In order to reduce the impact of this disease, it is essential that resistant bananas be developed, ... Chemical control is available but expensive and generally not available for poor farmers who depend on this crop. Moreover, the pathogen has a tendency to develop resistance or tolerance toward some types of fungicides.

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Products of the breeding programs are bound to play increasingly important roles in subsistence agriculture. Whether new hybrids eventually replace cultivars that are used by the export trades, however, remains to be seen. In the end analysis, we believe that resistant bananas will be our best defense against diseases in subsistence and export situations alike.

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