DOWNLOAD VIDEO
Essential question
What role does science play in improving the quality of the food we eat?
Banana farmers are in the midst of a serious battle to protect one of the world’s most popular fruits from a fatal fungus. The fungus, known as “Panama disease,” has already decimated plantations from Asia to Australia and the Middle East and threatens to wipe out the most common species of bananas, the Cavendish banana.
So far the disease has not been detected in Latin America, which accounts for 70 percent of the world’s banana supply. Banana researchers in Honduras have been working to develop a new fungus-resistant variety of banana through cross breeding.
Cross breeding allows scientists to combine Cavendish bananas with plants that are resistant to Panama disease, according to Juan Aguilar, the chief banana breeder at the Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research. Aguilar's team sends the samples to Australia, where the disease exists and can be tested for resistance to the fungus.
Their goal is not only to find a resistant variety of the Cavendish, but also to help develop new varieties in the event the Cavendish can’t be saved.
Key terms
fungicide — a chemical that destroys fungus cross breeding — to produce a plant or animal by the mating of individuals of different breeds, varieties or speciesWarm up questions ( before watching the video)
- Where are most of the bananas you eat grown?
- What does fungus do to plants?
- How do produce farmers protect fruits and vegetables from harmful diseases?
Critical thinking questions ( after watching the video)
- What challenges do researchers trying to breed fungus-resistant Cavendish bananas face?
- What would happen if the world's population of Cavendish bananas were wiped out?
- Why is stopping the spread of Panama disease so important to countries where bananas are a large industry?
