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
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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.