Banana Extinction Fears After Vicious Fungal Disease
Scientists have warned that the most popular banana may become a thing of the past after detecting a powerful disease that is reportedly ravaging the fruit’s most popular variety, the Cavendish.
“Nobody is even close to solving the problem,” said ‘Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World author Dan Koeppel about Panama disease (Fusarium wilt) tropical race 4, which attacks the plant roots, starving the fruit of water.
The disease was first detected in 1989 in Taiwan - where scientists are now experimenting with exposing Cavendish banana strains to the disease to build immunity - before spreading to Australia, China, and South America.