Bananas

 

Broadcast: Feb 11, 2003
By Mario Ritter

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Recently, some concerns have been raised about the health of the world's banana plants. A number of media1 reports have said that bananas may completely disappear. Some claim that this could happen in as little as ten years.

Bananas are one of the world's most important food crops. They are also the fourth most valuable export. Bananas do not grow from seeds. Instead, they grow from existing plants. Bananas are threatened by disease¹ because all the plants on a farm are copies of each other. They all share the same genetic² weaknesses.

For example, the Cavendish banana is most popular in American markets. It is an important export crop. However, some kinds of fungus³ organisms2 easily infect the Cavendish. Black Sigatoka disease affects the leaves of Cavendish banana plants. The disease is controlled on large farms by putting chemicals on the plant's leaves. Farmers put anti-fungal chemicals on their crops up to once a week.

Another fungal3 disease is more serious. Panama disease attacks the roots of the banana plant. There is no chemical treatment for this disease. Infected plants must be destroyed. Panama disease has affected⁴ crops in Southeast Asia, Australia and South Africa. There is concern that it may spread to bananas grown in the Americas. This could threaten an important export product for Central and South America.

The International Network for the Improvement⁵ of Banana and Plantain supports research on bananas. The group has headquarters⁶ in France and other offices in the major banana-growing areas of the world. The group says that more research must be done to develop improved kinds of bananas.

The group says that fungal diseases⁷ mainly affect only one kind of banana. In fact, there are five-hundred different kinds of bananas. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says the Cavendish banana represents only ten percent of world production.

The U-N agency⁸ says farmers should grow different kinds of bananas. This protects against diseases that affect only one kind. Experts warn that disease may cause the Cavendish banana to disappear. This has already happened to one popular banana because of its genetic weakness against disease.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter.
1. media [5mi:dj[] n. 媒体
2. organism [5C:g[nIz[m] n. 生物体，有机体
3. fungal [5fQNg[l] adj. 真菌的

1 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 improvement   

n.改进，增进；改进之处，改善的地方

参考例句：

• The doctor noticed a gradual improvement in his patient.医生注意到病人在逐渐恢复健康。
• I can detect signs of improvement in your thinking.我可以察觉出你思考问题方面的进步。

6 headquarters   

n.司令部，指挥部；总部，总店

参考例句：

• Several great guns from the headquarters are coming to see us today.总部的几个大人物今天要来看我们。
• The bank has its headquarters in Pairs.这家银行的总行在巴黎。

7 diseases   

n.疾病( disease的名词复数 )；弊端；恶疾；痼疾

参考例句：

• Smoking is a causative factor in several major diseases. 抽烟是引起几种严重疾病的病因。
• The illness frequently coexists with other chronic diseases. 这种病往往与其他慢性病同时存在。

8 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。