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Earth Science

The Banana Is One Step Closer To Disappearing (nationalgeographic.com) 195

Posted by BeauHD from the fungus-among-us dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from National Geographic: A fungus that has wreaked havoc on banana plantations in the Eastern Hemisphere has, despite years of preventative efforts, arrived in the Americas. ICA, the Colombian agriculture and livestock authority, confirmed on Thursday that laboratory tests have positively identified the presence of so-called Panama disease Tropical Race 4 on banana farms in the Caribbean coastal region. The announcement was accompanied by a declaration of a national state of emergency. The discovery of the fungus represents a potential impending disaster for bananas as both a food source and an export commodity. Panama disease Tropical Race 4 -- or TR4 -- is an infection of the banana plant by a fungus of the genus Fusarium. Although bananas produced in infected soil are not unsafe for humans, infected plants eventually stop bearing fruit. First identified in Taiwanese soil samples in the early 1990s, the destructive fungus remained long confined to Southeast Asia and Australia, until its presence was confirmed in both the Middle East and Africa in 2013. Experts feared an eventual appearance in Latin America, the epicenter of the global banana export industry. No known fungicide or biocontrol measure has proven effective against TR4.
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The Banana Is One Step Closer To Disappearing More

The Banana Is One Step Closer To Disappearing

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  • Increased by 14% (Score:5, Informative)

    by 110010001000 ( 697113 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:06AM (#59082266) Homepage Journal

    "Year over year, the total amount of global banana exports appreciated by 14% from 2017 to 2018."
     
    So, um, yeah.

    • Re:Increased by 14% (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Viol8 ( 599362 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:21AM (#59082320) Homepage

      You can still increase yield by planting more trees even if the plants are all getting sick. Then suddenly it all goes off a cliff.

      A similar la-la-la-we're-not-listening situation happened in the cod fisheries off new foundland in the 70s - idiot fisherman didn't listen to scientists (what do they know, they only study these things in depth, they don't haul nets like real men) telling them things were about to go south. And so the sea grunts carried on and wiped out the cod stocks. 40 years later there's still very little cod there.

      • "You can still increase yield by planting more trees even if the plants are all getting sick"

        Problem is, they are all the same tree as they are clones, so no resistance whatsoever.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by Viol8 ( 599362 )

          Thats the point - eventually you'll have to plant so many new trees to replace the dying ones it'll become uneconomic and then thats the end of the industry unless they can find a replacement breed.

          • Having any breed is better here, the problem is that the popular banana trees are all clones and not a "breed" per se. No genetic diversity. The industry could probably come back again, as most popular fruits we have these days have all been genetically engineered over the centuries to look nothing like their wild ancestors. So breed new ones, start planting from seeds again, have multiple varieties, and avoid the agricultural idiocy that created this monoculture in the first place (and the politics that

        • Re:Increased by 14% (Score:4, Informative)

          by Rei ( 128717 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:38AM (#59082408) Homepage

          Then switch to a different variety. What's the problem?

          "The banana" is nowhere close to disappearing because there is not "the" (singular) cultivar of banana in existence. There's tons of them - most IMHO much better than the cavendish. The cavendish was just chosen because it was most similar to the gros michel, which was "the" previous banana.

          It's IMHO weird how it's seen as "normal" to have all sorts of different varieties of apples, grapes, citrus, etc etc in grocery stores, but most grocery stores only carry one variety of banana... and a rather mundane one at that.

          Cavendish bananas start getting too expensive? Grocery stores will start experimenting with other varieties and see which ones consumers like best. Higher prices on cavendish bananas vs. the newcomers will encourage consumers to abandon the cavendish. The best we can hope for is that it won't be just one banana cultivar on the shelves the next time.

          • Problem is this pathogen can affect more than one strain of banana. Simply replacing the Cavendish with just anything won't do.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by hey! ( 33014 )

            Clearly switching to more varieties is part of the solution, but the Cavendish cultivar dominates the banana industry for good reasons. It's tasty, easy to grow, and it ships well. It is the most profitable banana known.

            In a future without Cavendish, there will still be bananas, but they may not be in your temperate region supermarket, certainly not at the price we're accustomed to.

            • So basically a return to the early 20th Century and before, then, when bananas were fairly exotic and considered a delicacy?

            • Re: (Score:3)

              by Rei ( 128717 )

              "It's tasty, easy to grow, and it ships well." - It's not, not abnormally so, and not abnormally so.

              IMHO, most other cultivars I've tried are tastier than cavendish. There's nothing unusually easy or productive about growing cavendish bananas (I say this as someone who has a jamaican red in her plant room whose pseudostem is nearly as wide as her waist... friggin' monster!), and its peel (the primary determiner of how well it ships) is pretty average in terms of thickness, maybe even on the thin side.

