Thread: Banana: R.I.P.
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Old 02-06-2008, 04:41 PM posted to rec.gardens
Billy[_4_] Billy[_4_] is offline
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Default Banana: R.I.P.

In article
,
Bill wrote:

http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/54710/

The banana we eat today is not the one your grandparents ate. That one -
known as the Gros Michel - was, by all accounts, bigger, tastier, and
hardier than the variety we know and love, which is called the
Cavendish. The unavailability of the Gros Michel is easily explained: it
is virtually extinct.

Introduced to our hemisphere in the late 19th century, the Gros Michel
was almost immediately hit by a blight that wiped it out by 1960. The
Cavendish was adopted at the last minute by the big banana companies -
Chiquita and Dole - because it was resistant to that blight, a fungus
known as Panama disease. For the past fifty years, all has been quiet in
the banana world. Until now.


"Now, the future of the Cavendish lies in genetic engineering."

Uh-huh. I hope this doesn't give Monsanto any ideas(
--

Billy
Bush Behind Bars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KVTf...ef=patrick.net
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0aEo...eature=related