A new interdisciplinary project is being launched to protect the country’s favourite fruit, which is in danger of disappearing due to the pressures of rising costs and disease, exacerbated by a lack of genetic diversity in the crop.

Banana production is threatened by Panama disease, the spread of which has been facilitated by increasing trade and transport links. As only one banana variety - the cavendish - accounts for most of the international export trade, production is extremely vulnerable to shocks. The cavendish variety became widely cultivated due to its resistance to a strain of Panama disease which all but wiped out the Gros Michel banana cultivar in the 1950s. Now, a new strain of the disease is threatening the Cavendish.   

If the disease spreads to more banana-producing nations, there’s a risk of shortages occurring, as any outbreaks in the Caribbean or South America could affect exports to North America, and there are currently no commercial cultivars which could replace the Cavendish.

Now though, biologists and economists are embarking on a new research programme to improve understanding of the situation and develop solutions to save banana crops from disease. Teams from the Universities of Exeter and Oxford, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the NGO BananaLink are joining to combat what they’re calling ‘bananageddon’.

As part of a three year project, which begins this month, researchers will assess the likely effects of disease and climate change on the banana trade, and plant biologists will look into resistance to Panama disease.

On Thursday, Dr Dan Bebber, who is a project leader at the University of Exeter, Commented, “We want to estimate the impact of the various biological and economic shocks on the cards for banana production, and develop strategies to reduce the impact of diseases and climate change on production. We believe there would be public health implications if bananas became more expensive, as people might switch to less healthy snacks, along with serious economic impacts on producers in the developing world.”

Dr Adam Staines, from BBSRC, the research board which backed the programme with public money, added, “The threat of crop diseases and the potential for one disease to wipe out an entire crop supply chain is ever increasing with globalisation, changing climates, resistance to antimicrobial agents, and reliance on a more narrow diversity of crops; and as such addressing crop diseases are a key priority area for BBSRC and the other funding partners.

“Bananas are an excellent source of nutrition for the UK and globally, and an economically important crop in many countries. By using a truly multi-disciplinary approach, this research will provide an understanding of future disease threats, work on potential new anti-fungal agents to stop these diseases, and understand the socio-economic context of disease outbreaks.”