Instant Insights: Understanding and Tackling Fusarium Wilt of Banana

Dr André Drenth is Professor in Tropical Plant Pathology and Program Leader for crop protection in the Centre for Horticultural Science at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), at the University of Queensland. He leads several projects on tropical plant diseases and he initiated and led a national Banana Plant Protection Programme set up to protect Australia’s banana industry from the impact of a range of pests and diseases.Dr Gert H. J. Kema is Professor of Phytopathology and chair at the Laboratory for Phytopathology of Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He initiated and coordinated several international banana research programs focusing on Fusarium wilt of banana and black Sigatoka as well as interdisciplinary research projects and public-private-partnerships on other perennial crops. He is a cofounder of several spin-off companies focusing on banana improvement, disease management and bioprocessing.

• Chapter 1 - Understanding the banana industry: monoculture and beyond: Dan Koeppel, Independent Journalist and Researcher, USA; 1 Introduction2 Banana varieties and the Cavendish monoculture3 The development of a banana monoculture4 The dynamics of the banana monoculture5 Post-war developments: business as usual?6 The Cavendish era7 Cavendish in crisis and a new paradigm8 The hunt for new varieties9 Future trends and conclusion10 Where to look for further information Chapter taken from: Kema, G. H. J. and Drenth A. (ed.), Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 1: Cultivation techniques, pp. 21-32, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2018, (ISBN: 978 1 78676 156 9)Chapter 2 - Fusarium wilt of banana: impact, epidemiology and management of Fusarium wilt Race 1 and 2 [Ed. 4]: Einar Martínez de la Parte, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands and Instituto de Investigaciones de Sanidad Vegetal (INISAV), Cuba; and Luis Pérez-Vicente, Instituto de Investigaciones de Sanidad Vegetal (INISAV), Cuba; 1 Introduction2 Disease symptoms3 Pathogen characteristics4 Disease cycle and epidemiology5 Disease occurrence and impact6 Disease resistance: cultivar susceptibility and host resistance7 Management of the disease8 Conclusion and future trends9 Where to look for further information10 References Chapter taken from: Drenth A. and Kema, G. H. J. (ed.), Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 3: Diseases and pests, pp. 85-112, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2024, (ISBN: 978 1 78676 981 7)Chapter 3 - The past, present and future of Fusarium wilt of banana caused by Tropical Race 4 [Ed. 5]: Fernando García-Bastidas, KeyGene B.V., The Netherlands; André Drenth, The University of Queensland, Australia; and Gert H. J. Kema, Wageningen University, The Netherlands; 1 Introduction2 Past: origins, spread and biology3 Present: detection, epidemiology and control4 Future: preventative/curative disease control and breeding5 Conclusion6 Where to look for further information7 Acknowledgements8 References Chapter taken from: Drenth A. and Kema, G. H. J. (ed.), Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 3: Diseases and pests, pp. 113-144, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2024, (ISBN: 978 1 78676 981 7)Chapter 4 - Targeted improvement of Cavendish clones: Eli Khayat, Rahan Meristem (1998) LTD., Israel; 1 Introduction2 Genetic background of bananas and plantains3 In vitro mutagenesis: somaclonal variation4 Conclusion and future trends5 References Chapter taken from: Kema, G. H. J. and Drenth A. (ed.), Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 2: Germplasm and genetic improvement, pp. 307-321, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2021, (ISBN: 978 1 78676 344 0)Chapter 5 - Developing hybrid banana varieties with improved properties: Edson Perito Amorim, Vanusia Batista de Oliveira Amorim, Manassés dos Santos Silva, Fernando Haddad, Claudia Fortes Ferreira and Janay Almeida dos Santos Serejo, Embrapa, Brazil; 1 Introduction2 Released hybrids3 Seeds as the basis of the genetic improvement program of Embrapa4 Improved diploids and their importance in the improvement of Musa spp.5 Phenotyping for resistance to Fusarium wilt race 16 The Embrapa breeding cycle7 Alternatives to breeding based on crosses8 Future trends and conclusion9 References Chapter taken from: Kema, G. H. J. and Drenth A. (ed.), Achieving sustainable cultivation of bananas Volume 2: Germplasm and genetic improvement, pp. 232-337, Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing, Cambridge, UK, 2021, (ISBN: 978 1 78676 344 0)