Banana could be extinct in next five years due to fungus disease

dynamitenews.com
New Delhi/ 17 August 2016. Banana, one of the world's top five staple foods, could be extinct within 5-10 years according to new research.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, and in the Netherlands found that the lethal threat is the Sigatoka complex. Sigatoka is made up of three fungal diseases, which pose a huge risk to the banana supply, according to the online journal PLOS Genetics. 

American plant pathologist Ioannis Stergiopoulos said the Sigatoka complex's fungal diseases - yellow Sigatoka, eumusae leaf spot and black Sigatoka - could potentially wipe out supply in the next five to 10 years.

Black Sigatoka poses the greatest risk, capable of not only shutting down the immune system of the banana, but also producing enzymes to break down the plant's cell walls.

About 100 million tons of bananas are produced annually in nearly 120 countries.