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
Cover crop Cover crop A cover crop is a crop planted primarily to manage soil erosion, soil fertility, soil quality, water, weeds, pests, diseases, biodiversity and wildlife in an "agroecosystem" (Lu et al. 2000), an ecological system managed and largely shaped by humans across a range of intensities to produce food, feed, or fiber. Cover crops are an off season crop planted after harvest of the cash crop. The cover crop will grow up to, or into, the winter and may have to be terminated in the spring so as not to interfere with planting the cash crop. Cover crops are of