Plants and Society 7th Edition by Estelle Levetin ,Karen McMahon

تمرين 3

As the popularity of tequila spreads beyond Mexican borders, more acreage has been devoted to the cultivation of blue agave. Increasingly, blue agave cultivation has been subjected to devastating attacks by insects (especially weevils) and plagues, particularly from the bacterium Erwinia carotovora in combination with the fungus Fusarium oxysporum. These pathogens cause the stem to rot and die in a characteristic pattern known as TMA or tristeza y muerte de agave (wilting and death of agave). By the late 1990s, it was estimated that more than 25% of the agave crop was infected with one or more diseases. Although there was some recovery in the mid-2000s, agricultural experts expect that the blue agave crop is still at risk.
Why is the blue agave as it is cultivated for tequila production particularly susceptible to rampant insect infestation and disease Some researchers have suggested that part of the agave crop should be allowed to flower and be naturally pollinated by moths and bats. How could this practice help reduce the spread of insect pests and disease throughout the agave growing regions