The Extinction of Bananas. Really?

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Bananas Going Extinct?

Bananas Going Extinct?

Can the favorite potassium packed favorite fruit of many people be on the brink of extinction? Well it seems that way as of right now. If many don’t know there was an near extinction of bananas once before but a different family of banana genus called the Gros Michel. Not due to unfavorable growing conditions or overeating, but disease. The first time the panama disease or fusarium fungus forced growers to burn their banana crops and made growers rush to find a new variety to grow worldwide. The current version of bananas people eat today is called the Cavendish which was a banana variety that was able to withstand the fusarium fungus. The new strain of disease infecting the cavendish is called Tropical Race 4 (weird name right?) and has spread thought most of Asia and has banana experts concerned like Gert Kema who expressed in a recent published release by Wageningen UR :

“The Cavendish banana is very susceptible to TR4. Therefore, the fungus can spread easily due to the worldwide monoculture of Cavendish bananas. That’s why we have to intensify awareness campaigns to reach small and large-scale growers in order to help them with developing and implementing quarantine measures preventing the fungus from continued spreading.”

Some experts say the threat of extinction for the cavendish bananas is severely overblown and fans shouldn’t worry just yet as it will take a decade for the full blown effects to take the cavendish banana variety off the market.
At most these experts are saying the cavendish will become extremely rare and not for sale commercially just like the Gros Michel which also is very very rare to find. But with the end of the cavendish coming to an end in the foreseeable future, banana fans have to remember and realize that bananas come in many sizes, shapes, and colors and planters, exporters, and stores are going to have to convince you the buyers that they’re just as delicious as the ones we eat now.

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