What is Panama disease affecting banana plants world wide? Are Indian bananas also under threat?
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4 سال پیش
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As human beings we are
As human beings we are always most worried about diseases that affect humans, especially the incurable ones. But what about diseases that affect plants and diseases that threaten our food security. Panama disease is one such problem, that is destroying banana plantations, not just across the world but also in India.
Now to put this in perspective, we need to understand that bananas are the most consumed fruit in the world. In 2017, the average per capita consumption of fruits globally was 25.57 Kgs and bananas contributed nearly 40% to this. An average person in India consumes around 19 Kgs of banana every year. In the Philippines, it is over 21 Kgs. The US Food and Drug Administration says that a medium sized banana can provide 110 calories, along with 450 mg or 13% of your daily potassium and 15% of your daily Vitamin C requirements. The Food and Agriculture Organisation says that in countries where bananas are grown, they provide almost 25% of the daily calories in the rural areas. Therefore this fruit is very important for our food and nutritional security. And this connection does not just end with food, the banana plant also has a very strong social and economic relevance to communities in South and SouthEast Asia, latin America and Africa.
Panama disease is caused by a fungus One of its strains which is called Tropical Race 4 or TR4 is creating the maximum havoc, threatening almost 80% of the global banana production. The disease is so deadly that sometimes it is referred to as banana cancer. The fungus resides below ground and infects the plant through its roots. The infection then stops water and essential nutrients from being transported to the rest of the plant. The leaves begin to wilt, and the stem of the plant starts turning dark brownish before the plant dies. If one plant gets it, then it is most likely that an entire plantation can be wiped out. Now If that sounds scary, what is sacrier is the fact there is absolutely nothing, no medicine, no fungicide that can cure this disease.
Till the 1950s, there was just one banana variety called Gros Michel or the Big Mike which dominated international banana trade. Big Mike was known for its sweet taste. But what made this banana the export favourite was its thick peel which prevented bruising of the fruit when transported over long distances. And it also grew in thick bunches again making it easier to transport.
But there was one problem and a big problem that became its Achilles heel. And this was its susceptibility to the panama disease. This disease destroyed almost all the Gros Michel or the Big Mike plantations. So much so that the banana industry had to replace the Gros Mitchel with another variety, a banana which was inferior in taste, less sweeter called Cavendish. Today almost all exported bananas belong to the Cavendish variety. But after 70 years or so the story has been repeated. And this time the Panama disease has struck the Cavendish variety of bananas and is threatening to wipe it off the planet.
What makes these banana plants so vulnerable to the Panama disease. The answer lies in how they are grown. The quest of the banana industry has always been to grow beautiful and uniformly yellow bananas-- bananas, without those ugly black or brown spots -- bananas that look good on the supermarket shelves. There are over 1000 edible varieties of bananas, some of which are far sweeter and nutritious than the cavendish variety. But they are ignored by the banana industry, the supermarkets, and the consumers because of excuses such as -- they are not attractive enough or they are hard to eat because they have seeds -- and so on and so forth
Now because Cavendish is the most traded or commercially important banana, every fruit should look and taste the same. And this could only be done if all the plants came from one mother plant. And they are propagated only through their rootstalk called rhizomes or shoots called suckers. That makes them genetically identical, carbon copies of one another. But this also means that they have the same amount of vulnerability to pests and diseases.
Cavendish was once immune to the Panama Disease and that was the reason why the banana corporations lapped it up. Today, almost half of the bananas produced on the planet belongs to the Cavendish variety. But then the Panama disease mutated, and now threatens to wipe out all the Cavendish banana plants. Should India be worried about the disease? Yes absolutely because India is the largest producer of bananas in the world and this disease has found its way into the country. India produces close to 30 million tonnes of banana every year. But the good news is that India also has about 20 native varieties of bananas which are grown commercially and many more wild species of bananas. Some of these may not be as good looking or seedless, but they surely pack a punch when it comes to taste and nutrition.
Now to put this in perspective, we need to understand that bananas are the most consumed fruit in the world. In 2017, the average per capita consumption of fruits globally was 25.57 Kgs and bananas contributed nearly 40% to this. An average person in India consumes around 19 Kgs of banana every year. In the Philippines, it is over 21 Kgs. The US Food and Drug Administration says that a medium sized banana can provide 110 calories, along with 450 mg or 13% of your daily potassium and 15% of your daily Vitamin C requirements. The Food and Agriculture Organisation says that in countries where bananas are grown, they provide almost 25% of the daily calories in the rural areas. Therefore this fruit is very important for our food and nutritional security. And this connection does not just end with food, the banana plant also has a very strong social and economic relevance to communities in South and SouthEast Asia, latin America and Africa.
Panama disease is caused by a fungus One of its strains which is called Tropical Race 4 or TR4 is creating the maximum havoc, threatening almost 80% of the global banana production. The disease is so deadly that sometimes it is referred to as banana cancer. The fungus resides below ground and infects the plant through its roots. The infection then stops water and essential nutrients from being transported to the rest of the plant. The leaves begin to wilt, and the stem of the plant starts turning dark brownish before the plant dies. If one plant gets it, then it is most likely that an entire plantation can be wiped out. Now If that sounds scary, what is sacrier is the fact there is absolutely nothing, no medicine, no fungicide that can cure this disease.
Till the 1950s, there was just one banana variety called Gros Michel or the Big Mike which dominated international banana trade. Big Mike was known for its sweet taste. But what made this banana the export favourite was its thick peel which prevented bruising of the fruit when transported over long distances. And it also grew in thick bunches again making it easier to transport.
But there was one problem and a big problem that became its Achilles heel. And this was its susceptibility to the panama disease. This disease destroyed almost all the Gros Michel or the Big Mike plantations. So much so that the banana industry had to replace the Gros Mitchel with another variety, a banana which was inferior in taste, less sweeter called Cavendish. Today almost all exported bananas belong to the Cavendish variety. But after 70 years or so the story has been repeated. And this time the Panama disease has struck the Cavendish variety of bananas and is threatening to wipe it off the planet.
What makes these banana plants so vulnerable to the Panama disease. The answer lies in how they are grown. The quest of the banana industry has always been to grow beautiful and uniformly yellow bananas
Now because Cavendish is the most traded or commercially important banana, every fruit should look and taste the same. And this could only be done if all the plants came from one mother plant. And they are propagated only through their rootstalk called rhizomes or shoots called suckers. That makes them genetically identical, carbon copies of one another. But this also means that they have the same amount of vulnerability to pests and diseases.
Cavendish was once immune to the Panama Disease and that was the reason why the banana corporations lapped it up. Today, almost half of the bananas produced on the planet belongs to the Cavendish variety. But then the Panama disease mutated, and now threatens to wipe out all the Cavendish banana plants. Should India be worried about the disease? Yes absolutely because India is the largest producer of bananas in the world and this disease has found its way into the country. India produces close to 30 million tonnes of banana every year. But the good news is that India also has about 20 native varieties of bananas which are grown commercially and many more wild species of bananas. Some of these may not be as good looking or seedless, but they surely pack a punch when it comes to taste and nutrition.
4 سال پیش
در تاریخ 1399/04/26 منتشر شده
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