Banana industry may slip into history

The world’s supply of bananas – a fruit you might have in hand as you read this – could vanish within a decade because of disease.

Why should this matter to an ag columnist in the Northern San Joaquin Valley, thousands of miles from the nearest banana plantation? Because we eat a whole lot more of them than peaches, cherries, melons or other local fruit.

Scientists have said for some time that the banana crop is at risk because only one variety, Cavendish, is grown commercially across the tropics. This has made it susceptible to disease, and breeders have not come up with new varieties that are resistant and high-yielding.

This week, scientists at UC Davis announced the results of genetic research showing how three fungal diseases damage bananas. The work, which also involved an expert in the Netherlands, could be a step toward a cure.

A UC news release says if this and other efforts fail, “the global banana industry could be wiped out in just five to 10 years.”

The researchers’ goal, it says, is to prevent “banana Armageddon.”

That might sound like the title of the next summer blockbuster, but the UC folks are serious. They note that bananas are among the five most-consumed foods in the world and provide livelihoods for small farmers in nearly 120 countries.

The average American ate 27.9 pounds in 2014, according to the USDA (which may or may not have spies outside our kitchen windows). That’s more by far than any other fresh fruit.

Bananas have done much for humanity, and we’re not just talking potassium. They are the most perfectly packaged of fruits, easy to peel and eat as you grasp them. And they are just the thing for babies moving into solid food – healthy, cheap and not very messy.

The banana’s shape lends itself to entertaining those same kids. Here’s one routine that always killed in a certain columnist’s home a decade ago: When the phone rings, pick up a banana. Place it to your ear. Say “hello.”

Might not work so well these days. Most phones are Apples.

That same shape lets you pretend that a banana is a pistol, but you wouldn’t want an officer to mistake it for a real firearm. The results could be tragic.

And be careful not to toss a banana peel on a sidewalk as an unwitting person approaches. The results could be tragicomic.

This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Banana industry may slip into history."