The Cavendish banana variety is currently the most popular, accounting for 47 percent of the world market. Before that, the gro Michel was the leader, completely destroyed by a fungal disease in the 1950s. It seems that the same fate awaits the Cavendish.
Cavendish became a leader due to its practicality, but disease still found a vulnerability in this variety. It was originally immune to the TR1 fungus, but in 1997, researchers in Australia identified infection in these bananas as well. This is a new strain of Panama disease, tropical race-4. The infection starts at the roots, then as it spreads it prevents the tree from absorbing water and performing photosynthesis, causing it to die.
The disease gradually spread across the continent and by 2015 was affecting farms in Queensland. Then it was found on Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, African and South American farms. According to scientists, the new outbreak has the potential to trigger the variety’s demise.
