MONTPELLIER, FRANCE, January 16, 2003: Edible bananas, whose botanical forebears are traced back 10,000 years to southeast Asia, may be changing in the next decade. Research conducted by Belgian scientist, Dr. Emile Frison, head of the French-based International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain, indicates that the Cavendish Banana, which is eaten across the planet, lacks genetic diversity. Without genetic diversity the banana could be wiped out by soil fungus or pests. One particular variety of fungal disease called Black Sigatoka has reached epidemic proportions. In the next five years Dr. Frison plans to focus his research on inedible African wild bananas, full of hard seeds that are resistant to black Sigatoka. If Dr. Frison is successful, the edible banana may offer sustenance for another 10,000 years to the half a billion people in Africa and Asia who depend on bananas as a staple food.
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