, Hawaii (AP) — Farmers on Hawaii's Big Island are worried after a disease affecting banana plants was found north of Hilo despite a quarantine effort.
The banana bunchy top virus, which stunts the growth of banana plants and deforms their fruit, was first found on Oahu in 1989 and arrived in Kailua-Kona the next decade, reported the Hawaii Tribune-Herald (http://bit.ly/1ZwYcfz ). And it's still spreading.
Farmers are now worried it could end up in the deep gulches of Hamakua Coast, making it even more difficult to contain.
“If it gets in the gulches, it's over,” said banana farmer Lynn Richardson, who said he finds infected plants every week on his 6-acre farm in Kurtistown.
“Getting down there is a challenge in itself,” said Kamran Fujimoto, noxious weed specialist for the Department of Agriculture. “And, in some parts, the bananas are probably growing along the side of a bank. You probably can't even get to them.”
Fujimoto said the disease has become more prevalent in Hilo over the last few years. Even if it doesn't reach the gulches, Fujimoto said growing bananas in Hilo could become challenging.
“In heavily infested places like Oahu, they are having a hard time growing bananas in their backyards,” he said.
Source: Banana disease continues to spread on Hawaii's Big Island – Lancaster Farming