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Scientists are trying to save bananas from a tropical disease that threatens crops around the world.
Panama disease, a type of fungal infection that invades the soil, is currently spreading in Africa and Asia. If she travels to South America – the largest supplier of a type of commercial banana known as Cavendish – scientists worry that this may mark the end of the tasty fruit.
But the hope lies deep in the jungles of Madagascar. a wild banana that could save the species
Malagasy banana, an inedible fruit with large seeds in the middle, is somehow immune to the deadly plant disease.
"She's not from Panama." Richard Allen, chief conservation evaluator at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in the UK, told the BBC. "We do not know until that time. that we do research on the banana itself, but we can not do the research until it is saved. "
The problem: only five mature banana trees remain in Madagascar. [19659007] Hélène Ralimanana, The director of the Kew Madagascar Conservation Center team told the news station that it is essential to research the composition of the Malagasy banana to determine which genes protect it from Panama disease, which does not seem to slow down.It is important to conserve wild banana because it has large seeds that can offer an opportunity to find a gene to improve the cultivated banana ", she told the BBC
. But if the disease spreads before the researchers manage to cross the fruit, then the popular Cavendish banana can be hard to find – and finally, the fruit could disappear completely.
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