Bananas rank fourth worldwide as the most valuable food crop, after rice, wheat and potatoes. Almost 80 million metric tons are harvested annually around the world, with 72 million tons harvested from the tropical countries. Bananas are considered a staple food in Latin America and Africa. In Uganda alone per capita banana consumption is 1.3 pounds per day. Bananas are easily digested and high in vitamin A and C and in potassium.
However, the scientists said that there banana fruit could be extinct within 10 years since it unable to fight off a plague of pests and disease. It is because Black Sigatoka, a fungal disease that cuts yields by up to three quarters and reduces the productive lives of banana plants from 30 to only two or three years, has become a global epidemic. Black Sigatoka is one of the most devastating leaf-destroying diseases. This disease also sometimes known as black leaf streak, causes significant reduction in leaf area, yield losses of 50% or more, and premature ripening.
Black Sigatoka was first recognized in Fiji in 1963, before widespread to Southeast Asia and South Pacific. It appeared in 1972 in Honduras.
In commercial export plantations, Black Sigatoka is controlled by frequent applications of fungicides. Removal of affected leaves, good drainage, and sufficient spacing also help to fight the disease. Research on genetically modified banana also is going on in order to help prevent this devastating disease.
Banana and Black Sigatoka
