From Anthony Whyte
Your article on the imminent demise of the edible banana (18 January, p 27) has many parallels with the late-18th-century Phylloxera aphid plague that devastated the vineyards of France and elsewhere. Just like the vine-destroying aphids, the fungal diseases that scourge bananas today attack the roots.
In desperation, viniculturists grafted millions of French vine tops onto Phylloxera-resistant American root stocks, thereby saving the world’s wine industry. Has anybody tried grafting edible-banana tops on fungus-resistant root stocks from inedible bananas?
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
