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
Crop weed Crop weed Crop weeds are weeds that grow amongst crops. Examples of crop weeds include chickweed, barnyard grass, dandelion, striga and fallopia japonica. Despite the potential for some crop weeds to be used as a food source, many can also prove harmful to crops, both directly and indirectly. Crop weeds can inhibit the growth of crops, contaminate harvested crops and often spread rapidly. They can also host crop pests such as aphids, fungal rots and viruses. Cost increases and yield losses occur as a result. Striga, one of the main cereal crop weeds in Sub-Saharan Africa, commonly causes yield losses