The Dangers of Panama Disease

Greetings Reader,

If you are here then you are likely in search of information on Panama Disease and you have come to the right place. Here you will find all that you need to know about the disease from what exactly it is, what exactly it is doing, and possible options on what is being done about it.

What exactly is Panama Disease?

The scientific name of Panama Disease is Fusarium Wilt. Fusarium Wilt is an ailment that is caused when the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.​ Cubense infects a banana tree. What does the fungus do? Take a look at the image below of a tree that has been infected. Notice the black areas? 

Image of infected banana tree.

Those are sections of dead tissue. The fungus grows and multiplies inside the vessels of the tree. As a result of the rapid growth the vessels of the tree that normally carry water and nutrients through the tree. Over time this causes the tree to literally starve to death as its passageways become clogged with fungus. At this time there is no way to heal an infected tree and once in the soil the fungus can remain active for upwards of 40 years.

What effect does this have?

A previous strain of this fungus wrecked havoc on the Gros Michel variety of banana. In the 1960s the first known strain of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.​ Cubense infected several banana farms and plantations in Central and South America. The devastation was so bad that the Michel was no longer commercially viable and as a result the Cavendish banana is the one that is commonly eaten today. The dire issue at hand is now a fourth strain of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.​ Cubense has been discovered in Asia and the Middle East that is having the same effect that the first strain had on the Gros Michel in the past.

Bundle of Gros Michel bananas

What can be done about it? 

Due to Fusarium Wilt being so dangerous there is a search under way to save the Cavendish banana from a terrible fate. One reason the fungus has been able to do so much damage is because of a lack of genetic diversity. Many commercial crops such as apples and oranges grown in a manner so that there are several varieties of the crops so that if a blight infects one there is a good chance that other varieties would have resistance. Unfortunately due to the Cavendish being the only variety of banana that is grown on such a large scale in order to cut costs that leaves it extremely to a single blight. Some researchers hope to find another variety of banana that is resistant to the fungus.

 

"The end of bananas as we know them?" Courtesy of PBS News Hour

Please understand that this is just barely scratching the surface of the issue. There is a lot more to be discovered such as genetic engineering, scientific papers on the history of the fungus, the actions of major companies involved in the banana industry. Make sure to visit the links provided on the side bars of this post!

Good luck!