              Caven

            • Clearly switching to more varieties is part of the solution, but the Cavendish cultivar dominates the banana industry for good reasons. It's tasty, easy to grow, and it ships well.

              Actually, I think it has less to do with the taste, and more to do with your other points. Taste-wise the cavendish is one of the most bland and uninspiring banana varieties. Cavendish is visually appealing and handles rough shipping better than other varieties. There is less waste in getting the banana from farmer to final point of sale.

              Switching to almost any other variety there is going to be more waste, and with it less profit and more cost to the consumer; however, we'll probably end up with superio

          • It's time to invoke genetic engineering to make bananas resistant to disease. When this happens, leftists will have to stop eating bananas. More for me!

          • When I've been in the Carribean, they have awesome mangos! Much better than you can get at any supermarket in the US. Part of the reason, though, is that those varieties don't travel well. Like the difference between garden tomatoes and the ones at the store, or how you can't really buy pawpaws anywhere, it isn't a given that banana production with a different cultivar will strongly resemble what was possible with extinct cultivars. We could perhaps make some new ones quickly with GMO technology but the

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Greyfox ( 87712 )
            Not even the Cavendish is going to disappear. There are already GMO versions that are very resistant to the fungus. If you're in the intersection of won't ever buy GMO products and can't survive without the Cavendish, you're pretty boned, but once Darwin takes care of you, the people who really like Cavendish will still be able to get them. And you'll also be able to get 78 other varieties of banana at the grocery store.

            • Not even the Cavendish is going to disappear. There are already GMO versions that are very resistant to the fungus.

              I'm actually a little disappointed to hear this. I'd love to see it go and be replaced with a bunch of varieties out of necessity. Sometimes the only way to force a population to change is to make them go cold turkey.

              The Cavendish is all I can get where I live. If a GMO version is available, that will be all I'll be able to get. But if there were no Cavendish, people would demand that they be replaced with something. That might just cause growers to ship a number of different types to see what sells best, a

              • The nature of bananas, as a species, means you're unlikely to get a bunch of varieties compared to now.

                Non-sterile bananas have giant seeds that significantly impact how you can eat it. This is not going to become popular.

                Therefore, all the trees on all the farms will be clones. And all the above-ground parts regrow every year. (they're not real trees)

                Having multiple varieties on the same plantation means that you have to have a high level of organization. You have to have some sort of layout, some system o

            • Fuck yeah ! I want a GMO banana that has a rainbow striped peel , and contains a mild biologically produced sedative. And Maybe throw in some neural stimulants.

              And it should also catch fire when it hits the ground for safety reasons, so no one slips.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by dj245 ( 732906 )
            An interesting tangent- banana flavored candy doesn't taste much like the cavendish, but apparently tastes similar to the lost gros michel.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by lgw ( 121541 )

      National Geographic must be slipping. Something bad is happening, and there was a quotable paragraph from the story that didn't blame global warming.

      • National Geographic must be slipping. Something bad is happening, and there was a quotable paragraph from the story that didn't blame global warming.

        ...or certain politicians of a particular political party.

        Man, they are slipping.

    • That means nothing, though.

      I mean first off, you'll have to cite a source 'cause it's not the article linked in the summary... you put quotes around it so I can only assume it's a direct quote from somewhere.

      And when I search for that phrase, I get something slightly different; "Year over year, the value of global banana exports appreciated by 14.6% from 2017 to 2018." (src [worldstopexports.com]) which is saying something very different.

      But even if total global production is up, that says nothing relevant to the story here; Lost

    • No known fungicide or biocontrol measure has proven effective against TR4.

      Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way...

      • Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way...

        I was going to suggest we grow them on Mars in greenhouses powered by fusion reactors... no way they'll be exposed to the disease up there.

  • Oh well (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Viol8 ( 599362 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:06AM (#59082268) Homepage

    Farmers and agro companies didn't listen when they were told of the dangers of a monoculture so they will literally reap what they sow in this case.

    Perhaps once the plantations are gone they can return to the forest that was cut down to create them. Yeah, I know, fat chance...

    • Re:Oh well (Score:5, Interesting)

      by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:38AM (#59082406) Homepage Journal

      As the hill plantations are burned down they will likely be converted to the easiest option, pasto mejorado... "Improved pasture". It's a grass mix that nourishes cows okay, being ruminants, but a horse will go malnourished on it. Low-lying plantations like the ones owned by United fruit co. just on the Costa Rica side of the Panama/CR border might be shifted to pineapple production. That requires a lot less labor than the same number of acres of bananas, though. Get ready for more economic refugees.

