Banana-geddon! Fruit Favourite Could Be Entirely Wiped Out By Plague In Five Years
If you are a lover of bananas then you may want to stock up… as there might not be ANY left in five years.
The popular fruit is now under threat from a lethal mix of three diseases, known as the Sigatoka complex.
Already the disease has slashed the banana yield by a hefty 40% - and it may not end there, as it is evolving to be even more lethal.
More alarmingly (if you love your ‘nanas), the Cavendish variation of the fruit that is usually found in supermarkets is grown from cuttings, meaning they are all essentially clones from one plant.
Plant pathologist Ioannis Stergiopoulos explained: “We have demonstrated that two of the three most serious banana fungal diseases have become more virulent by increasing their ability to manipulate the banana’s metabolic path ways and make use of its nutrients.
At risk: Bananas are in danger of being wiped out from a deadly fungal disease (Rex)
“This parallel change in metabolism of the pathogen and the host plant has been overlooked until now and may represent a ‘molecular fingerprint’ of the adaptation process.
“The Cavendish banana plants all originated from one plant and so as clones, they all have the same genotype — and that is a recipe for disaster.
“It is really a wake-up call to the research community to look at similar mechanisms between pathogens and their plant hosts.”
And if you didn’t understand all that, it basically means more needs to be done if we ever want banoffee pie again.
Mr Stergiopoulous said that fungicide may have to be applied up to 50 times per year by farmers to save our bananas.
Top pic: Rex
