K.HODGE

boredom is a plague, and in this epidemic laughter is the only medicine.

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A future with no bananas?

Seeded on Sun May 14, 2006 2:12 PM EDT

Article Source: New Scientist

science, india, end, banana, cavendish

Seeded by K.Hodge

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Go bananas while you still can. The world's most popular fruit and the fourth most important food crop of any sort is in deep trouble. Its genetic base, the wild bananas and traditional varieties cultivated in India, has collapsed.

Virtually all bananas traded internationally are of a single variety, the Cavendish, the genetic roots of which lie in India. Three years ago, New Scientist revealed that the world Cavendish crop was threatened by pandemics of diseases such as that caused by the black sigatoka fungus. The main hope for survival of the Cavendish lies in developing new hybrids resistant to the fungus, but this is a difficult and time-consuming task because the seedless modern fruit does not reproduce sexually and has to be bred from cuttings.

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Public Discussion (17)

insert_name_here

the seedless modern fruit does not reproduce sexually

Just imagine two bananas getting it on in the forest, at the dead of night.

"Peel me, baby!"

2 votes

#1 - Sun May 14, 2006 7:30 PM EDT

K.Hodge

I've figured out the problem...... all banana's are male.

2 votes

#2 - Sun May 14, 2006 8:56 PM EDT

rockman

The main hope for survival of the Cavendish lies in developing new hybrids resistant to the fungus, but this is a difficult and time-consuming task because the seedless modern fruit does not reproduce sexually and has to be bred from cuttings.

Really? Are they expecting to find a lot of genetic variation when they clone bananas? Time to send these folks back to biology class.

2 votes

#3 - Sun May 14, 2006 11:29 PM EDT

Rhine Cyrus

How did you come up with cloning? Cloning is not the same as developing hybrids.

2 votes

#3.1 - Mon May 15, 2006 12:08 PM EDT

Zaki

God, I understand the chaos and the madness on Earth but dude, bananas? that's just not cool.

6 votes

#4 - Mon May 15, 2006 1:54 AM EDT

Dennis M Wright

This is too much. The world has gone no bananas.

2 votes

#5 - Mon May 15, 2006 3:05 AM EDT

Icarusinflight

I love banana's all swiscy and over ripe, with a fine coat of sugar on top, yum yum.

But this has all to do with over exploitation of the land, from what I see everyone seems to accept this as inevitable when something can be done about it.

1 vote

#6 - Mon May 15, 2006 4:31 AM EDT

Jack Huang

What does "swiscy" mean?

#6.1 - Mon May 15, 2006 11:08 AM EDT

Fredrik H. Larsen

No! The world will be nothing without the only fruit made by the mighty God, intended for human beings!

Seriously, banana is the only fruit I really care for. I can deal with seeds!

#7 - Mon May 15, 2006 7:38 AM EDT

fastfinge

Ummm, does anyone else have that stupid Bananas in Pajamas song in their head now? I started singing it, and nobody believes me that it's a song! It's from that cartoon! Anyone? Anyone? Please tell me that I'm not having childhood memories of imaginary songs.

#8 - Mon May 15, 2006 9:58 AM EDT

Jack Huang

I have an image of a T-shirt with the "PEANUT BUTTER JELLY TIME!" dancing banana all downcast and saying "I'm the only one left." stuck in my head now.

Fastfinge: No, it's purely imaginary, but I've heard it before.

For those of you making fun of the banana predicament, shame on you.

Bananas gave us one of the most important aspects of modern society: slapstick comedy. Are you really so unempathetic as to just let the fruitastic father (fruither?) of slapstick comedy wither away and go extinct?! Shame on you. I, for one, am actually something constructive and testing plantains for pratfall-worthiness (on my coworkers, of course).

1 vote

#9 - Mon May 15, 2006 11:07 AM EDT

voiceofreason

"I shall raise a Grand Orchard of the Republic..."

#10 - Mon May 15, 2006 12:20 PM EDT

Wes Hunt

IT'S THE TERRORISTS! THEY'RE DESTROYING OUR BANANAS!!! They hate our freedom to eat bananas! Those evil-doers! It will all be ok. Bush will solve everything

"We solve problems, because we're problem solvers." - Post Katrina statement by our Divinely picked Presidential Moron

2 votes

#11 - Mon May 15, 2006 12:51 PM EDT

Zaki

Lolol, don't forget, I think he'll want to grow bananas *there* so that we don't have to grow them here, because if we did grow them here, the terrorists might bomb us more, since they hate our bananas, not our foreign policies.

#11.1 - Mon May 15, 2006 2:03 PM EDT

tracymoo

OH NO!!! Not Bananas in Pajamas! The worst song ever!!!!

#12 - Mon May 15, 2006 1:25 PM EDT

fastfinge

Didn't it go something like...
Bananas in pajamas are coming down the stairs
bananas in pajamas are coming down in pairs
and then something about chasing bears.

Ha! I found it. Now maybe I can stop obsessing; I'm sure over three quarters of my brain has been devoted to this today. Now, if it was shown on ABC, how did I see it as a 5 year old kid in Canada? Oh well. Now that I have all the words I need to go stand out in front of the building and sing it several times at the top of my voice. I always find that clears the irritating music out of my headspace.

#12.1 - Mon May 15, 2006 2:07 PM EDT

K.Hodge

i think there was a mistranslation down the line. they were chasing beavers. Hence the all banana's are male. I saw it in Canada too..... don't worry.

3 votes

K.HODGE

A future with no bananas?

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