Panama disease sexual reproduction. This causes all bananas of a single breed to be nearly genetically identical. The fungus easily spreads from plant to plant because the individual plants' defenses are nearly identical. The disease is dispersed by spores or infected material that travel in surface water. One of the biggest issues in spreading the disease is the means by which new banana plants are planted. Suckers are taken from one plant and clonally propagated to grow new trees. About 30 to 40% of suckers from a diseased plant are infected and not all show symptoms, so the chance of growing a
Plant disease epidemiology foliar pathogens. Using this framework we can now model and determine thresholds for epidemics that take place in a homogeneous environment such as a mono-cultural crop field. Disease epidemics in plants can cause huge losses in yield of crops as well threatening to wipe out an entire species such as was the case with Dutch Elm Disease and could occur with Sudden Oak Death. An epidemic of potato late blight, caused by "Phytophthora infestans", led to the Great Irish Famine and the loss of many lives. Commonly the elements of an epidemic are referred to as the “disease triangle”: a