Well, maybe we should. Apparently a very serious disease, fusarium, or banana wilt, is already affecting a fourth of the world’s banana crop. This fungus travels under the ground, so spraying from above is not an option.
A very promising strategy that is being developed between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and scientists from several Latin American countries is using irradiation to create what is called “mutation breeding” where the banana plant will become naturally resistant to the fungus.
An interesting World Economic Forum article provides some very interesting information on where bananas are grown and the effect on the economies of a great many countries, and a really neat chart supporting that information and data. One fact that I did not know was that bananas are the world’s most consumed and exported fruit. So yes, we do indeed need to think about bananas. – Dr. Tom
