An Agent-Based Computer Simulation on Banana Bunchy Top Disease

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.