Panama TR4 fungus threatens to wipe out 90pc of world's bananas
Scientists say that up to 90 per cent of the Cavendish variety of banana, which makes up the vast majority of global market, may be wiped out
If you are reading this at your breakfast table, with a bunch of bananas in front of you, you should consider yourself lucky. Because bananas may soon disappear from your life, say some scientists. They are predicting a "bananageddon" in which 90 per cent of the bananas you see in the market today will be wiped out.
The culprit is a fungus called Panama Tropical Race 4, which affects Cavendish banana trees. There are many varieties of banana, but the Cavendish commands more than 90 per cent of world trade, and until now they were resistant to most fungi.
But the Fusarium wilt caused by Panama TR4 is changing all that. The fungus played havoc in Malaysia in the early 1990s. The Philippines, the only Asian country to rival the top Latin American exporters, is facing a major assault by the fungus, while banana growing areas in southern China are also under attack.
After being confined to Asia and northern parts of Australia, the fungus has jumped continents, surfacing in Jordan and Mozambique at the end of last year. This prompted the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation to issue a warning earlier this month as they called for urgent measures.
So far there has been no report of the fungus yet from Ecuador, Costa Rica or Colombia, which grow the bulk of bananas that reach supermarkets across the world.
But Randy Ploetz, professor of plant pathology at the University of Florida is not hopeful. He says the fungus may already be in Latin America. "The story on the Mozambique situation was that workers brought over to establish the plantations - some of them were from Latin America," he said. As the fungus can spread through a small clump of dirt attached to a boot or a tool used on an infected farm, one can see why Ploetz is sceptical.