    • Farmers and agro companies didn't listen when they were told of the dangers of a monoculture so they will literally reap what they sow in this case.

      Perhaps once the plantations are gone they can return to the forest that was cut down to create them. Yeah, I know, fat chance...

      I'd wager that farmers know more about what's involved in this than commentators on Slashdot. It's not like they're just sitting there waiting for disasters. Farmers and agro companies have been looking at possible solutions for years. This isn't the mortgage crisis where everyone ignored the elephant in the room. In this case, everyone involved knows the elephant is coming and is either trying to fence him in or drive him off. And I've been reading about this effort for a decade now. It's not like Dole or

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by Viol8 ( 599362 )

        " Farmers and agro companies have been looking at possible solutions for years"

        Given there are plenty of other banana varieties and plenty of scope for breeding new ones they clearly have been looking very hard.

    • they will literally reap what they sow

      Or reap nothing at all.

    • The farmers are poor as fuck and don't get a chance to decide what to do other than what the big companies force on them. It's has been like that since the days of Banana republics and the chiquita massacres. The farmers are born fucked and die fucked.
  • I mean we could modify the fungus. Or the banana. Or both.
    • I almost wonder if we already can. It sounds like a convoluted Bond villain plot but if you could produce a tree that’s immune to the fungus it’s most valuable once everyone is infected and doesn’t have a choice but to buy the modified and resistant tree.

  • Yikes! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Ol Olsoc ( 1175323 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:08AM (#59082274)
    The porn industry is in a panic!

  • That has happened before and will happen again (Score:5, Informative)

    by r2kordmaa ( 1163933 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:11AM (#59082292)
    The current Cavendish variety took over before a similar disease wiped out the previous one. The problem is that commercial bananas have no seeds, so the only way to get more banana plants is to clone them. All the plantations around the world are virtually genetically identical and are thus easy for diseases to wipe out. It's probably going to get solved via GMO, but still, expect a period where bananas dissapear from shops while all the plantations are replanted.
    • The superior Big Mike will come back after we GMO it to resist this fungus.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

        The superior Big Mike will come back after we GMO it to resist this fungus.

        According to wikipedia, while efforts are underway to GMO Panama disease resistance into Cavendish cultivars, there's not much effort to do the same for the Gros Michel.

        And I feel like I've already read/learned way too much about bananas, especially for someone who find them disgusting.

        • You must understand the global food security implications of the banana. It's cheap. A frost-hardy banana that can bloom in USDA Hardiness Zone 7 would be amazing.

    • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • I am only willing to talk about health issues and DNA and what not if the copyright issue is solved with GMO. And by solved I mean dissolved, not regulated. Before that any health issue is irrelevant.

        Given all the patents around human DNA already, you are more likely to receive a cease and desist letter.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
      • Do you apply the same logic to all the patented non-GMO foods on the market, yes? There are many, from apples [google.com] to kiwis [justia.com]. And I assume you're donating money to the plant breeders who developed them and can't simply work for free, yes? Otherwise your statement is ignorant of how modern plant breeding works given that you target only one facet of it, and hypocritical that you want to benefit from the labor of plant breeders but don't think they deserve to be paid for their efforts.

        I'm not the biggest fan of

    • Re:That has happened before and will happen again (Score:5, Interesting)

      by iggymanz ( 596061 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @09:39AM (#59082618)

      Except that's false, "previous one", the the Gros Michel is still alive and well, farmed locally and eaten in many places. It just can't be used in large plantations because of high probability of massive infection happening. The Cavendish won't disappear either, it'll just be avoided by the large plantations. Bananas don't and won't go extinct, they're pretty much like weeds in the wild.

      There are hundreds of types of bananas to pick "the next one" if needed,whether used directly or altered by breeding or gene mod.

      In short, no reason to think bananas will disappear, they can't.

      As aside, we eat six types at our house, check out your local asian or mexican grocery store, they'll have several varieties. Be ware a couple types needs to be baked, unless you like eating twine, LOLZ.

  • TR4 Resistant Bananas Exist (Score:5, Informative)

    by EmagGeek ( 574360 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:22AM (#59082330) Journal

    TR4-resistant bananas have been under evaluation for a while. Seems like they are on top of things.

    https://www.wur.nl/en/newsarti... [www.wur.nl]

    http://www.fruitnet.com/eurofr... [fruitnet.com]

    http://www.bananalink.org.uk/t... [bananalink.org.uk]

    https://www.sciencedaily.com/r... [sciencedaily.com]

  • *NOT* Western Australia ... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Rip!ey ( 599235 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:30AM (#59082370)
    ... by Australia, the linked article should make it clear that West Australian Bananas (a significant crop) are not infected. For now. Queensland and the Northern Territory only. For now. *Crosses fingers.*

    • It crossed the sea, you honestly don't think it's gonna get there? Apparently the ideal environment for growing bananas and the ideal environment for growing TR4 are one in the same.

