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 Trust of plant genetics resources for food and agriculture. It also confirms the autonomy of the Crop Trust as a scientific organization in raising and disbursing funds. The Crop Trust is assembling an endowment fund, the income from which will be used to support the conservation of distinct and important crop diversity, in perpetuity, through existing institutions. Crop diversity is the biological foundation of agriculture, and is the raw material plant breeders and farmers use to adapt crop varieties to pests and diseases. In the future, this crop diversity will play a central role in helping agriculture adjust to climate change