In my IB biology class we have started the topic of Ecology and it's application. For one of my blog posts in this topic I will summarize the following article:
http://www.enn.com/ecosystems/article/49393
The tropical race 4 or fomarium oxysporum is a type of fungi which causes what is know as Panama disease on the variety of cavendish bananas, which is the only variety grown for the global market. The specie of fungi was first discovered in the 1990s in malasia but now it has spread to south east Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
The disease is deadly for the cavendish banana. It spreads through death plant matter but also through the clothes of the workers, and the pathogen is quickly spreading to other countries. It supposes a great danger not only for mass producers of bananas for developed countries, but also for local little farmers whose economy depends on their banana plantations. It's vital that scientist find a solution to the epidemic, cause it will have devastating results if it developed more.
