>
> >There is some anecdotal evidence in Australia that banana fruit placed in
> hives is an effective control
> for chalkbrood.


I've heard of this a number of times.  So a couple of years ago, when Dr
Robert Cramer was culturing chalkbrood, I asked him to test banana and
banana peel in petri dishes against the growth of chalkbrood.  He found no
effect.

So I suspect that any effect would not be due to chemicals in the banana
directly affecting the fungus.

On the other hand, bananas emit amyl acetate, similar to alarm pheremone.
 So conceivably, something in the odors emitted by bananas might change bee
behavior.

I have not seen enough chalk in my operation of late to test.  If any on the
List are currently plagued with chalk, please contact me, and I'd be glad to
help you design a controlled trial.
-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

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