ProMED
http://www.promedmail.org

Source: Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) [summ. Mod.DHA, edited]
https://agfstorage.blob.core.windows.net/misc/FP_com/2024/01/16/Aban1.pdf

[Ref: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2023): Banana market review preliminary results 2023. FAO, Rome, December 2023, pp. 1 - 4.]

The spread of plant diseases, importantly the devastating spread of the banana fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (TR4) disease in the Philippines and its alarming presence in Peru and Venezuela [ProMED posts 20210414.8308193 and 20230206.8708197], continue to cause production losses as well as financial strain from the substantial costs associated with disease prevention in producing countries.

In Latin America, pressure on growers in Ecuador, the largest exporter of bananas globally, was due to additional expenditures to maintain rigorous TR4 mitigation measures in view of outbreaks in neighbouring Colombia and Peru. Colombia continued to be impacted by higher costs stemming from the implementation of TR4 disease mitigation strategies as well as from preventative measures.

Exports from Asia may contract due to, amongst other factors, the impact of TR4 from 2020 to 2022. The main exporter from the region, the Philippines, has seen production severely affected by the spread of TR4 in the country. According to information released by the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association in April 2023, approximately 15 000 plantations in the Philippines are affected by TR4, causing grave concern for the country's banana industry in 2023 and beyond.
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Communicated by:
ProMED

[Panama disease of banana (PD, also called fungal or fusarium wilt) is caused by the soil-borne fungus _Fusarium oxysporum_ (previously f. sp. _cubense_). Symptoms include yellowing, wilting, and streaking of pseudostems; affected plants die rapidly. The pathogen is spread by infected planting material, mechanical means (including human and insect activities), soil, and water.

Disease management for PD is difficult and mostly relies on phytosanitation for pathogen exclusion. The fungus can survive in the soil for decades; consequently, crop rotation with non-hosts is not likely to control the disease effectively. No effective chemical or cultural control measures are available. Integrated approaches have been developed (ProMED post 20090419.1483), which may include cultural practices, certified clean planting material and biocontrol agents such as _Trichoderma_ species (for example, ProMED post 20160317.4102576 and see link below). Breeding programmes and molecular techniques are being used to develop crop cultivars with increased resistance or tolerance to the different fungal strains. Constant vigilance is required in areas where the fungus is present to prevent flare-ups and recognise emerging new strains.

Several races of the pathogen exist, varying in host range. Cavendish banana varieties (cultivars within the _Musa_ AAA group, see links below) replaced the original eating varieties (such as Gros Michel) because they are resistant to the original fungal strain. They include most of the current commercial eating bananas. Cavendish-affecting strains, such as temperate (subtropical) and tropical (TR4) races 4, as well as a new strain of race 1 (ProMED posts 20210105.8075029, 20101223.4510) have emerged since from Asia and Oceania.

In recent years, TR4 has been reported in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. A detection in Colombia (ProMED posts 20190820.6630576, 20190712.6564489) was the 1st confirmed report of TR4 in the Americas. TR4 is of great concern worldwide; development of TR4-resistant cultivars has become a top priority for many national banana industries (see previous ProMED posts in the archives). Taxonomic revision of TR4 as a separate species is being debated (see link below).

Pictures
PD symptoms on banana:
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0018/51345/5243-Jeff-Daniells-Fus-Wilt-TR4.JPG,
https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.mp-cdn.net/4c/82/45151b125ec633bced8491eb0c87-will-panama-disease-kill-off-bananas-now-there-is-no-new-varieties-of-plants.jpg, and
http://breedingbetterbananas.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/1024_TR4-Collage-1024x475-881x409.jpg
PD-affected plantations:
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/image/0006/168918/Fusarium-wilt-external-symptoms-Suzy-Perry.JPG,
https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/09621faae32c6b454b538b57a3641204?width=1024 and
http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/201001/r501587_2654835.jpg
_F. o._ f. sp. _cubense_ culture:
http://www.ediblegeography.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Panama-Disease.jpg

Links
FAO report also available via:
https://www.fao.org/markets-and-trade/commodities/bananas/en
Summary news story:
https://www.freshplaza.com/north-america/article/9592505/preliminary-results-on-developments-in-global-banana-trade-2023/
Information on Panama disease:
https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-2000-1204-01-HM,
https://doi.org/10.1094/PHP-2005-1221-01-RV and
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-08-29/feature-banana/4922208
Information on race TR4:
http://www.agriculture.gov.au/pests-diseases-weeds/plant/panama-disease-tropical-race-4,
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.00457,
https://phys.org/news/2018-04-path-panama-disease-fungus.html and
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/business-priorities/biosecurity/plant/health-pests-diseases/a-z-list-of-emergency-plant-pests-and-diseases/panama-disease
FAO TR4 Global Network:
https://www.fao.org/tr4gn/en/ and
https://www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2019/10/07/fao-launches-emergency-project-to-combat-banana-disease-tr4/
_F. oxysporum_ taxonomy and synonyms:
http://www.indexfungorum.org/Names/NamesRecord.asp?RecordID=218372,
http://www.speciesfungorum.org/Names/SynSpecies.asp?RecordID=218372 and
https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-03-21-0089-LE (review)
Information on _Trichoderma_ species and use as biocontrol agents:
https://biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/pathogens/trichoderma.php
Cultivars and hybrids of banana and plantain:
http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Musa.html and
http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/Sorting/Musa-cvs.html
- Mod.DHA]