  • Alternative solution (Score:5, Insightful)

    by iTrawl ( 4142459 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @08:49AM (#59082470)

    Have they tried thoughts and prayers? They seem to work great for stuff like alternative medicine, alternative psychology, alternative education... So why not alternative fungus control?

    • I stepped past the last banana today and thought 'This banana is one step closer to disappearing'. And now it's gone. So I'm having an apple.

    • Since God designed and created the banana that would probably be a sensible thing to do. Maybe if we stopped ruining the planet he created these sort of things wouldn't happen.
    • Prayers are naturally useless. But thoughts? You expect to solve problems without thinking?

  • Venezuelan here (Score:5, Interesting)

    by williamyf ( 227051 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @09:01AM (#59082506)

    There are many different varieties of bananas, not affected by TR4.
    We have a local one that stays color green through all of the lifecycle (before ripe, ripe and decayed). More starchy, less starchy, "kinda-sorta-strawberry flavored" bananas, you name it.

    Problem is, people are used to cavendish bananas, long, thin, yellow bananas.

    So, if cavendish populations get erradicated by the TR4, the industry will get disrupted during the inter-regno, until the "next banana" gets stablished.

    I would hate to see another species (cavendish banana) get extinct. But am I worried? Not a single bit.

    In the end, I guess the solution is to engineer a banana with polinization and seed, so that bananas stop being a monoculture...

    • Many types is right, there are about 1100 types of bananas!

      No species of banana went extinct though, the Gros Micheal just can't be used in large plantations. Still around, farmed and eaten in many places. The Cavendish won't go extinct either, just won't be here in grocery stores in the USA and Canada.

      My grocery store has eight types of bananas. The big purple ones need to be baked though.

      • If those big purple ones are more starchy than clasic bananas, try slicing them very, very thin, fry them and eat the resulting chips with salt. depending if the banana is ripe or not, the flavour of the resulting chips with vary.

        Or slice them thick, fry them a little, then hit them with a cooking hammer, fry some more, seasson with salt and "very little" garlic powder. Only non ripe starchy bananas need apply.

        Also, if you are baking them, try to open them like a hot dog bun, and seasson them with grated wh

        • green plantains are great for chips, I'm not sure what these things would do if fried, baked they get very gooey.

          • Again, depends of the starchiness. If you make chips of green platains, you get a differnt flavour than if you make chips of the same platains when they are ripe (the rippe ones are way sweeter).

  • Title is nonsense (Score:5, Informative)

    by iggymanz ( 596061 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @09:34AM (#59082604)

    the Gros Michel, the "previous one" before the Cavendish is still around, alive and well not extinct, not wiped out. It is still grown and eaten locally in many places. It just can't be used in large plantations is all, because the possibility of large infection and crop loss.

    The Cavendish won't disappear either, it just won't be able to be used in large monoculture production. So, a problem for big business and places where bananas can't be bought from small local biz or grown in back yard.

    There are HUNDREDS of types of bananas to choose a replacement crop or to alter. There is no big problem.

  • Comment removed (Score:3)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @09:50AM (#59082660)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • It must be that in banana republics the bananas can vote, they should elect leaders to solve their own problems.

  • "The Banana Is One Step Closer To Disappearing" (Score:5, Funny)

    by nwaack ( 3482871 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @09:51AM (#59082664)
    That's what she said.

  • Time for a New Business Venture (Score:5, Funny)

    by gachunt ( 4485797 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @10:01AM (#59082704)
    Apparently, there's no more money in the banana stand...
  • Let's get a handle on this stupid fungus, please... I like bananas.

  • "not unsafe"? I think the word you are looking for is "safe". A double negative never looks good.

  • But not for mammals absent a cecum that predisposes them to a carnivorous diet.

  • Bring on the seeded and different tasting (Score:3)

    by Eravnrekaree ( 467752 ) on Tuesday August 13, 2019 @03:33PM (#59083970)

    The solution is to swtich to seeded varieties, and new varieties with a large selection of flavor. Consumers also want a much wider variaty of banana strains with other flavors such as strawberry bananas. The Cavendish is a disgusting and plain banana. Todays consumer is more interested in trying new and exciting exotic foods rather than to eat the same old thing over and over. The problem is agribusiness which is stuck in this idea that people want plain tasteless, seedless bananas when clearly todays consumer is interested in something new. Bring on the rich variety of new strains, colors and tastes I say.

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