Bioversity International partners with small banana growers

Fusarium wilt of banana in the background, on susceptible variety Gran naine. Bioversity International is hands on in helping the small Cavendish growers in Davao City, Philippines by partnering with them in research on the field evaluation of resistant varieties and sharing with them science based information for the integrated management of Foc TR4.
Public Private Partnerships of Bioversity

Bioversity International works with small Cavendish growers as well as big companies in addressing a the dreaded disease – Fusarium Wilt TR4, affecting not only banana farmers in the Philippines and Asia but the world over. Resistant banana varieties are being studied for their use to alleviate the problem. (In photo: Researchers of DOLE-STANFILCO, Lapanday Food Corporation and DA-Bureau of Plant Industry in the middle of a 9ha farm planted with GCTCV 219 at Calinan, Davao City)
ITC Musa Germplasm Field Evaluation for Fusarium Wilt TR4 in the Philippines

The site for the ITC Musa Germplasm Field Evaluation for Fusarium Wilt TR4 in Davao City, Philippines
This disease evaluation research will give us more information on what specific Musa varieties in the ITC Musa Germplasm collection are resistant or susceptible to Foc TR4 in the field. This would help us identify local and commercial varieties that are potentially threatened by the disease.

At the entrance, a cavendish variety with Fusarium wilt disease welcomes you!
The golden banana hands of Fusarium Resistant Banana Varieties (GCTCV 219 and GCTCV 218)

The golden banana hands of Fusarium Resistant Banana Varieties (GCTCV 219 and GCTCV 218)
During the 9th BAPNET STeering Committee Meeting in Davao City, Philippines, participants visited the plantation of the Lapanday Food Corporation (LFC) in farming Town, Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte planted with the locally selected Fusarium wilt resistant GCTCV somaclones (GCTCV 218) from the Taiwan Banana Research Institute (TBRI). In set (from left to right) Dr. Emily Fabregar (Research Manager, LFC), Dr. Gus Molina (BAPNET Coordinator), Dr. Pat Faylon (Director, PCAARRD) and Dr. Chih Ping Chao (Director, TBRI)
9th Banana Asia Pacific Network Steering Committee Members

The BAPNET STEERING COMMITTEE MEMBERS
(Front Row, left to right) Thaveesak Sangudom (Thailand), Nguyen Quoc Hung (Vietnam), Yi Ganjun (China), H.M.S. Heenkenda (Sri Lanka), Patricio Faylon (Philippines), Rozeita Laboh (Malaysia), Digna Sandoval (Philippines), M.M. Mustaffa (India), Ir. Muhammad Prama Yufdy (Indonesia)
(Back row, left to right) Chih Ping Chao (Taiwan Banana Research Institute), Ouk Makara (Cambodia), Robert Williams (Australia), Agustin Molina (Bioversity International), Madan Gopal Saha (Bangladesh), Birte Nass- Komolong (Papua New Guinea), Logotonu Waqainabete (Secretariat Pacific Community), Stewart Lindsay (Australia)

Latest news

Research and production experiences in Asia suggest that Panama disease (Foc TR4) will not destroy the Cavendish banana industry

Dr. Agustin B. Molina Bioversity International/Banana Asia Pacific Network Western media is fixated with reporting that Panama Disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc TR4) will lead to the disappearance of Cavendish bananas from supermarkets. This is in reaction to certain researchers predicting the unavoidable incursion of the fungus into Latin American banana […]

Bright Prospect of Managing Foc TR4 in the Philippines: Use of Resistant Cavendish Somaclone Varieties

Planting Fusarium Wilt (Foc) TR4-resistant Giant Cavendish Tissue Culture Variants (GCTCVs) is becoming a practical option in managing epidemics of Fusarium Wilt TR4 in commercial plantations in the Philippines. After a series of Bioversity International’s field evaluations in public-private partnerships, two GCTCV varieties, namely, GCTCV 218 and GCTCV 219 proved to be the most acceptable […]

Bapnet

Banana Research Network for Asia-Pacific