Banana

:For other meanings, see banana (disambiguation)

Extinction

While in no danger of outright extinction, in the next decade the most common edible banana variety could become unviable for large-scale cultivation. The Cavendish banana, an extremely popular fruit in Europe and the Americas, lacks genetic diversity which makes it vulnerable to diseases such as :

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• Panama disease - caused by a soil fungus, which wiped out the Gros Michel (AKA Big Mike) variety in the 1950s. Gros Michel or 'Big Mike' was an early export cultivar of banana. Gros Michel was especially suitable for export to non-tropical nations. More care is required for shipping the Cavendish banana and some argue that the Gros Michel tasted better.
• A new variant of a pathogen, Tropical Race 4 - which affects Cavendish cultivars in south east Asia and is thus at the root of concerns in the export trades. The spread of Tropical Race 4 to the Americas would require either infected banana suckers or infested soil to be imported from Asia, both of which are strictly forbidden in the export-producing countries.
• Black Sigatoka - a fungal leaf spot disease which has reached global epidemic proportions. Plants with leaves damaged by the disease may have up to 50% lower yield of fruit. In recent years it has grown more resistant to fungicides.

Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, the Gros Michel is far from extinct, and is grown by small scale plantations in areas where Panama Disease isn't found, and by hobby horticulturists. Likewise, the Cavendish is in no danger of complete extinction, but there is a possibility that it could leave the shelves of the supermarkets for good if disease winnows the harvest down to where it can no longer hope to supply the global market. It is unclear if any banana cultuivar currently existing could replace the Cavendish on a scale needed to fill current demand, so various hybridization and genetic engineering programs are working in creating a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~