IPGRI-INIBAP IPM project 04: managing banana virus (BBTV)

Duration: on-going

Purpose: To develop an effective management of banana viruses (with emphasis on BBTV) for small scale banana growers, through the use of clean planting materials, appropriate cultural practices, and varietal resistance

Background/description: Banana viruses including Banana Bunchy Top Virus disease (BBTV), Banana Bract Mmosaic Virus (BBrMV), Cucumber Mosaic Virus (CMV) are major production constraints of banana production of some important local cultivars grown by small scale-growers in several Asia countries. Severe epidemics of BBTV and BBrMV have limited banana production in the Philippines, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. Infection maybe transmitted through suckers, conventional planting materials. Advances in research in tissue culture and immunoassay diagnostic tools have enabled the production and use of healthy planting materials as a component to manage banana viruses. Taiwan had tremendous success in developing this IPM technology and had successfully managed virus diseases as well as Fusarium wilt disease (another seed-transmitted disease) in Taiwan. Moreover, the INIBAP programmes have made available some new improved varieties that may have resistance to these virus diseases and maybe integrated to the IPM system. The tissue-culture technology has also allowed a production system that allows annual planting that may reduce the adverse effect of biotic stress such as typhoon, as well as reducing pathogen inocula. The goal of this project is to develop and adapt an IPM technology to manage the serious banana virus disease problems in some developing countries in Asia.

Agroecozone(s) and location(s): Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Vietnam

Expected outputs: a) Experimental data on the value of the various IPM elements (tactics): clean-planting material (indexed tissue culture vs. farmers practice of using suckers); annual vs perennial cropping; varietal resistance, as an IPM tools against banana viruses in the various agroecological zones; b) developed and adapted a practical IPM system for banana virus diseases, that could be used by small scale farmers

Potential impact and beneficiaries: Increased production , less losses, more income for small scale growers.

Partners: a) The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Resources Research and Development (PCARRD, Philippines; b) Bureau of Agricultural Research, Dept of Agriculture, Philippines; c) University of the Philippines, Philippines; d) Bureau of Plant Industry; and seven other State Universities, Philippines; e) Department of Agriculture; Horticulture Research and Development Institute, Sri Lanka; f) Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute; Horticulture Research Institute, Bangladesh; g) Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute, Vietnan; h) Taiwan Banana Research Institute (provides technical assistance), Taiwan.

Development investor(s): INIBAP

INIBAP contact person(s)/principal investigator(s): Gus Molina g.molina@cgiar.org