Forums > Social Discussion > bye bye banana
Login/Join to ParticipateRunning hippy spinning lemming
15 posts
Location: Scotland
Am sure that loads of peeps heard of this, but in my isolated world i missed it so thought i would share...
The banana is about to disappear from store shelves around the globe. Experts say the world's favourite fruit will pass into oblivion within a decade. No more fresh bananas. No more banana bread. No more banana muffins or banana cream pie.
Why? Because the banana is the victim of centuries of genetic tampering. Scientists say they will be unable to prevent the extirpation of the banana as an edible commercial crop. And its demise may be one more powerful argument in the hands of those who are concerned about genetic modification of foods.
The banana's main problem is that it has become sterile and seedless as a result of 10,000 years of selective breeding. It has, over time, become a plant with unvarying genetic sameness. The genetic diversity needed to cope with environmental stresses, such as diseases and crop pests, has long ago been bred out of the banana. Consequently, the banana plantations of the world are completely vulnerable to devastating environmental pressures.
According to Emile Frison, newly appointed director-general of the Rome-based International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, science is helpless to prevent the demise of the banana. Already, he says, as much as 50 per cent of the world's banana harvest is lost to insects and disease.
Now a powerful plant pathogen, the Black Sigatoka fungus, has appeared on the scene, attacking the Cavendish stock around the world. Banana yields have already dropped by 50-70 per cent, and banana-tree life spans have been reduced from about 30 years to just about two years. The genetic uniformity among Cavendish bananas has made them helpless to fight Black Sigatoka. Nor can chemical spraying save the day.
eek...
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Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering...
addict
567 posts
Location: USA
atleast we can listen to banana phone and watch the dancing banana for peanut butter jelly time... my sweet bananas... i will miss you babies.... your wittle yellowy goodness.. lol
"I don't know what you are talking about"
"Cardinal!!! Poke her... with the SOFT CUSIONS!!!!"
"Its not working my lord!"
"Have you got all of the stuffing on one end?!"
Devil May Cry
327 posts
Location: Manchester / London, United Kingdom
*gasps* NOOOOOOO run for your lives! bananas !Armageddon is upon us!
NOOOO
do you think we can cryogenicly freeze some so future generations can know what it looked like
?
hehehee I give hope to others but I keep none for myself.
Stream Entrant
2,829 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Hi Psycho_lemming, thanks for that.
I think your experts are ill-informed if they suggest that bananas will disappear from store shelves around the globe. So, I would like to read your source article.
For a more balanced article on Black Sigatoka try the The American Phytopathological Society March 1, 1999.
If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh
Running hippy spinning lemming
15 posts
Location: Scotland
he he... Stone... yeah i agree, not sure on my sources accuracy... not from a scientific paper or anything
i found that article after being told about this article from a the guardian i think on 21st May 2006, but i couldnt find that much info around the subject
*wonders what to believe*
the genetic diversity of our veg is definately not so good tho...
Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering...
Running hippy spinning lemming
15 posts
Location: Scotland
another link
and erm
yeah original article was published in 2003... so prob very overly dramatic in light of new research... here ... sorry i should have checked
tis all interesting tho
Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering...
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
read the same in the new scientist...
I think the worry isn't about bananas disappearing within the next few weeks. It's more because the ones we eat don't have seeds, and the stock WITH seeds is now dying. So once the trees we get the bananas from now are dead, it'll be difficult to raise the next generation.
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
Running hippy spinning lemming
15 posts
Location: Scotland
nods... new scientist article can be read here
eek to much reading... and too much procrastination...
do you think i can u use the excuse its exam related a tiny bit
sorry off topic...
Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering...
old hand
920 posts
Location: New Zealand
Yeah i heard about this a few years ago. I also heard that if you ever find a seed in a banana then you can sell it for a lot of money.
I can't imagine a world without bananas.
Strangly enough tho, whilst you only get standard bananas in uk you get those and Lady FInger Bananas down under.
I also remember in kenya having these tiny green but super sweet bananas as a kid, not sure if they are just young normal ones tho.
But i'm pretty sure that standard bananas could be exstinct within our lifetime. I heard that all banana trees are cuttings from other banana trees since the seeds have been bred out of the fruit.
m
Spherculism ~:~ The Act of becoming Spherculish.
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia
If we can keep the Black Sigatoka fungus out of Australia it would be good. We do ok for being isolated.
Cyclones this year have pushed banana prices up 500% here. Bloody hell they are expensive and I cant find canned bananas either. Maybe there are wild strains, or strains that are resistant will be selected for.
for Nat Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu
90 posts
Stream Entrant
2,829 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Gnor, part of keeping the Black Sigatoka fungus out of Australia is not succumbing to pressure to import bananas to replace banannas destroyed during the cyclone.
Psycho_lemming, great thread. It’s not quite time to panic yet. Those “less desirable" banana varieties could have resistance to the two diseases mentioned. The following are quotes from the links articles.
