【精英翻譯】的部落格

A Banana-Killing Fungus Has Reached Latin America 「香蕉殺手菌」已擴展至拉丁美洲

精英翻譯社轉自https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1316408

◎劉宜庭

Bad news for banana lovers: A fungus that’s particularly adept at killing the fruit has finally reached Latin America — a major supplier of the world’s bananas — as scientists long feared it would.

香蕉愛好者的噩耗：正如同科學家長久以來所擔憂的，特別擅長殘害香蕉的一種真菌，最終仍擴展至全球香蕉主要供應地之一的拉丁美洲。

Recently, officials in Colombia declared a national emergency after confirming the presence of this deadly fungus, known as Fusarium oxysporum Tropical Race 4 (TR4), in the country, according to the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA).

哥倫比亞農業研究所（ICA）證實，哥國官員確認這種極其有害的真菌黃葉病熱帶4號（TR4）存在該國後，近期已宣布全國進入緊急狀態。

This is the first time the fungus has been detected in Latin America. However, the fungus isn’t new — for decades, it has been devastating banana plantations in Asia, Australia and East Africa. Although this fungus isn’t harmful to humans, it is a "serious threat" to banana production, according to the United Nations.

此為拉丁美洲首次檢測出「香蕉殺手菌」。不過，這種真菌並非新發現，它數十年來已經毀滅了許多位於亞洲、澳洲及東非的香蕉種植園。聯合國指出，這種真菌雖對人體無害，卻能對香蕉生產構成「嚴重威脅」。

The fungus attacks the plant’s roots and blocks its vascular system — the network used to transport water and nutrients — and ultimately kills the plant. Once the fungus finds its way into soil, it can’t be treated with fungicides, and it’s very difficult to remove.

這種真菌會攻擊香蕉的根部，阻斷其運輸水和養分的維管束系統，最終造成整株植物死亡。一旦這種真菌存在於土壤，就不能單純依靠殺菌劑治療，它極其難以根除。