<p> A new fungus variety is slowly beginning to threaten key banana plantations around the world. The disease, which has been found in plantations in Mozambique and Jordan within the last couple of months, is raising fears that it could be making its way toward Latin America, the world’s leading banana exporter.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Although the disease was initially limited to certain parts of Asia and Australia, the fact that it’s now beginning to show signs of expansion is starting to concern banana producers around the world, especially producers of the popular Cavendish cultivar.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Scientific American reports that the disease is caused by strains of a soil fungus called <I>Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.cubense</i> (Foc). A strain of Foc previously wiped out the Gros Michel cultivar, which was the main exported banana variety from the nineteenth century until the 1950s. In response, the industry replaced Gros Michel plants with the Cavendish variety, which is resistant to that Foc strain. It is, however, susceptible to the new Foc Tropical Race 4 (Foc-TR4) strain, which could meet the same fate as Gros Michel if it reaches Latin America.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Although nobody is sure how the fungus arrived in Jordan or Mozambique, researchers estimate the disease has been present for two to three years and that they wouldn’t be surprised if it spreads to Latin America sometime in the near future. Good farm hygiene and prompt quarantine and destruction of infected plants will be crucial to slow the spread of the disease.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> As of now, researchers are unable to determine the susceptibility of this disease for other cultivars, but it is likely they are resistant to Foc-TR4 because of their biological differences.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"> Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue our coverage on this new banana fungus strain.</p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=banana-threatening-fungus" target="_new"> Scientific American </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
