Deadly disease of Bananas in China

Bananas are under threat in South China, and till now is without any shield of protection. The banana plant is being wiped out on thousands of hectares by "banana cancer" in Guangzhou and other areas of Guangdong Province. Panama disease (or banana wilt) has been wreaking havoc in Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, for more than the last 5 years, and could devastate banana plantations in China. The "cancer" has already affected over 38% of the 8,667 hectares under banana plantation in Guangzhou, including its major bases in Panyu, Zhongshan and Nansha, and is spreading. Guangdong has about 120,000 hectares under banana plantation, 5% of which are already under attack. Liu Shaoqin, director of Guangzhou Association of Science and Technology, says that after about 5% infection in the first year, the disease could spread more than exponentially. The second year could see 20% of a plantation being affected, and the third, up to 50%. An entire plantation could be wiped out by the fourth year. "Millions of banana plants have died, and unfortunately we have found no cure for the disease," Liu says. Besides Guangdong, banana plantations in neighboring Fujian, Hainan and Guangxi, which are major banana production areas of China, have fallen victim to the disease. To prevent the spread of the disease farmers should dig out the roots of the stricken plants, burn them on the spot and disinfect the soil. Finally, they should mix lime with the soil. Bananas on sale in the markets however, are absolutely safe for human consumption, because plants attacked by the disease, wilt before bearing fruit.