After wilt symptoms appeared in five Bangladeshi districts in early 2025, 21 pseudostem samples were cultured. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 was confirmed by morphology, specific PCR and vegetative compatibility group 01213/16. Nineteen isolates caused typical disease within four weeks in Cavendish plantlets, controls remained healthy, and the pathogen was reisolated to complete Koch’s postulates.
Key findings
- Foc TR4 was confirmed by morphology, molecular assays, VCG and pathogenicity. • The pathogen was observed across cultivars and five districts. • The report prompted plant destruction and delimiting surveys.
Why this matters globally
Confirming TR4 in Bangladesh has major implications for quarantine, planting-material movement and South Asian surveillance.
Thai researcher contribution
OpenAlex links the author to the Bangkok-based UNICEF East Asia and Pacific Regional Office. This is an institutional connection rather than Thai fieldwork and should be confirmed in the full paper.
Limitations to consider
This first report is not a national prevalence survey; spread and local-cultivar susceptibility remain under study, and one abstract coordinate warrants checking against the source.