banana variety News
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`Banana has a future after all`
The banana has been severely affected by fungal diseases that can only be combated by using omore and more plant protection products. In the last century, the much-loved Gros Michel banana variety was wiped out as a result of Panama disease. But now the replacement variety Cavendish – available in every supermarket – is at risk. At his inauguration as professor by special appointment ...
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New $13.8 million project aims to boost banana production in Uganda and Tanzania
Millions of smallholder banana farmers in Tanzania and Uganda are set to benefit from a new $13.8 million project to develop and distribute higher-yielding, disease-resistant hybrid banana varieties. The effort is being funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Rony Swennen, a professor at KU Leuven (Belgium) and ...
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DNA of banana fungus unravelled for more sustainable banana crops
An international consortium led by scientists from Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) has unravelled the DNA of Pseudocercospora fijiensis, the fungus that causes the much-feared black Sigatoka disease in bananas. The findings provide leads for increasing the sustainability of banana cultivation, for instance through the development of a resistant banana plant. The results were ...
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FAO urges countries to step up action against destructive banana disease
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is warning countries to step up monitoring, reporting and prevention of one of the world’s most destructive banana diseases, Fusarium wilt, which recently spread from Asia to Africa and the Middle East, and which has the potential to affect countries in Latin America. The TR4 race of the disease, which is also known as ...
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FAO calls for action to accelerate economic transformation and development in Africa
Despite important economic progress and agricultural successes, Africa remains the world’s most food insecure continent, with relatively low levels of agricultural productivity, low rural incomes, and high rates of malnutrition, FAO said today. As the Organization’s 28th Regional Conference for Africa gathers in Tunis, FAO is calling on African ministers of agriculture for action in ...
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Global programme seeks to contain serious threat to the world’s bananas
A fungus poses major risks to the world's banana production and could cause vast commercial losses and even greater damage to the livelihoods of the 400 million people who rely on the world's most traded fruit as a staple food or source of income. FAO and its partners Bioversity International, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the World Banana Forum have launched a global ...
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Climate-smart farming takes root in Kenya
Like most African countries, Kenya is highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. There is growing concern about potential stress on fragile ecosystems and rural communities, especially in the arid and semi-arid agro-ecological zones and some humid highland areas of the country. In keeping with the Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture (SRA) of Kenya 2010-2015 and Kenya's vision 2030, ...
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