Taking advantage of the technological developments that make sequencing genomes increasingly affordable, scientists compared the genome of the causal agent of Xanthomonas wilt with the one of a closely related strain.
The discovery in India of Cavendish bananas developing symptoms of Fusarium wilt as a result of being infected with a race 1 strain is as perplexing as it is worrisome.
Ivan W. Buddenhagen’s introduction to a new book on the progresses made in breeding bananas. The book covers all aspects of breeding and genetics, including biotechnology.
The World Banana Forum was launched last December at the headquarters of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome to provide a permanent space for stakeholders to discuss the challenges facing the banana industry.
After more than 16 years of at times heated debate, an agreement has finally been concluded between the European Union and Latin American banana suppliers regarding the EU trading regime for fresh dessert bananas.
Most experts agree that it’s only a matter of time before the Fusarium wilt strain known as tropical race 4 escapes from Asia and reaches Latin America and Africa. The recent development of a rapid and reliable diagnostic test that can be used on plant and soil samples should make it harder for the fungal strain to spread undetected.
Markku Hakkinen, a self-taught botanist who is now considered one of the world’s leading authorities on the taxonomy of Musa, received the HH Bloomer award given to an amateur naturalist for an important contribution to biological knowledge.
While the Svalbard Global Seed Vault celebrates its first anniversary, banana scientists can take comfort in the thought that their favourite crop is also safely backed up, in France.
