Panama disease stalks banana cultivation in Kerala

• The Panama disease caused by a soil-borne fungus is threatening banana crops across Kerala
• It is posing a potential crisis for farmers, even as global efforts to control the disease gain momentum.

About Panama Disease:

• Panama disease, also known as Fusarium wilt of banana ,  is one of the most notorious of all plant diseases. Although the pathogen probably originated in Southeast Asia, the disease was first reported in Australia in 1876. By 1950, few banana-producing regions remained free of the disease.
• Panama disease is now found in all banana-producing regions except islands in the South Pacific, the Mediterranean, Melanesia, and Somalia.
• Panama disease impacts the production of a wide range of banana cultivars.
• The first external symptoms of Panama disease are a yellowing of the oldest leaves or a longitudinal splitting of the lower portion of the outer leaf sheaths on the pseudostem. This is followed by a wilt and buckling of leaves at the petiole base. In some cases, these leaves remain green. As the disease progresses, younger and younger leaves collapse until the entire canopy consists of dead or dying leaves
• The disease cannot be controlled or cured other than by soil treatments, which unfortunately have such a detrimental effect on the environment that they are prohibited almost everywhere.
• One of the worst effects of Panama disease is the production of so-called chlamydospores , or resting spores, which survive in the soil for decades. As soon as a susceptible banana plant is grown nearby, these spores germinate, infect the plant, and kill it.

By: Vishal