“There are about 300 varieties of the fruit, and the current fear applies to only one of them, the Cavendish. The Cavendish, the banana American consumers are most familiar with, is currently threatened in some Asian countries by a new strain of fusarium wilt known as Panama Disease or Race 4. (Barbara Mikkelson)
In the tropics, you can still find other, less desirable banana varieties, mainly grown as a starchy food staple rather than a sweet treat. But these tropical bananas aren't much like their commercial cousins in North American supermarkets. (Robert Alison, a consultant biologist based in Orillia, Ont., is a former senior biologist for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources).
One variety that contains genes that resist black sigatoka survives as a single plant in the botanical gardens of Calcutta, From New Scientist Print Edition.”
If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia
Written by: Psycho_lemming
Now a powerful plant pathogen, the Black Sigatoka fungus, has appeared on the scene, attacking the Cavendish stock around the world.
!!!!!!!!!!!! but i live in Cavendish Rd! does that mean Black Sigatoka is going to get me too! "but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"
jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley
Stream Entrant
2,829 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Dunno, Mr Majestik, it depends.
Are you a banana?
If we as members of the human race practice meditation, we can transcend our fear, despair, and forgetfulness. Meditation is not an escape. It is the courage to look at reality with mindfulness and concentration. Thich Nhat Hanh
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
Or do you go bananas sometimes??
Matt, I think the tiny bananas are a different brand. So maybe that's what we'll get if the Cavendish ever dies out... would be a yummy alternative
I'm sure other types can be bred to be similar to the ones we have now, but it's still a shame that the old stocks weren't looked after better!!By the way, the same new scientist edition says this about maize/corn/whatever you call it:
https://www.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19025513.200.html
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
10,530 posts
Location: They seek him here, they seek him there...
I'm having banana porridge for breakfast today.
I'll give it a proper send off.
The existance of flamethrowers says that someone, somewhere, at sometime said "I need to set that thing on fire, but it's too far away."
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia
Carnarvon Banana growers are raking it in at the moment. Im sure they could supply rootstock or whatever bananas are grown from.
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Black sigatoka disease
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu
Carpal \'Tunnel
5,814 posts
Location: Perth, Australia
Written by:
Propagation
New plantings are established using rhizomes or pieces of rhizomes called "bits" or "eyes" (analogous to planting potatoes). Large rhizomes allow for earlier and higher yields. Rhizomes are cleaned with knives or brushes, and commonly disinfested pre-plant by hot water dip (130 F), nematicide, and/or fungicide solutions. Rhizomes for propagation are dug from plants a few months old but not yet flowering. Entire suckers from existing stools may be removed and planted as well. Suckers with their first mature-type leaves are the most desirable size for transplanting. Tissue cultured plantlets are sometimes used to start new plantations since they are completely pest free. They must be planted first in containers, usually black polyethylene bags, to obtain the size adequate for field planting.
Micropropagated banana plants provide pest-free propagation material for starting new plantings. They are more expensive than rhizomes or "bits",
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Goodwill and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
Im in a lonely battle with the world with a fish to match the chip on my shoulder. Gnu in Binnu in a cnu
old hand
920 posts
Location: New Zealand
Well thank the banana gods, our smoothies are safe once more.
Those tiny sweet ones are so yummy, normal banans aren't even that great once you've tried a couple other types.
Especially in the EU where there is a law that insists bananas are a certain straightness. Big and flavourless comes as standard with most british fruit, but at least it's nice and shiney and 100% blemish free
m
Spherculism ~:~ The Act of becoming Spherculish.
coming to a country near you
4,696 posts
Location: home of the tiney toothy bear, Australia
we cant afford bananas here, the strom in Queensland destroyed most of australias crops, so retailers immediatly jacked up the prices.
"but have you considered there is more to life than your eyelids?"
jointly owned by Fire_Spinning_Angel and Blu_Valley
242 posts
Location: L.O.N.D.O.N.
In India most of the poor people live off bananas, being so cheap and full of goodness. Luckily they have many different varieties. Much better than the tastes pap you get in the UK.
643 posts
Location: Check behind you.
Written by: ickleMatt
In India most of the poor people live off bananas, being so cheap and full of goodness. Luckily they have many different varieties. Much better than the tastes pap you get in the UK.
My gosh, I'm not the only one? I just about live off bananas when they're around my house. Blasted weather.
Am v. glad the news has turned out not to be as drastic as the top post describes, and while we're in a thread about bananas I think this has to be done at least once. #Takes a deep breath to prepare#
How do you stop spelling bananananananana?
Chucks nuns
Property of mynci and blu_valley, and proud of it.
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128 posts
Location: Bay Area, California, USA
Meh....I dont believe it.
I cant quite imagine the world without bananas
missegyptology: "I just remember beingall off balance and unicycling really fast down to campus and the arabic was all blurred on the page"
^When Linz pulls an all nighter before Arabic class^
had her carpal tunnel surgery already thanks v much
4,145 posts
Location: Edinburgh, Scotland (UK)
You mean...
Written by: Nanny Ogg
Anywey one good thing is the drink here is v. cheap theres this one called a Bananana dakry which is basicly Rum with a banananana* in it.
Written by: Seb
*How do you stop spelling bananananananana?
"vices are like genitals - most are ugly to behold, and yet we find that our own are dear to us."
(G.W. Dahlquist)
Owner of Dragosani's left half
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