Department of Agriculture Bureau of Agricultural Research RDMIC Bldg., Elliptical Rd. Cor. Visayas Ave., Diliman, Q.C. 1104 Phone Nos.: (632) 928-8624 & 928-8505 • Fax: (632) 927-5691 Email: [email protected] • Website: http//www.bar.gov.ph ANNUAL REPORT A. BASIC INFORMATION 1. Title of the Project Mitigating banana Fusarium wilt Tropical Race 4 through a farmer-participatory approach of developing disease management strategies 2. Proponent Dr. Agustin B. Molina Jr. Regional Coordinator Bioversity International-Asia-Pacific Office 3/F Khush Hall, IRRI, Los Baños, Laguna (63) 49 536 0532; (63) 2 580 5600 Ext. 2874 (63) 49 536 0532 [email protected] 3. Implementing Agency 3.1. Lead Agency Bioversity International 3.2. Collaborating Agencies Dr. Lorna Herradura Agriculture Center Chief IV Bureau of Plant Industry-Davao National Crop Research and Development Center (BPI-DNCRDC) Dr. Susan Razo Head Regional Crop Protection Centre Department of Agriculture (DA) Dr. Lavernee Gueco University Researcher Institute of Plant Breeding Crop Science Centre, College of Agriculture University of the Philippines Los Baños 4031 College, Laguna Farmer-co-operators 4. Project Duration 3 years (2012-2015) 1 5. Project Covered by September 2012 to September 2013 this Report 6. Project Location Davao Provinces (Region 11) and Compostela Valley 7. Total Approved Budget PhP 9,667,876 ($224,834.00) B. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Annual Report covers the first year period of project implementation from September 2012 to September 2013. The overall goal of this project is to effectively address the problem of Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), that is severely devastating the Philippines banana industry, particularly in support of the small-scale banana growers who contribute 40% of the country’s total banana production. Two projects namely, “Mitigating banana Fusarium wilt Tropical Race 4 through a farmer-participatory approach of developing disease management strategies” and “Enhancing capacities of farmers and extension agents and local researchers towards the effective management of Foc for small-scale Cavendish banana sector,” are being strategically implemented to address this problem. This summary refers to both projects, and the remaining sections to the first project. The capacity Building project is reported in a separate report. The first component focuses on the mitigation of the threat and effects of Fusarium wilt disease through technical intervention by developing and adopting Foc-resistant varieties. A resistant somaclone, giant Cavendish tissue culture variant (GCTCV) 219, is being piloted among 20 independent, small-scale banana growers who have voluntarily participated in the project because of severe Foc infestation affecting their farms. Between October 2012 and August 2013 34,400 GCTCV 219 seedlings were distributed to the 20 participating farms where they are being evaluated against a susceptible control variety, Grand Naine. Preliminary results show that GCTCV 219 has been demonstrating significantly less disease infection compared with Grand Naine. Fruit yield and characteristics are also being recorded to develop appropriate post-harvest and marketing protocols for the export market. Preliminary taste tests confirmed earlier results that GCTCV 219 is sweeter than Grand Naine, a characteristic that gained favorable response from a potential export buyer. However, preliminary observations point to some inferior traits compared to Grand Naine, namely, splitting and tendency of hand malformation. As part of protocol optimization, some pre- and post-harvest protocols will have to be modified including the development of ripening and special packaging schemes. An equally important aspect of the project is to further improve the agronomic traits, 2 yield and fruit characteristics of GCTCV 219 through farmer-participatory selection of improved variant in the field to improve agronomic traits such as plant height, days to shooting, and bunch characteristics. Initial agronomic improvement activities have already started. The second project is an integral complementary element of the first project as it enhances the necessary capacities of project stakeholders to mitigate the threat of Fusarium wilt. Capacity building is an essential part of this project for farmers’ education and training, particularly on disease diagnosis, eradication, and management, as well as field selection of promising Cavendish varieties. To enhance abilities to respond to farmers’ needs, a survey was conducted among the farmer-cooperators to gather baseline information covering the farmers’ and farm profile, farm management, knowledge of Fusarium wilt and training needs. The first of a series of training- workshops had also