The Improvement and Testing of and Testing The Improvement The Improvement and Testing of and Testing The Improvement The Improvement and Testing of Musa: a Global Partnership Musa Musa : a Global Partnership : a Global Partnership INIBAP’s Mandate The International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) was established in 1984 and has its headquarters in Montpellier, France. INIBAP is a nonprofit organization whose aim is to increase the production of banana and plantain on smallholdings by: – initiating, encouraging, supporting, conducting, and coordinating research aimed at improving the production of banana and plantain; – strengthening regional and national programs concerned with improved and disease- free banana and plantain genetic material; – facilitating the interchange of healthy germplasm and assisting in the establishment and analysis of regional and global trials of new and improved cultivars; – promoting the gathering and exchange of documentation and information; and – supporting the training of research workers and technicians. Planning for the creation of INIBAP began in 1981 in Ibadan with a resolution passed at a conference of the International Association for Research on Plantain and Bananas. In May 1994, INIBAP was brought under the governance and administration of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) to enhance opportunities for serving the interest of small-scale banana and plantain producers. © INIBAP 1994 Parc Scientifique Agropolis 34397 Montpellier Cedex 5, France ISBN: 2-910810-02-X Cover illustration: Symptoms of black leaf streak/black Sigatoka disease on a leaf of a highly susceptible ‘Cavendish’ cultivar growing on Aitutaki Island, Cook Islands (photo: DR Jones, INIBAP). The Improvement and Testing of Musa: a Global Partnership Proceedings of the First Global Conference of the International Musa Testing Program held at FHIA, Honduras 27-30 April 1994 Edited by DR Jones INTERNATIONAL NETWORK FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF BANANA AND PLANTAIN The opinions in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of INIBAP. Acknowledgments INIBAP is grateful to all participants at the First IMTP Global Conference, who came from all over the world, for their contributions to these proceedings. INIBAP would especially like to thank: •The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for its financial support to IMTP and encouragement and advice to INIBAP during the conference planning stages. • The Fundación Hondureña de Investigación Agrícola (FHIA) for hosting the con- ference and contributing material and staff resources to ensure its success. •R Jaramillo, Coordinator of the INIBAP Network for Latin America and the Caribbean, and DR Jones, INIBAP Scientific Research Coordinator and IMTP Leader, for their efforts in organizing and administering the event. • DR Jones for his conscientious work as scientific and general editor of the proceedings. •B Wills, and C Picq who undertook the style editing of the proceedings, and L Vega and F Malafosse for their dedication in preparing the necessary documents for the editors. Editorial note Some references have been submitted without complete publishing data. They may thus lack the full names of journals and/or the place of publication and the publisher. Should readers have difficulty in identifying particular references, staff at INIBAP will be glad to assist. Contents Page Introduction N Mateo: INIBAP and the International Musa Testing Program 7 DR Jones: International Musa Testing Program Phase I 12 DR Jones: Distribution of Recommended FHIA Hybrids 21 DR Jones: International Musa Testing Program Phase II 23 Part 1: Target Diseases of IMTP Phase II Sigatoka Diseases E Fouré Leaf Spot Diseases of Banana and Plantain caused by Mycosphaerella musicola and M. fijiensis 37 X Mourichon Mycosphaerella fijiensis: Diversity and Possibilities for the Early Screening of Germplasm for Resistance 47 Fusarium Wilt RC Ploetz Fusarium Wilt and IMTP Phase II 57 KG Pegg, NY Moore, S Sorensen Variability in Populations of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense from the Asia/Pacific Region 70 Part 2: Germplasm Transfer DR Jones Risks Involved in the Transfer of Banana and Plantain Germplasm 85 DR Jones, ML Iskra-Caruana Screening Banana and Plantain Germplasm at INIBAP’s Virus Indexing Centers 99 I Van den houwe, DR Jones Musa Germplasm Distribution from the INIBAP Transit Center 106 Part 3: Conventional Breeding for Disease Resistance P Rowe, F Rosales Musa Breeding at FHIA 117 R Ortiz, D Vuylsteke Plantain Breeding at IITA 130 K Shepherd, JLL Dantas, S de Oliveria e Silva Breeding Prata and Maçã Cultivars for Brazil 157 F Bakry, JP Horry Musa Breeding at CIRAD-FLHOR 169 C Jenny, E Auboiron, A Beveraggi Breeding Plantain-Type Hybrids at CRBP 176 S Sathiamoorthy Musa Improvement in India 188 Part 4: Mutation Breeding for Disease Resistance J Pérez Ponce, P Orellana Musa Improvement in Cuba 203 R Afza, N Roux, H Brunner, M van Duren, R Morpurgo In-Vitro Mutation Techniques for Musa 207 N Roux, R Afza, H Brunner, R Morpurgo, M van Duren Complementary