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Newly discovered virulent bug threatens future of bananas
Dec. 10, 2015
The most popular fruit in the world - bananas - may be about to be wiped out by an invisible killer bug.
Panama Disease – which has already destroyed the most popular variety of banana – is back and its spreading like wildfire across global crops.
The problem is, bananas are seedless and are essentially all cloned from exactly the same plant – making them extremely vulnerable to disease.
A new study has warned the much-loved yellow fruit will be wiped out if we don't take action now.
The Gros Michel banana was once the most popular variety in the world – until it was completely killed off by Panama Disease in the 1950s.
The Cavendish banana – from the UK – stepped in to replace the Gros Michel and now makes up 95% of all banana exports in the world.
But Panama Disease – which is transmitted through soil and water and attacks the banana plant's roots – can lay dormant, waiting to strike, for up to 30 years.
And now it's back with a new global epidemic.
The deadly fungal pathogen is resistant to fungicide and cannot be controlled chemically.
It has completely wiped out Cavendish banana crops in Taiwan and is now spreading through the Chinese mainland, Indonesia and Malaysia, decimating crops.
The bug has "significantly" reduced the banana industry in Australia – which previously lost its bananas to disease in the 19th century – and threatens the entire export trade in the Philippines.
Since 2013 it has been reported as far and wide as Jordan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Mozambique and Oman.
Source: express.co.uk
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