The new strain of Panama disease emerged in the 1990s. In 2000, we decided that Tropical Race 4 was going to be a huge problem. James Dale and his team began studying these bananas. They found genes that seem to be working in resistant seedlings but not in susceptible seedlings.
The banana, once a luxury good, rose to become America’s favorite fruit. Now a deadly fungus threatens to wipe it out. Can it be saved?