logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2019
23m 38s

How to save the banana

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Bananas are one of the most popular fruits on the planet - more than 100 million tonnes of them are eaten every year. But on banana plantations on four continents, a deadly fungus is creeping through the soil and destroying the plants.

Some say the end is nigh for the banana. But from Australia to Colombia and from the Philippines to the Netherlands, work is going on to stop that happening.

We meet the farmers, scientists and gene technologists trying to find a way to save the fruit.

Reporter: Daniel Gordon

(Photo Credit: BBC)

Up next
Yesterday
Preserving Peru’s food heritage
<p>Peru is famous for its diverse and innovative cuisine - but how is it making sure its venerable food heritage is preserved for decades to come? We meet the indigenous Quechua people who are cultivating more than 1300 species of potato, working with scientists to safeguard seed ... Show More
23m 23s
Nov 18
How literacy can change a life
<p>Learning to read empowers people, reduces poverty and increases their job chances. Yet more than 700 miliion adults are illiterate, the majority of them women. We look at innovations to help adults learn how to read from flatpack classrooms in flood-prone regions of Bangladesh ... Show More
23m 31s
Nov 11
Saving seabirds and squirrels
How do you save threatened species? This week we look at two novel solutions. In the UK, scientists are developing a unique contraceptive that will be fed in a nutty spread to grey squirrels, an invasive species that threatens the native red squirrel. And how scientists are movin ... Show More
23m 26s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2020
There Will Be Bananas
The banana is a staple of the American diet and has been for generations. But how did this exotic tropical fruit become so commonplace? How one Brooklyn-born entrepreneur ruthlessly created the modern banana industry and the infamous banana republics. Learn more about sponsor mes ... Show More
55m 17s
Aug 2020
Reframing History: Bananas
The banana is a staple of the American diet and has been for generations. But how did this exotic tropical fruit become so commonplace? How one Brooklyn-born entrepreneur ruthlessly created the modern banana industry and the infamous banana republics. Learn more about sponsor mes ... Show More
56m 54s
Oct 2017
Are Bananas Going Extinct?
<p>From monkey lifehacks, to Victorian shame about bananas to why slipping on a peel became the go-to gag, Will and Mango are ready to dish on the Cavendish. Featuring the International Banana Club’s Top Banana, Ken Bannister.</p><p> </p> Learn more about your ad-choices at <a hr ... Show More
41m 58s
Feb 2021
Let's go bananas!
<p>HARVEY, our omnipresent virtual voice assistant, gets a software update that makes him go bananas for bananas. And if we talk about anything except bananas, he turns the microphones off! We talk to geneticist Dr. Janina Jeff about how much DNA we share with a banana, find out ... Show More
36m 27s
Apr 2024
Yes, We Have Bananas
Bananas, the world’s favourite fruit, were first displayed in London on 10th April, 1633, in the shop window of botanist Thomas Johnson, editor for Gerard’s Herball. Despite societal taboos surrounding the banana's suggestive shape, its journey from obscurity to ubiquity was late ... Show More
12m 29s
May 2022
Short Stuff: Artificial Banana Flavor
In the Watermelon episode, Chuck and Josh stumbled into a bit of little-known history about why artificial banana flavor doesn’t taste like bananas. Turns out it does; it just tastes like a banana you’ve probably never eaten.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
12m 49s
Nov 2022
The Most Interesting Fruit in the World (Ep. 375 Update)
<p>The banana, once a luxury good, rose to become America’s favorite fruit. Now a deadly fungus threatens to wipe it out. Can it be saved?</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our col ... Show More
39m 4s
Mar 2024
La banane française en difficulté
Les producteurs français de bananes n'ont pas le sourire. Le prix qui leur est payé va baisser en 2024, après deux années de hausses. Les agriculteurs des Antilles sont à la peine face à la concurrence latino-américaine. Crise des vocations, rémunération trop faible, changement c ... Show More
1m 52s