The contributions demonstrate an active research community in search of effective control of FWB. This Research Topic aims to provide a platform for information exchange and knowledge sharing. Moreover, this global threat connects export trade, strongly dependent on the susceptible Cavendish cultivars, to local production systems wherein a range of banana varieties contributing to food security are also impacted. There are no readily available solutions to manage this disease. Subsequent studies showed that the TR4 strain is extremely virulent toward many banana cultivars, including Cavendish cultivars grown in large-scale monoculture plantations for export markets and many banana varieties important for food security and domestic consumption. TR4 first emerged in Southeast Asia ( Ploetz, 1990) and its current rapid spread was analyzed by Ordonez et al. The failing management of FWB in Gros Michel eventually convinced the export companies to convert the business to resistant Cavendish cultivars. Prior to the 1960s, the spread of FWB was primarily caused by so-called Race 1 strains that caused severe losses in the production and export trade in Latin America, which was based almost entirely on the highly susceptible cultivar Gros Michel. The so-called Tropical Race 4 (TR4) was found to be genetically distant from other FWB causing species and was described as Fusarium odoratissimum ( Maryani et al., 2019).ĭifferent strains of this Fusarium species have affected banana production worldwide.

cubense (Foc), traditionally considered as the causal agent of FWB, emerged and showed that Foc comprises several different Fusarium species ( Ploetz, 2006 Maryani et al., 2019). The Research Topic arose from the increasing spread and the growing global impact of FWB, affecting a wide range of banana production systems worldwide.ĭuring the inception of this Research Topic an increased understanding of genetic diversity of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp.

This Research Topic contains a selection of papers dealing with Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), also known as Panama disease, that investigate (i) the epidemiology, distribution, infection biology, and diversity of the pathogen, (ii) management practices, and (iii) ways to identify and screen for resistance.

Soluri banana cultures