Apr 28, 2018 | Uncategorized
In September 2017 the inauguration of Professor Gert Kema as professor by special appointment for Tropical Phytopathology at Wageningen University & Research took place. During his inauguration Kema revealed what it will take to save the banana.
The banana has been severely affected by fungal diseases that can only be combated by using more and more (chemical) plant protection products. In the last century, the much-loved Gros Michel banana variety was wiped out as a result of Panama disease. But now the replacement variety Cavendish – available in every supermarket – is at risk. At his inauguration as professor by special appointment for Tropical Phytopathology at Wageningen University & Research on 21 September 2017, Professor Gert Kema revealed what it will take to save the banana.
Professor Kema’s special chair is funded by the Dioraphte Foundation and hosted by the Laboratory of Phytopathology.
More information about the inauguration: https://www.wur.nl/en/newsarticle/Banana-has-a-future-after-all-1.htm
Back to News page
Apr 16, 2018 | Congress, Event
During the International Congress of Plant Pathology, ICPP, in Boston this summer, the banana research community will be organising two events.
- The first meeting is a satellite meeting on Saturday July 28 titled “Fusarium wilt disease of banana: recurrence of a global menace”.
See the program (click here) .
- On Monday July 30 a workshop will be held titled “The Vulnerability of Banana to Globally Developing Disease Threats”.
The program (click here) has been drafted and will be finalized soon.
Back to News page
Apr 9, 2018 | Publicity
The visibility of the Wageningen Panama disease research, has resulted in “Panama Disease of Banana, a Recurring Threat to Global Banana Production” a Research Topic of Frontiers in Plant Science, one of the leading plant pathology journals.
The editorial team is headed by Prof. Gert Kema and includes Prof. André Drenth, University of Queensland, Dr. Miguel Dita, Embrapa, Brazil, and the Wageningen University and Research colleagues Drs. Jetse Stoorvogel, Sietze Vellema and Kees Jansen, who are all involved in the INREF program.
The Research Topic will comprise a series of papers on the latest progress in Panama disease research which eventually will be available as an eBook. The inaugural article in the Research Topic is titled “New Geographical Insights of the Latest Expansion of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 Into the Greater Mekong Subregion”, Front. Plant Sci., 09 April 2018 (Subscription or payment may be required), and reveals links between the occurrence of TR4 in China and surrounding countries as well as between Pakistan and the Philippines and Jordan and Lebanon. Hence, genomics research enables forensic analyses on the origin of TR4 incursions.
Back to News page
Recent Comments