Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

nationalgeographic.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 193 posts

Re: The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

#11

Post by ggm »

tux1968 wrote: post #2

These sentences seemed at odds with one another: > Banana agriculture is itself partly to blame for the potential of the fungus to spread. Commercial plantations grow almost exclusively one clonal variety, called the Cavendish; these plants’ identical genetics mean they are also identically susceptible to disease. and then very shortly after saying: > ... residents of banana-producing nations rely on a multitude of l…

I don't see these in conflict. commercially exported banana is based on clonal reproduction and is therefore highly exposed to risk of a disease. All banana varieties (to some extent) have risk, the locally consumed varieties are not always Cavendish, or LadyFinger but include more rich varieties which may or may not be clonally sourced, but do include seeded bananas and plantain varieties, but also have the risk: its just commercial agriculture has driven to a very very high risk of consequence.

Re: The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

#13

Post by latchkey »

sn41 wrote: post #6

Bananas are the prime cautionary tale against monoculture. The number of native breeds which are now gone for the sake of promotion of one particular breed leads to less resilience against disease and pests. Just in my corner of India, there are various varieties. [1] However, in the U.S., the only variety you often get to see is the insipid Cavendish, whose only merit seems to be shelf-life. If you travel in the tro…

I currently live in Vietnam, but was recently traveling around Laos by motorbike. The bananas there are almost inedible... they taste awful. I found it fascinating how different they were compared with Vietnamese bananas.

That said, I saw huge fields of farmed trees literally everywhere there (as well as in VN). I don't think they are in any real danger of disappearing like these articles say. It is very sensationalist news.

Re: The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

#14

Post by unreal37 »

tux1968 wrote: post #2

These sentences seemed at odds with one another: > Banana agriculture is itself partly to blame for the potential of the fungus to spread. Commercial plantations grow almost exclusively one clonal variety, called the Cavendish; these plants’ identical genetics mean they are also identically susceptible to disease. and then very shortly after saying: > ... residents of banana-producing nations rely on a multitude of l…

From Wikipedia: "Cavendish bananas accounted for 47% of global banana production between 1998 and 2000, and the vast majority of bananas entering international trade."

Residents of banana-producing countries eat more varieties of bananas (locally produced), but even those bananas are at risk.

Re: The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

#15

Post by gervu »

anfilt wrote: post #8

I find it weird that people would not like other variety of bananas. Like there are generally more than one type of apples, potatoes, onions, tomotoes, and lettuce at most grocery stores. I would like the choice.

It's often worth parsing "people would like" as "marketers think people would like."

Or even, "although people would like, someone's trying to maximize profit margins."

And that second one is notably is taken within the scope of that quarter, or the next few years that they expect to work there, or even the next few decades before they expect to retire. Which often conflicts with longer-term sustainability problems like retained biodiversity.

Re: The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

#16

Post by geomark »

anfilt wrote: post #8

I find it weird that people would not like other variety of bananas. Like there are generally more than one type of apples, potatoes, onions, tomotoes, and lettuce at most grocery stores. I would like the choice.

Consumers in some countries don't even know there is more than one type. Monoculture and mass distribution rule. Where I live now there are half-a-dozen varieties that are routinely eaten.

Re: The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

#19

Post by ralusek »

> Desperate, the predecessors of Chiquita and Dole switched production [from the Gros Michel] to a banana they knew to be resistant to Panama disease, despite its relatively bland flavor: the now-ubiquitous Cavendish.

I want to try the Gros Michel. What I'm eating is relatively bland?

Re: The fungus that devastates the Cavendish banana has now arrived in Latin America

#20

Post by chewbacha »

anfilt wrote: post #8

I find it weird that people would not like other variety of bananas. Like there are generally more than one type of apples, potatoes, onions, tomotoes, and lettuce at most grocery stores. I would like the choice.

If memory serves, bananas are only profitable as a monoculture. In addition to bananas being triploidy and unable to seed, it’s basically impossible to grow and establish the seedless variety of plant by any other means other than cloning.

It’s a pretty unique fruit and it’s economy has tumbled in the past already got these very reasons.

Post reply on HN