Now ‘BANANA COVID’ hits plantations, another call from nature?

New Delhi: As the novel coronavirus continues to rage across the globe, “fusarium wilt TR4”, a novel fungus strain that has devastated plantations across the globe this year, is setting up new hotspots and threatening output in India, the world’s largest producer of bananas.

 

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The strain, Tropical Race 4 (TR4), was first identified in Taiwan, and has jumped from Asia to the Middle East and Africa, reaching as far as Latin America. It cripples plantations by first attacking the leaves, which turn yellow from their trailing edges before wilting away. There is no effective remedy yet.

 

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“One could say it is the Covid-19 of the plant world. Hotspots have been found in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which we are trying to contain,” said S. Uma, the director of National Research Centre for Bananas (NRCB), Trichy.

 

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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, TR4 is one of the “the most destructive of all plant diseases”. As with Covid-19, there is no treatment yet. So, scientists recommend biosecurity measures including “plant quarantine” to slow its spread. The spreading disease has jeopardised the $26 billion global banana trade.

A healthy snack, banana is the world’s most globally exported fruit, according to the FAO. That’s a reason for worry as the disease is breaching borders through imports.

 

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