Bananas are Going Extinct -- Can We Still Save Them?

One of the world's most favorite fruits is on the verge of extinction. The Cavendish banana is now under attack by a fungus known as Tropical Race 4 (TR4) which has given rise to the Fusarium Wilt also known as the Panama disease.

What made Cavendish bananas vulnerable to the disease? Cavendish bananas are genetically uniform monoculture. Having homogeneous genetics make them more susceptible to diseases.

"Being genetically identical means if a pest comes in, such as a fungus, and it infects one plant it means it's definitely going to spread to all the other plants," Beth Dokolasa of Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers told Denver Local News.

Meanwhile, Christian Science Monitor said that researchers are now developing a technique to counter the extinction such as breeding new types of bananas resistant to disease.

The scientists are exploring other breeds of bananas that may not have the desirable characteristics but may have resistance genes that could be used in engineering and breeding programs. Unless the program will be deemed successful, we remain at risk of history repeating itself.