been conducted, applying effective learning tools such as lectures, focus group discussions and field visits. Growers and researchers were trained on what data needed to be collected and how these data are to be gathered and measured. The pilot farms have also been used as platforms for building the capacities of participating banana growers. Research and extension partners’ capacities have also been improved during this period through attendance of short term-training abroad and scientific workshops and symposia. This project is a work-in-progress. Important activities are yet to be carried out in the remaining project period. It offers a great opportunity to further improve GCTCV 219 through expanded recurrent selection of improved variant in the subsequent plantings. Expanded project activities and funding are necessary to achieve such a goal. Preliminary outputs point to the great potential of Foc-resistant somaclonal variants as part of an approach in mitigating the threat of Fusarium wilt, thus addressing this serious disease problem facing small-scale and other banana growers in the Philippines. 1. Rationale The recent Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense- (Foc)) disease outbreak in Cavendish plantations in the Philippines is a serious threat to the sustainability of the multi-million dollar (PhP 720 million per annum) Cavendish- based export industry and also to the important local cultivars grown by small- scale farmers. Currently, about 80,000 hectares are planted to Cavendish for the export market (PBGEA 2011). It is very important to note that almost 50% of this is grown by small-scale independent growers. These growers lack the infrastructure and technical capabilities of the big growers associated with multi-national companies. The farms of these independent growers are most severely and vulnerably affected by the disease. Recent surveys show many small-scale growers’ farms have been affected so severely by Foc TR4 epidemics that some farms have already been abandoned and planted to other lower income crop such as corn (Figure 1 and 2). Developing resistant cultivars has been a long-term approach towards a sustainable management Foc.. However, breeding programs have failed to produce Cavendish varieties of equal or higher productivity combined with 3 disease-resistance and with quality that satisfies the discriminating standards of the global market. Some cultivars released by the breeding program of the Fundacion Hondurena de Investigacion Agricola (FHIA) are high yielding and resistant to Fusarium wilt, but remain commercially unacceptable for the export market. Similarly, despite huge financial investments in this crop improvement approach, genetic modification or genetic engineering programmes have not yielded successful outputs. Besides, genetically modified (GM)-bananas may not be accepted by existing markets. The Taiwan Banana Research Institute (TBRI) has achieved some successes in the selection and use of Foc-disease-resistant somaclonal variants of Cavendish (i.e. GCTCV) as part of the integrated approach to sustain the banana export industry in their country. A number of these resistant cultivars were shared with Bioversity’s International Transit Centre1 (ITC) for inclusion in the International Musa Testing Programme2 (IMTP). Subsequently, these varieties were distributed through the Bioversity International’s National Repository Multiplication and Dissemination Centre (NRMDC) program in Asia for evaluation and adoption. In the Philippines, the DA-BAR signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Bioversity in 2002 for the establishment of NRMDCs at the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) in Davao City and the Institute of Plant Breeding in the University of the Philippines Los Baños. Figure 1. Aerial view of a small-scale farm severely affected by Foc TR4. Note the general incidence of Foc TR 4 infected plants (with yellow leaves) 1 Musa germplasm cryobank hosted by KULeuven 2 Global Musa trials programme coordinated by Bioversity International 4 Figure 2. Aerial view of banana farm abandoned because of TR4, consequently planted to corn. Note the old structure of banana plantation such as drainage canals and cableways. Preliminary field trials conducted by Bioversity and the Lapanday Fruits Company3 in a field severely infested with Tropical Race 4 (TR4) showed very promising results. Two of the somaclonal varieties tested showed high levels of resistance to Foc TR4 (Molina et al, 2011). The fruits were also evaluated for qualities comparable to the export Cavendish variety. Results proved that the fruits could be accepted by the market and these have equal or better quality than fruit from existing commercial varieties. While the two varieties have some