Panama disease feared to
hit C. Mindanao banana
industry
The Department of
Agriculture in Central
Mindanao has formed a
task force to prevent a
possible outbreak of a
devastating disease
afflicting banana
plantations in the area,
officials have
confirmed.
Abusama Alid, regional
agriculture director,
warned corporate and
individual banana
growers in the region of
the possible outbreak of
Panama disease or
Fusarium wilt.
"Presently, we have not
monitored any incidence
of Panama disease across
the region. We created
the task force in
anticipation of its
occurrence," he said.
The region hosts at
least three large banana
producers, Global Fruits
Corp., Dole Stanfilco,
and Upland Banana Corp.
Alid described Panama
disease as a highly
destructive disease
affecting the vascular
system of banana plants
that could wipe out the
region's banana industry
in case of an outbreak.
Owing to the threat, the
regional Agriculture
office has started
distributing leaflets to
banana growers funded
through the project
"Regional Initiatives
Against Fusarium Wilt"
under the high value
crop program.
Alid said chemical
control measures are not
effective against the
Panama disease and the
soil, once infected with
the pathogen, cannot be
planted with susceptible
cultivars up to 10 years
or more.
The causal organism use
a soil-borne fungus,
Fusarium oxysporum f.
sp. Cubense (FOC), which
colonizes the xylem of
susceptible varieties to
cause a terminal wilt,
the regional Agriculture
office said in a
statement.
The varieties that are
susceptible to Panama
disease are latundan,
senorita and lakatan.
Recently, Cavendish
succumbed to the new
race (Race 4) of the
disease. Saba or cardava,
on the other hand, is a
resistant cultivar, the
statement added.
Winnie Osorio, Upland
Banana community
relations and
development officer,
said in a separate
interview that they are
closely watching their
plantations in T'boli
town against possible
infection of Panama
disease.
"We are also closely
monitoring private
farmers' plantations in
the town since if their
fields will be infected,
it will likely spread to
our farms," he said.
Upland Banana maintains
some 1,700 hectares of
banana plantation in
T'boli town through
lease agreement schemes
with landowners.
Osorio said the company
is willing to extend
assistance to the task
force should it seek the
firm's help.
He lauded the preventive
mechanisms put in place
by regional Agriculture
officials regarding
Panama disease, which
Osorio said "wiped-out
the banana industry of
Panama."
According to the leaflet
from the regional
Agriculture office,
Panama disease was first
reporter in the Western
Hemisphere, particularly
Costa Rica and Panama ,
in 1890.
Shortly thereafter, it
spread to tropical
America and Africa and
in Asia in 1910.
In the Philippines , it
was first reported in
1920 on latundan variety
in Los Banos and Calamba,
Laguna and in
municipalities of
Batangas. It was first
confirmed in commercial
Cavendish far in 1974
and 1979. The pathogen
totally destroyed 13
hectares of latundan
farms in Eden, Toril in
Davao City .
Recently, the most
devastating FOC that
belongs to vegetative
compatibility group
01213 of the tropical
race 4 has been
identified to be present
in the country,
specifically in Region
XI or the Davao region,
which is a neighbor of
Central Mindanao region.
Alid, who is also head
of the task force, said
the task force will
create a "strategic
quarantine plan" and
recommend measures to
contain or prevent the
introduction and spread
of diseases in banana.
The task force shall
also oversee and lead in
the development of a
disease map of major
banana diseases in the
region, he said.
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