Bananas Becoming Extinct

[The Edge]

Bananas Becoming Extinct

It is one of the world's favorite fruits, but the banana hasn't had sex in years and its days may be numbered.

Without scientific help the sterile, seedless fruit could disappear with 10 years, according to a Belgian plant pathologist.

Emile Frison, the head of the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain in Monpellier, France, said the fruit lacks the genetic diversity to fight off diseases and pests that are plaguing banana plantations and only biotechnology and genetic manipulation may be able to save it.

"Frison sees it as the only hope for the banana," New Scientist said on Wednesday.

Without assistance banana production could drop and mark the beginning of the end of the fruit.

"We may even see the extinction of the banana as both a lifesaver for hungry and impoverished Africans and as the most popular product on the world's supermarket shelves," the magazine added.

Edge

[gabest]

Where do I sign the petition to save the bananas? :)

Seriously, cloning them was a very bad idea, I wonder if it was the only choice or they just didn't know about the advantages of the genetic diversity at that time.

[ppera2]

Come on.... this is sheer BS.

It is simple impossible that something live what exists in so big quantity, spread in many regions disappear so fast.

[mpucoder]

Whoever thinks bananas are seedless obviously hasn't opened one up.

[gabest]

There are seeds but none of them can be used to grow a new plant (don't know the right term...), at least that's what I've read about them in another article.

Btw, how do you peel a banana, from which side? :) I start at the side nearer to the root.

[killingspree]

@gabest: i think the word you are searching is fertile - so the normal banana seeds are not fertile (:
-> just a thought: the normal corn farmers plant on their fields isn't fertile either! BUT they grow a special species of corn which is and which can be used to plant either normal corn or fertile corn again, so corn won't be extinct either!

@ everybody: wow... definitely closely related to DVD encoding !!
YES i am serious, i'm eating a banana everytime during the process of ripping a DVD to my hard drive ;)

oh and about this:
"We may even see the extinction of the banana as both a lifesaver for hungry and impoverished Africans and as the most popular product on the world's supermarket shelves," the magazine added

please be serious, i mean bananas and saving africans from starving?!? bananas are saving as many africans from starving as BurgerKing fries chinese from being prosecuted by their government.
this is complete nonsense

regards
steVe

[dani82]

i doubt bananas will ever going extinct; and if they're about too, i'm pretty sure the zoo will put them into a breeding program like the pandas.