The bananas in your supermarket and that you eat for breakfast are facing functional extinction due to the disease Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), caused by a fungal pathogen called Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense (Foc) tropical race 4 (TR4).
Fusarium spores are viable in the soil for more than 30 years. They also tend to infect multiple species, once they are in a region they are there for good. The spores are transmitted around the world in on seeds or soil. The spores are found at a very low rate (like 1:1,000,000,000) on the surface of many species of seeds. It’s well below the detection level of any test.
They are cheap because they are a commodity and exploit low paid workers.
Fusarium spores are viable in the soil for more than 30 years. They also tend to infect multiple species, once they are in a region they are there for good. The spores are transmitted around the world in on seeds or soil. The spores are found at a very low rate (like 1:1,000,000,000) on the surface of many species of seeds. It’s well below the detection level of any test.
They are cheap because they are a commodity and exploit low paid workers.
So then transplanting and treating with UV would work for seeds or shoots. Fusarium can’t tolerate UV, or above ground fungicides.
Bananas are clonally propagated. The pathogen is inside the vascular tissue. No way to get rid of it from plants once infected.
Fusariums have developed resistance to many fungicides. They keep becoming resistant to more.