Start Getting Used to the Idea of Eating Really Different Kinds of Bananas – The Atlantic Cities Details Alert sent: No Sites: PH Publish date: Wed 2013-Dec-18 Author: Channel: Pests/diseases Text (summary): Walk into any North American supermarket, and the bananas you’ll find in the produce section are almost certainly of the Cavendish variety, pictured above. Scientists have long feared that Tropical Race (TR) 4, a soil fungus that rots the Cavendish banana, will reach Latin America. That’s where the vast majority of the multi-billion dollar banana export trade is based, and the source of nearly all the bananas consumed in the United States. And now, there’s more reason to worry. TR-4 emerged in the 1990s and had been limited to Asian countries like China, Philippines, and Malaysia, as well as Australia. But in the past several months, the fungus has spread to Jordan and Mozambique. Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, says TR-4 could reach Latin America in 10 years or tomorrow, since all it will take is a single clump of errant soil. So assuming the fungus does reach Latin America, what will happen to the banana? Read more: www.theatlanticcities.com [English Locations Location Coordinates Zoom Relevance Show on map Costa Rica, Bicol, Philippines 12.4316°N 123.717°E 0.561 United States 39.76°N 98.5°W 0.544 Jordan, Western Visayas, Philippines 10.6584°N 122.596°E 0.334 Australia 25°S 135°E 0.329 Malaysia 2.5°N 112.5°E 0.311 China 35°N 105°E 0.306 Philippines 13°N 122°E 0.299 Discovery Discoveries: Discovery method: Robot discovered URL: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/arts-and-lifestyle/2013/12/start-getting-used-idea-eating-really-di… Original language: English Original title: Start Getting Used to the Idea of Eating Really Different Kinds of Bananas – The Atlantic Cities Original text (summary): Walk into any North American supermarket, and the bananas you’ll find in the produce section are almost certainly of the Cavendish variety, pictured above. Scientists have long feared that Tropical Race (TR) 4, a soil fungus that rots the Cavendish banana, will reach Latin America. That’s where the vast majority of the multi-billion dollar banana export trade is based, and the source of nearly all the bananas consumed in the United States. And now, there’s more reason to worry. TR-4 emerged in the 1990s and had been limited to Asian countries like China, Philippines, and Malaysia, as well as Australia. But in the past several months, the fungus has spread to Jordan and Mozambique. Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World, says TR-4 could reach Latin America in 10 years or tomorrow, since all it will take is a single clump of errant soil. So assuming the fungus does reach Latin America, what will happen to the banana?
