A Monoculture Disease Threatens A World Crop

The world’s most popular type of banana is threatened by a fungus for which there is no known fix. It has already appeared in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Australia, and according to Washington Post reporter Robert A. Ferdman, it’s only a matter of time before it reaches Latin America, where as much as 99 percent of bananas grown for export originate. Known as the Cavandish, the current dominant strain was bred to replace another that was wiped out by a similar disease decades ago and was successful, allowing bananas to remain relatively cheap and plentiful. Now the fungus has mutated and the Cavandish is no longer immune. According to the writer, the root of this problem is not a type of banana, but a type of production, a monoculture in which virtually the entire commercial export crop consists of identical genetic clones.