Image: (OON)
A research team has now developed a genetically modified line of Cavendish bananas, which are now predominantly grown in plantations for export. It is resistant to TR4 – and was recently approved for human consumption in Australia.
- Also read: Chinese researchers inserted human gene into monkey brains
Is QCAV-4 the salvation of the globally threatened banana industry? “I believe that this will be the solution,” says plant pathologist Remco Stam from the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel. It is called Panama disease when the fungus Fusarium oxysporum TR4 causes the death of Cavendish banana plants – by far the most important commercial variety in the world.
Bananas are particularly inexpensive
According to experts, a main reason is probably the price: Bananas are often unbeatably cheap in supermarkets, despite the long journey in refrigerated ships. This is due to the comparatively low production costs in the main supplier countries in South and Central America, but also because supermarkets often use bananas as a kind of yellow advertising banner: they are one of the things that are bought frequently and where there is not a great variety of products – ideal for easily comparable lure offers.
Although TR4 (Tropical Race 4) has been spreading from Southeast Asia into Cavendish-growing regions since around 1990, there has been no noticeable increase in prices so far. This is mainly because the key producers in Latin America are keen to give the fungus as few chances as possible – Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Guatemala are among the largest banana exporters in the world.
My themes
For your saved topics were
new articles found.
info By clicking on the icon you can add the keyword to your topics.
info
By clicking on the icon you open your “my topics” page. They have of 15 keywords saved and would have to remove keywords.
info By clicking on the icon you can remove the keyword from your topics.
Add the topic to your topics.
Source: Nachrichten
