Fusarium oxysporum, also referred to as Panama disease or Agent Green, is a fungus that causes Fusarium wilt disease in more than a hundred species of plants. It does so by colonizing the water-conducting vessels (xylem) of the plant. As a result of this blockage and breakdown of xylem, symptoms appear in plants such as leaf wilting, yellowing and eventually plant death.
Interest in Fusarium oxysporum as a herbicide was first raised after the discovery in the 1960s that it was the causative agent in the destruction of the Hawaiian coca population.
The United States government was involved in a controversial program to use Fusarium oxysporum for the eradication of coca in Colombia and other Andean countries, but these plans were cancelled by president Bill Clinton who was concerned that the unilateral use of a biological agent would be perceived by the rest of the world as biological warfare. The Andean nations have since banned its use throughout the region. Use of biological agents to kill crops is potentially illegal under the Biological Weapons Convention.
Gros Michel or 'Big Mike' was an early export cultivar of banana. This cultivar was wiped out by Panama disease in the 1950s. The disease first appeared in Suriname, then made its way to the Caribbean, and by the 1920s, to Honduras, the world's largest producer of bananas at the time. Although there are many banana cultivars, Gros Michel was especially suitable for export to non-tropical nations. A search for a substitute located the Vietnamese Cavendish cultivar which is resistant to the disease. However, more care is required for shipping the Cavendish banana and its quality compared to Gros Michel is debated.
Recently, a new strain called 'tropical race four Panama disease' has begun to attack Cavendish banana plants in south Asia. Given the high volume of modern international trade, banana producers expect this strain to spread through Africa and into South America and the Caribbean. The disease was believed to be contained in Australia, but spread widely in the aftermath of Cyclone Larry in March 2006.
Plant breeders and geneticists are trying to develop new cultivars that are resistant to this new strain of Panama disease. Unfortunately, such efforts are progressing slowly because the banana cultivars selected for human consumption are seedless and reproduce asexually which decreases genetic variation and makes breeding difficult.
A number of recent patents specifically describe effective treatments of Fusarium oxysporum, reflecting its widespread importance as an agricultural pest.
Panama disease, also known as Fusarium wilt, is a banana plant disease caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. The fungus attacks the roots of the banana plant. The disease is resistant to fungicide and, so, cannot be controlled chemically.