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As unusual as it is disturbing, a particularly aggressive infection puts banana crops at risk. So, in fact the world could miss this fruit in the very near future .
Behind the contagion is the mushroom fusarium which has already annihilated hundreds of bananas in Southeast Asia to later appear in Africa and Australia It does not exist. has not yet arrived in Ecuador, the world's largest banana exporter, but experts say it's only a matter of time.
The pathogen is present in the soil and infects the plant If they fail to stop it, could devastate the banana industry of at least five years old or up to 10 years old.
The problem is compounded by the fact that the most common type of this fruit, the Cavendish, has no seeds. Therefore, the only way to plant is cloning whereby the genetic diversity of the species is zero and becomes more vulnerable to the fungus . At the same time, another infection, that of the Sigatoka fungus, has also begun to affect Caribbean plantations.
And while other varieties of bananas can be immunized against infection, their production is too small to be exportable and the species The big cats are sometimes unpleasant to the palate.
Is there a solution?
This is not the first time that the banana industry is facing such a challenge. In the 1950s, the main variety of banana, Gros Michel, was globally swept away by a fungal infection similar to that which appeared in recent years . It was precisely there when the Cavendish appeared as an ideal replacement.
" If the exporters are very good at producing and exporting, they leave the whole process in the hands of science after the harvest, "he added. "If they had to plant something else, they could not produce as much, and consumers might not like it. It would be really problematic. "
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Tags bananas crops fungus Infectious threatens world
