IPGRI-INIBAP IPM project 03: International Musa Testing Program in Asia and the Pacific.

Duration: started in 2001 until harvest of the ratoon crop.

Purpose: The International Musa Testing Program (IMTP) is a world-wide collaborative effort coordinated by INIBAP to evaluate, in multi-locational trials around the world, elite Musa varieties produced by breeding programs as well as promising germplasm accessions from the INIBAP collection, in order to obtain information on their resistance/tolerance to black and yellow sigatoka, fusarium wilt and nematodes.

Background/description: Bananas and plantains are among the major fruit crops in the world, but their production is seriously threatened by many pest and disease problems, among which black and yellow sigatoka, fusarium wilt and nematodes. The members of BAPNET have identified pests and diseases as the main constraint to Musa production in Asia and have appealed to INIBAP to mobilise resources to address such constraints. Different institutions began banana breeding programs to overcome these diseases, and a number of high-yielding, pest- and disease-resistant varieties were developed. Although the major Musa breeding programs are located outside Asia, many of the new hybrids being produced by these programs may be of interest for production in Asia. IMTP phase I - The establishment of IMTP began in 1989 as program to evaluate germplasm from the FHIA breeding program in Honduras for resistance to black sigatoka. Seven tetraploid hybrids with wide genetic backgrounds were tested along with several diploid reference clones (both wild and edible), that represented the whole range of reaction to black sigatoka, from highly resistant to highly susceptible. The experiments were established in six countries. Four years later, the recommendation was made to release three clones for distribution: the clones FHIA-01 and FHIA-02, both dessert banana varieties with outstanding performance and high resistance to black sigatoka, and FHIA-03, a cooking banana also with excellent performance and resistance to black sigatoka. Over the last ten years, these three clones have been distributed to more than 50 countries worldwide. In IMTP phase II, started in 1996, the germplasm was evaluated for resistance to three diseases instead of one: black sigatoka, yellow sigatoka and fusarium wilt. Four breeding programs contributed germplasm and the number of testing sites increased from six to 37, despite the fact that the trials were financed at the participating institutes' own expense. The results suggested that, among the different materials tested, FHIA-23 and SH 3436-9 are the most tolerant to black sigatoka. They performed also very good in terms of yield, and the good performance of the FHIA and INIVIT hybrids compared to local references was reinforced. In conclusion, the FHIA hybrids were consistently the best yielding genotypes in these trials. The improved hybrid with the best overall performance was FHIA-23. An improved cultivar that deserves special reference is GCTCV-119, which had the lowest discoloration score for both Foc races and good yields under good management. IMTP phase III – At the moment, 27 countries (Australia, Bangladesh, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Uganda, Venezuela and Vietnam) are participating in IMTP phase III. Evaluation guidelines are made available to the participating programs and a standard procedure for data management and statistical analysis has been developed. Selected hybrids/varieties are recommended by INIBAP for further evaluation and distribution to farmers. In the course of 2001, some 450 assignments of germplasm accessions have left the INIBAP Transit Centre (ITC) destined for the countries taking part in phase III of IMTP. These include dessert and cooking bananas and plantains, either resistant or tolerant to black sigatoka and fusarium wilt, as well as reference clones to the three diseases.

Agroecozone(s) and location(s): Asia and the Pacific

Expected outputs: Identification of banana and plantain hybrids resistant to major pests and diseases, which would meet local requirements and with which small-scale farmers could replace existing susceptible cultivars.

Potential impact and beneficiaries: The impact of the project will be biggest for those farmers already making use of the wide diversity of banana varieties, i.e. the small-scale farmers of the region. Large companies producing for the export market grow one or a few varieties. They have to satisfy the high standards and specific demands of the export market and need a uniform crop for easy management. Small-scale growers, on the other hand, supply fruits to the local market, where larger variations in taste, purpose, looks, are accepted and even preferred.

Partners: International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain - Asia Pacific (INIBAP-AP), Philippines.

Development investor(s): International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain - Asia Pacific (INIBAP-AP), Philippines.

INIBAP contact person(s)/principal investigator(s): Inge van den Bergh i.vandenbergh@cgiar.org; Jean-Vincent Escalant j.escalant@cgiar.org