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Tropical race 4 of Panama disease in the Middle East

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Background

Panama disease (aka Fusarium wilt) of banana (Musa spp.) has been a destructive problem for well over a century. Race 1 of the pathogen, Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), was responsible for the demise of the first export trades of banana that were based on the cultivar ‘Gros Michel’. Currently, tropical race 4 (TR4) impacts the Cavendish cultivars, which are most important in both export and smallholder production. TR4 was confirmed in Jordan in 2013, but has probably been present in the country since at least 2005. The outbreak in Jordan was apparently the first occurrence of Panama disease in the Middle East, but it also represented a considerable expansion of TR4’s distribution, which had previously been restricted to the Far East. How TR4 arrived in Jordan is not known. However, it is clear that TR4 has spread within Jordan, and is now also present elsewhere in the Middle East and Africa. We review the history, epidemiology and management of Panama disease, and discuss the current distribution of TR4 and its potential impact on banana production in the Middle East.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The research did not involve Human Participants or Animals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tropical Research & Education Center, University of Florida, 18905 SW 280th Street, Homestead, FL, 33031-3314, USA

    Randy Ploetz & Joshua Konkol

  2. Department of Plant Pathology and Weed Research, ARO, The Volcani Center, Derech Hamacabim 68, Bet Dagan, 50250, ISRAEL

    Stanley Freeman

  3. Department of Plant Protection, National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension, P.O.Box 639, Baqa’, 19381, JORDAN

    Adel Al-Abed, Ziad Naser & Khalaf Shalan

  4. Hebron University, P.O. Box 40, Hebron, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY

    Radwan Barakat

  5. Jordan Valley Banana Experiment Station, Zemach, ISRAEL

    Yair Israeli

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  1. Randy Ploetz
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Correspondence to Randy Ploetz.

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Ploetz, R., Freeman, S., Konkol, J. et al. Tropical race 4 of Panama disease in the Middle East. Phytoparasitica 43, 283–293 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-015-0470-5

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