Panama disease
Plant disease that primarily affects Bananas / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Panama disease (or Fusarium wilt) is a plant disease that infects banana plants (Musa spp.). It is a wilting disease caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). The pathogen is resistant to fungicides and its control is limited to phytosanitary measures.[1]
| Panama disease | |
|---|---|
_(20166670479).jpg) Gros Michel banana affected by disease, Costa-Rica, 1919 | |
| Common names | Panama disease Fusarium wilt of banana Vascular wilt of banana |
| Causal agents | Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense |
| Hosts | banana |
| Vectors | water, soil residues, replanting of suckers, farming tools and transport, leaf trash |
| EPPO Code | FUSACB |
| Distribution | Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Australia, the Philippines, Jordan, Vietnam, Laos, Pakistan, Lebanon, Mozambique, Oman |
During the 1950s, an outbreak of Panama disease almost wiped out the commercial Gros Michel banana production. The Gros Michel banana was the dominant cultivar of bananas, and Fusarium wilt inflicted enormous costs and forced producers to switch to other, disease-resistant cultivars. Currently, a new outbreak of Panama disease caused by the strain Tropical Race 4 (TR4) threatens the production of the Cavendish banana, today's most popular cultivar.