An inconvenient truth, the banana industry in Asia and the Philippines Details Alert sent: No Sites: PH Publish date: Mon 2014-Feb-3 Channel: Pests/diseases Text (summary): A catastrophic dilemma is now lurking in the midst of Asia’s banana industry. The deadly Fusarium wilt (Panama wilt) Tropical Race 4 (TR4) disease has long emerged in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. But of late, aggressive spread has been reported specifically in the Philippines and China, two major Cavendish producers in the world. Many farms in Davao region have been known to be severely affected by TR4 but the extent of damage and epidemics was not clear. “I did not realize that the Fusarium wilt problem has already spread like a bushfire,” sadly remarked Dr. Molina, Regional Coordinator of Bioversity International-Asia, Pacific and Oceanic. This he voiced after Mr. Remigio Garcia, President of the Mindanao Banana Farmers and Exporters Association (MBFEA), reported that about 39% (5,900 hectares) of their members’ aggregate Cavendish plantation area had been infected. Three thousand (3,000) hectares of which had been abandoned. Read more: www.abanorte.com.br [English Locations Location Coordinates Zoom Relevance Show on map Philippines 13°N 122°E 0.849 Manat, Davao, Philippines 7.5327°N 126.017°E 0.499 Taiwan 24°N 121°E 0.427 China 35°N 105°E 0.413 Indonesia 5°S 120°E 0.321 Malaysia 2.5°N 112.5°E 0.319 Discovery Discoveries: Discovery method: Robot discovered URL: http://www.abanorte.com.br/noticias/an-inconvenient-truth-the-banana-industry-in-asia-and-the-philip… Original language: English Original title: An inconvenient truth, the banana industry in Asia and the Philippines Original text (summary): A catastrophic dilemma is now lurking in the midst of Asia’s banana industry. The deadly Fusarium wilt (Panama wilt) Tropical Race 4 (TR4) disease has long emerged in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines. But of late, aggressive spread has been reported specifically in the Philippines and China, two major Cavendish producers in the world. Many farms in Davao region have been known to be severely affected by TR4 but the extent of damage and epidemics was not clear. “I did not realize that the Fusarium wilt problem has already spread like a bushfire,” sadly remarked Dr. Molina, Regional Coordinator of Bioversity International-Asia, Pacific and Oceanic. This he voiced after Mr. Remigio Garcia, President of the Mindanao Banana Farmers and Exporters Association (MBFEA), reported that about 39% (5,900 hectares) of their members’ aggregate Cavendish plantation area had been infected. Three thousand (3,000) hectares of which had been abandoned.
