Fresh fruit and vegetable producer Dole Food Company has partnered with Elo Life Systems to develop a wide range of banana varieties with a resistance to the Fusarium wilt fungal disease.

The two companies will focus on developing banana varieties, including Cavendish.

Caused by the Tropical Race 4 (TR4) strain of a plant pathogenic fungus called Fusarium, Fusarium wilt threatens the continued cultivation of bananas.

It was detected in Colombia last year and is expected to spread throughout Latin America.

Elo Life Systems CEO Fayaz Khazi said: “Spread of Fusarium wilt would not only have devastating consequences to the banana industry but also have a significant economic impact on farmers in the affected regions whose livelihoods depend on exports of the Cavendish banana.

“To date, chemical and cultural approaches to control this disease have been unsuccessful. We’re excited to work with Dole, which shares Elo’s vision to improve the security and sustainability of the global food supply, to address this critical need and help develop new varieties that leverage natural resistance within several relatives of the Cavendish banana.”

According to the partnership agreement, Elo will be engaged in the discovery and development of multiple approaches to ensure that the fruit develops resistance to Fusarium wilt.