Banana+Report


 * __Banana Report__ **

__Break down of bananas in our area__

In breaking down the amount of bananas which could be planted on 90 hectares of land, it was calculated that on 10x10m of land approximately 7.666 x 4.333 banana trees could be planted in each row. The below table demonstrates our findings:




 * //The Orange Dots on the Diagram above represent where the Bananas will be planted in a 10 x 10 metre area.//**

Taking the extra space from each row into consideration we found that 3,365 banana trees could be planted in one hectare of land and approximately 302,895 on 90 hectares of land.

Plantation A = 302,895 Plantation B = 315,000 Plantation C = 30, 492 Plantation D = 986, 832 Plantation E = 1, 260,336

Overall, the Island has approximately 2,895,555 banana trees growing.

__How many days will it take for the Banana Bunchy Top Virus to spread to all **plantations ** and wipe out our banana industry? __








 * Number of days **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__How much will this cost the Economy?__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">As stated above, in our settlements allocation, we control a relatively small, 90 hectare field of banana trees. We have worked this out to contain almost 200,000 banana trees. An earlier investigation that we conducted revealed the life-cycle of the banana tree and on average, how much fruit it will bear per year. Banana trees will on average produce fruit once every 9-12 months. Each tree will yield one bunch of bananas, weighing approximately 40kg's each. Therefore our plantation A of bananas is capable of producing 7,999 tonnes of bananas per year. we worked this out by multiplying the number of trees in our plantation (199,980) by the average yield in kgs per-annum of each tree (40), which gave us the weight (in Kgs) of bananas we can produce each year, (7,999,200kgs) To transfer Kgs to Tonnes we divide by 1000 which gives us 7,999 Tonnes of Bananas. With current export prices being $994 per tonne, if we multiply our weight in bananas (7,999 tonnes) by the price per tonne ($994) this gives us the total cost to the economy per year if our banana plantation were to be destroyed by the BBTV virus. This cost comes to $7,951,006 per year.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__Who needs to be told about this threat/What will you tell them?__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Everyone on the island with an investment in the banana fields will need to be told immediately so that they can implement their own plans to stop the spread of the virus and check their bananas regularly for signs of a possible outbreak. An investigation will need to be conducted to ascertain whether or not any infected produce was exported overseas and notify the companies who received the goods if the investigation shows that there is a chance an infect banana was exported.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What is important when communicating this threat to others is where did this virus come from? It seems that the virus has come to our island in a shipment of hemp. It is important that our government immediately contacts the hemp suppliers and informs them of the virus. Doing this will ensure that the hemp suppliers can check their produce to take necessary action and also notify other nations that have received produce from them. It is possible they have shipped products to other nations who's economy depends on banana exportation and as the investigation and graphs have shown, the earlier we take action to stop the spread of the virus, the better.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The way we handle this situation when communicating it to others is very important and if handled wrong, could severely damage the islands banana export reputation. Our bananas are of a high quality and we do not want our customers to stop buying them because they could be contaminated. When we are informing the necessary parties of the situation it is important to address the situation delicately and not raise our voices screaming 'there has been an outbreak!'. When explaining the situation to our customers we only need to state calmly that there as been a situation on the island with BBTV. We have put in place necessary action to deal with this problem and as far as we can tell, this will pose no problems for our future business together.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__How will you communicate your warning to them?__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The spread of BBTV on The Island would be disastrous to its economy as bananas are the most profitable export fruit in the world. In fact, bananas are the world's fourth most valuable food crop. If The Island was to lose its bananas then its economy wouldn't be the only thing in trouble. Many workers could loose their jobs as they rely on bananas to make a living. Warnings and actions should be passed on to the residents of The Island to help prevent the spread of BBTV. These can be communicated via the following ways:

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-Mailing a leaflet to all residents stating the importance of bananas for The Island and information about aphids and BBTV and the possible threat of it reaching The Island. It is likely that many residents won't have heard of BBTV and so education is an important first step.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-The Island's satellite networks will allow for people to communicate via phone and the internet. Skilled workers on The Island, mainly customs officers, will be called and warned of BBTV. They will be told to place a temporary ban on people transporting planting materials, just in case they were obtained from infected plants.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">-If the virus does happen to reach The Island and affect the bananas, then a hotline will be set up for farmers and others who need it. They will be able to gain further education and advice on implementing an environmentally friendly eradication and rehabilitation program.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">__What measures need to be taken to minimise the threat? How can we contain the virus?__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">On the Island we can have skilled workers conducting regular inspections to identify and destroy any plant displaying disease symptoms. If this is ongoing the spread of the disease can be kept at a very low level. We will have to use diseased-free planting materials. There will have to be strict control of aphids, using soapy water or insecticidal soap. This has to be done thoroughly on petioles, furled leaves, whorls or young suckers. It is important to destroy any infected plants in the planting area to prevent these pathigens from spreading to the disease-free seedlings. Early detection, followed by prompt destruction of the diseased plants is the key to a successful banana bunchy top virus mitigation program. Once symptoms have been detected it has to be destroyed. To remove the infected banana plants we will have to chop, dry and bury the infected plant.

//__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Early detection of BBTV : __// <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//__Image 1__// - Early Symptoms //__Image 2__ -// Late Symptoms <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">//__Image 1__ -// Chlorotic young leaf, Mottling leaf margin. //__Image 2__ -// Bunchy Growth, Stunted Growth