symptoms in the fruit. Bacterial wilt can be characterized by distorted or necrotic buds, bacterial ooze within the plant, and fruit rot and necrosis. Once a banana plant is infected, recovery is rare, but if it does occur, any new emerging suckers will already be infected and can propagate disease if planted. Classification and host range Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is a member of the Fusarium oxysporum species complex, a group of ascomycete fungi with morphological similarities. Based on their different host species, the plant pathogenic fungi of this species complex are divided into approximately 150 special forms (formae specialis, f.sp.). Fusarium oxysprorum f.sp. cubense mainly infects banana (Musa) species. The special form cubense has been subdivided into four different races, which each attack a different group of banana genotypes. Race 1 was involved in the 1960s Panama disease outbreak which destroyed much of the Gros Michel banana plantations in Central America. In addition to Gros Michel, Race 1 also attacks other members of the banana AAB genomic group, including Abacá, Maqueño, the Silk subgroup, the Pome subgroup, Pisang Awak, Ducasse, and Lady Finger. Cavendish cultivars are resistant to Race 1. Race 2 infects cooking bananas with ABB genome and the Bluggoe subgroup. Race 3 infecting Heliconia spp. is no longer considered pathogenic to bananas, and has been renamed Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. heliconiae. Race 4 is the causal agent of the current Panama disease outbreak since it is pathogenic to the currently used Cavendish cultivars (AAA genome). Race 4 is further subdivided into Tropical Race 4 (TR4) and Subtropical Race 4 (STR4). The latter only infects Cavendish and Race 1 and 2 susceptibles under abiotic stress. Tropical Race 1/TR1 / is also found in Paspalum fasciculatum, Panicum purpurescens, Ixophorus unisetus, and Commelina diffusa in Central America. These weeds may be acting as an inoculum source. TR1 is found in Queensland. Tropical Race 2/TR2 / is found in Queensland. Tropical Race 3/TR3 / is a pest of Heliconia ornamental flowers. Formerly reported to be a lesser pest of Musa balbisiana seedlings and of Gros Michel, but that is no longer thought to be true. Now renamed Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. heliconiae. Tropical Race 4/TR4 / belongs to vegetative compatibility group 01213/16. All cultivars which are susceptible to Race 1 and Race2 are susceptible to TR4 (see and ). History of geographic spread 1997 The first detection in Australia occurs