It's hard to turn down a tasty banana. They taste good and you don't have to wash them before eating them. However, British scientists say that the fruit may disappear by 2050.
One reason for this is climate change. Scientists at the University of Exeter collected numbers from 27 countries and areas that produce 86 percent of the world's bananas. They found that climate change has improved growing conditions in 21 of these countries. In the past 60 years, the production has reached 1.37 tons of bananas per hectare.
⑴ Ten of the countries, including India, the world's biggest producer of bananas, will produce fewer bananas. By 2050, the fruit may die out. ⑵ Shouldn't bananas grow more easily if it's hotter outside? ⑶ In fact, the perfect temperature for growing bananas is between 24 and 32℃. If temperatures get too high, they will stop growing. ⑷
Diseases (疾病) are another danger to bananas. Unlike other plants, the bananas we grow come from shoot cuttings (扦插) rather than seeds (种子).Thismeans that all banana plants have the same genotype (基因型). In other words, if a disease is able to kill one plant, it could kill them all.
One serious disease is called Panama. Caused by fungus (真菌) in the soil, it spreads easily. It has spread across South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Australia. If one banana plantation meets the disease, it will take 30 years until it is able to grow bananas again. Scientists have yet to find a cure (治疗) for this disease.