Approaches to Cross-Breeding and Mutation Breeding for Musa Improvement 213 CY Tang, SC Hwang Musa Mutation Breeding in Taiwan 219 SH Jamaluddin Mutation Breeding of Banana in Malaysia 228 MK Smith, SD Hamill, PW Langdon, KG Pegg Mutation Breeding for Banana Improvement in Australia 233 ZC de Beer, AA Visser Mutation Breeding of Banana in South Africa 243 Part 5: Training R Jaramillo Training Activities in Latin America and the Caribbean 251 Annexes 1. Technical Guidelines for IMTP Phase II: Sigatoka Sites 265 2. Technical Guidelines for IMTP Phase II: Fusarium Wilt Sites 279 3. Acronyms and Abbreviations 287 4. Participants 293 Introduction NMateo 7 INIBAP and the International Musa Testing Program N Mateo The Global Musa Evaluation Program, supported by UNDP and normally referred to as the International Musa Testing Program (IMTP) is a truly worldwide, collaborative endeavor. The purpose of this initiative is defined as follows: “The primary objective of IMTP is to effect coordinated development and evaluation of new germplasm in an effort to produce resistant Musa cultivars which meet local requirements and with which small-scale farmers can replace existing banana and plantain cultivars susceptible to Sigatoka diseases and Fusarium wilt. An objective of IMTP is to increase the capacity of national organizations to carry out appropriate research on local-consumption banana and plantain and ultimately to embark on locally adapted programs for genetic improvement of banana and plantain.” The results of the initial phase of IMTP, and the proposed organization and scope of Phase II, will be discussed during this Conference. It is, however, relevant to highlight some essential characteristics of IMTP. First, IMTP was a direct result of requests from national programs (NARS) to have disease-resistant and highly productive Musa germplasm made available. Secondly, the excellent opportunity of using FHIA hybrids to fulfill this need. Thirdly, UNDP’s vision and resolution to support this global collaborative endeavor. In the initial phase of IMTP, only the FHIA breeding program was able to contribute advanced germplasm for global evaluation for resistance to black leaf streak/black Sigatoka disease. The results of this initial phase are very impressive: three highly productive FHIA hybrids resistant to black leaf streak/black Sigatoka have been released and are currently available worldwide. Since their release in October 1993, INIBAP has distributed these hybrids to over 30 countries. On the basis of the global availability of FHIA hybrids, as well as additional releases of improved germplasm from EMBRAPA in Brazil, IITA in West Africa, BANBOARD in Jamaica, TBRI in Taiwan, and TNAU in India, it is possible to state that the common assertion “all cultivated bananas and plantains come from natural germplasm” is no longer valid. This indeed is a milestone in the history of Musa research. During the next phase of the IMTP, a more ambitious and exciting approach is envisaged. Advanced breeding materials from four research organizations will be tested worldwide, not only against their reaction to black leaf streak/black Sigatoka disease, but also their reaction to Sigatoka/yellow Sigatoka disease and Fusarium wilt. The willingness INIBAP, Parc Scientifique Agropolis, 34397 Montpellier Cedex 5, France 8 INIBAP and the International Musa Testing Program of national, regional, and international institutions to cover the expenses related to the testing sites clearly indicates that enhanced germplasm is in considerable demand. IMTP plays a key role in the global need for enhanced Musa germplasm. The need (requests from NARS), the opportunities (development and availability of good germplasm) and the vision and willingness to carry out the testing, are all prerequisites for the success of this program. INIBAP strongly believes that once other improved and natural germplasm is made available to the Musa community, there will be a growing need to encourage further testing through national evaluation programs (NEPs). The concept is simple: given the diversity of ecological and socioeconomic circumstances in Musa-producing regions, the development of only one or two “super bananas” or “super plantains” does not make much sense. Small-scale growers require a “basketfull of alternatives (a wide variety of first-class, resistant germplasm)” which they can evaluate on their farms and from which they can make appropriate selections. The adoption of suitable material to their particular needs will then follow. In this context, the more material released from the IMTP trials, the more options will be available to the NARS and farmers. IMTP fits very well into INIBAP’s mandate and activities as described in the Medium Term Plan, 1994-98, which is summarized in Appendix l below. In this Appendix, the specific areas where IMTP fits into INIBAP’s Medium Term Plan (MTP) are indicated with an asterisk (*). In practice, this means that IMTP is more than just an evaluation of germplasm and includes other significant elements. Details of these elements are provided in the paper by DR Jones on IMTP Phase II.