots heavily infested by P. coffeae have extensive black or purple necrosis of epidermal and cortical tissue, often accompanied by secondary rotting and root breakage. Similar necrosis can be observed on the outer parts of the corm. By intensive pot culture screening and field screening of banana germplasm, cv. Karthobiumtham and cv. Nendran were identified as resistant and susceptible cultivars respectively.
Even though bananas are only grown in the humid tropics and subtropics, in many locations rainfall is not sufficient or not evenly distributed throughout the year. Commercial plantations supplement this rainfall with irrigation, but for small farm holders this is not feasible. Water is one of the most limiting abiotic stress factors in banana production. Bananas need at least 25 mm of water per week and an annual rainfall of 2000–2500 mm evenly distributed along the year is considered optimal for banana production. When there is no access to irrigation, mild drought conditions are responsible for considerable yield losses.Varieties with an AAB or ABB genome constitution are said to be more drought tolerant and hardy due to the presence of the B genome. Among the cultivars Grand Naine belonging to AAA is drought sensitive whereas Saba is considered as drought tolerant cultivars.