Fusarium or Panama Disease(Banana)

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Recently, Indian scientists have found a cure for Panama Disease

A brief note on the issue

The scientists of Indian Council of Agriculture Research or ICAR, have found a cure for Panama Disease one of the most dreaded agricultural diseases.
For the first time, Indian scientists have brought out a biopesticide that can control the disease. This biopesticide has been made using another fungus.

What is Panama disease/Fusarium Wilt?

The fungal disease, called Fusarium Wilt, is popularly known as the ‘Panama Disease’ and afflicts banana plants
Panama Disease is caused by a soil borne fungus with a name called Fusarium Oxysporum f. Sp cubense.
One of its strains which is called ‘Tropical Race 4’ or ‘TR4’ has created the most havoc, threatening almost 80 per cent of the global banana production.
It is the first disease of bananas to have spread globally in the first half of the 20th century.
The epidemic strated in Central America on the susceptible ‘Gros Michel’ banana, which at the time dominated the global export trade.
The Fusarium fungus resides below ground and infects the plant through its roots.
The infection then stops water and essential nutrients from being transported to the rest of the plant.
The leaves begin to wilt, and the stem of the plant starts turning dark brownish before the plant dies.
If one plant gets it, then it is most likely that an entire plantation can be wiped out.
This disease is sometimes referred to as ‘banana cancer’
It affects the Cavendish variety or the G9 Banana cultivar, which is the most widely grown banana in the world.

Types of Bananas in India

In India, more than 60 per cent of bananas are of the G9 variety.
Their different names are ‘Grand Naine’, ‘Robusta’, ‘Bhusaval’, ‘Basrai’ and ‘Shrimanth’.
In India at least four Indian states Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have been badly affected by this disease. All these are areas where the Cavendish variety is grown.