Unfortunately, also going extinct if we don’t play our cards right. All crop bananas are monocultures, basically clones, and there is a strain of fungus that has adapted to infect them with near 100% mortality rate. A single speck of contaminated soil can destroy an entire field, and it is only aggravated by the effects of climate change which are already devastating food production in general. In fact, we’ve already lost one banana cultivar to another very similar fungus. Commenting not to be a downer but to raise awareness of this active and serious issue. Bananas are a staple crop that many people depend on to survive, both economically and directly as a source of food. Programs are underway to save them but success is far from guaranteed.
Unfortunately, also going extinct if we don’t play our cards right. All crop bananas are monocultures, basically clones, and there is a strain of fungus that has adapted to infect them with near 100% mortality rate. A single speck of contaminated soil can destroy an entire field, and it is only aggravated by the effects of climate change which are already devastating food production in general. In fact, we’ve already lost one banana cultivar to another very similar fungus. Commenting not to be a downer but to raise awareness of this active and serious issue. Bananas are a staple crop that many people depend on to survive, both economically and directly as a source of food. Programs are underway to save them but success is far from guaranteed.