International Collaboration Key to Protecting Banana Crops from Fusarium Wilt

Roanne Gardoce, a researcher from the University of the Philippines Los Ba?os, highlighted the value of sharing insights and strategies at the event. “While a combination of control methods centred on disease resistance managed to save our local banana industry from decimation, it is critical to learn from other banana-producing countries and experts on how they go about managing the disease and ensuring the viability of their banana production systems,” she said. “The symposium provided an ideal avenue to exchange information, network and benchmark the global status of related research and management,” she added.

How Nuclear Technology can Help

Plant health approaches implemented at the IAEA through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture offer integrated strategies that combine both nuclear and non-nuclear methods. 

The initial approach is to prevent outbreaks by early detection of infections using  molecular methods such as Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) or Loop mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). “If infected bananas are identified sufficiently early, they can be destroyed and containment measures can be taken before neighbouring plantations are infected,” said Juan Jose Oviedo from the National Phytosanitary Service of Costa Rica. 

Nuclear technology can also develop disease resistant varieties by inducing mutations in plant material through irradiation. In Brazil and China, research is underway through an IAEA Coordinated Research Project to better understand the resistance mechanisms that occur at the cellular and physiological level in banana species. These findings are being transferred to other breeding programmes in Latin America, Asia and Africa through a technical cooperation project designed to develop commercially viable resistant cultivars. 

“The IAEA, through its FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, collaborates closely with Member States’ research institutions to develop and advance science-based solutions under coordinated research projects. Their effective transfer and application is ensured through technical cooperation projects to address global agricultural challenges,” said Dongxin Feng, Director of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre.

Looking Forward

The international community is making significant progress in the fight against Fusarium wilt through global knowledge exchange, breeding programmes, region-specific management strategies, integrated approaches and diagnostic and biosecurity advances. To sustain this progress, the IAEA encourages countries to scale up effective plant health approaches and adapt them to local conditions. Strong regional collaboration is essential to ensure that no country faces this transboundary challenge alone.

“The rapid spread of this pathogen across multiple continents has placed the global banana industry at a crossroads, requiring innovative scientific approaches and coordinated international action,” said Najat Mokhtar, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Nuclear Sciences and Applications Department. “International coordinated research and development and technology transfer can help banana farmers remain resilient against the spread of Foc TR4, protecting the livelihoods and food security of millions of people who rely on bananas,” she added.