Silicon in banana plants: uptake, distribution and interaction with the disease fusarium wilt

TL;DRAbstract

Banana cultivation worldwide is under threat from a wide variety of pathogens and negative environmental factors. Most cultivated banana plants are vegetatively propagated, resulting in a dearth of breeding and a genetic bottleneck. This has led to enhanced susceptibility to a number of lethal plant diseases. Novel solutions are being pursued to enhance the innate defences of the banana plant in an effort to combat these diseases. Of all current banana diseases, Fusarium wilt poses the greatest overall threat. Fusarium wilt, sometimes known as Panama disease, is caused by the soilborne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). A complex grouping of polyphyletic fungal strains, collectively referred to as races, is responsible for causing disease in banana. Race 1 of Foc caused the collapse of the global ‘Gros Michel’ trade industry in the mid-20th century. The industry recovered by substituting ‘Cavendish’ cultivars for ‘Gros Michel’, but a new race (race 4) is now threatening ‘C

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