BeaC Current Event

Banana Threat: Attack Of The Clones    

  Author: Alison Pearce Stevens

  Publication Date: December 4, 2015       Publication: Science News For Students

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/banana-threat-attack-clones

Bananas are at risk. The fungus: tropical race 4 or TR4 is spreading around parts of the earth, killing all accessed banana crops. Because there is no cure yet found, there is a limited amount of bananas on earth.

It is a topic that is about food and plants, and fungus has to do with what we were learning about. What the fungus does: the fungus releases spores into the soil where the banana plant is growing, which then causes Panama disease, Panama disease causes wilting and yellowing in it’s leaves. TR4 is easily spread, but at a slow pace. Some of the ways it can spread is it getting stuck on the bottom of shoes, dirty tools or equipment that were exposed to it and taken to healthy plants. It has been found in China, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, South Africa, Jordan and Taiwan. It originally came from Taiwan. This information will affect anyone that eats bananas because it will reduce the amount growing on the earth.

Critique: Bananas are my favorite fruit, it would affect me a lot if the fungus takes over all of the bananas and continues to spread. I knew that there was different types of fungus that affects things in a bad way but I never heard of this kind and I am surprised how much this is affecting bananas.

Connection: Bananas are the most popular fruit in america. People all over the world should look out for the fungus and report it if they find it because that will give out more information about where it is spreading or how fast it is spreading. This article is used to warn people about the reduce of banana crops, inform people about how this is affecting the crops, tell people to report if they see the fungus and teach people about the fungus.