Innovate Plantain

Partagez vos connaissances sur les plantes

Bioversity Montpellier — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 13:25:50 +0000

Participez à l’identification de plantes tolérantes au stress

Bioversity International mène une enquête (date butoir 7 Février) pour évaluer les perspectives concernant les cultures tolérantes au stress. Cette enquête fait partie d’un effort pour documenter et attirer l’attention sur le rôle des cultures traditionnelles dans l’adaptation au changement climatique dans le cadre du projet sur les plantes négligées et sous utilisées (NUS) du FIDA et du programme de recherche du CGIAR sur le changement climatique, l’agriculture, et la sécurité alimentaire (CCAFS).

Une grande diversité de cultures mineures et variétés locales représentent une part précieuse des moyens de subsistance des agriculteurs et des communautés. Une plus grande utilisation de ces cultures traditionnelles pourrait faire partie intégrante du développement de la résilience, certaines étant tolérantes à des conditions météorologiques extrêmes (sécheresse, chaleur, inondations) et à la pression de ravageurs, liées au changement climatique.

Nous apprécions sincèrement votre participation dans cette enquête, que vous soyez chercheur dans le domaine agricole, agriculteur ou jardinier ou que vous travailliez avec les communautés d’agriculteurs. cela ne vous prendre que quelques minutes pour répondre aux 14 questions posées.

Les résultats de l’enquête seront utiles pour orienter les décisions sur les cultures qui devraient recevoir plus d’attention de la part de la recherche et qui devraient être prioritaires dans les stratégies d’adaptation au changement climatique.

Cliquez ici pour accéder à l’enquête

Share your crop knowledge

Bioversity Montpellier — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 13:15:54 +0000

Help identify stress-tolerant species

Bioversity International is conducting a survey (Deadline: 7 February) to assess perspectives from around the world on which traditional crops are tolerant of stressful growing conditions. This is part of an effort to document and draw attention to the role of traditional crops in climate change adaptation under the IFAD NUS (Neglected and Underutilized Species) project and CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS).
There is a wide diversity of minor crops and landraces that form a valuable part of farmer’s and communities’ livelihoods. Greater use of these traditional crops could be integral in building resilience , as many are tolerant to harsh conditions linked to climate change such as extreme weather (drought, heat, flooding) and high pest pressure.

If you are an agricultural researcher, someone working with farmer communities, a farmer or a gardener, we appreciate your input into this investigation. We have 14 questions that take only a few minutes to answer.

The results will be useful in guiding decisions on which crops should receive greater research attention and be prioritized in climate change adaptation strategies.

More information here

Click here to start the survey

Le CARBAP recrute

Bioversity Montpellier — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 09:23:00 +0000

Le Centre Africain de Recherches sur Bananiers et Plantains (CARBAP) recrute un Généticien et un Agro-économiste. La date limite de dépôt de candidature est le 5 Janvier 2014.
La mission du CARBAP est de contribuer à l’amélioration durable de la sécurité alimentaire et du niveau de vie des populations en menant des recherches d’intérêt régional par le développement des filières de banane et de banane plantain en Afrique Centrale et Occidentale. Le CARBAP est un membre d’Innovate Plantain.

Musalit a fait peau neuve

Bioversity Montpellier — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 10:53:20 +0000

Une nouvelle version de Musalit, la plus grande base de données bibliographiques sur les bananiers, a été récemment mise en ligne. La nouvelle interface permet un meilleur accès aux documents et possède de nouvelles fonctionnalités de recherche pour aider les utilisateurs à naviguer dans une base de données de presque 15 000 références. En plus d’offrir plus de possibilités de recherche, elle permet aussi d’affiner les résultats d’une recherche par langue, auteur, mot-clés ou type de document, pour ne citer que quelques exemples. Les utilisateurs peuvent créer des bibliographies en sélectionnant les références et en les exportant au format citation. Il est également possible de sauvegarder une requête en tant qu’URL unique. Les résultats de cette requête seront alors mis à jour automatiquement dès qu’une nouvelle référence correspondant aux critères sélectionnés sera ajoutée à la base.

Pour en savoir plus sur la base de données, visitez le blog ProMusa.

Faites une recherche sur Musalit (www.musalit.org) et profitez de cette occasion pour vérifier si tous vos articles publiés sur la banane sont enregistrés dans la base de données. Si vous souhaitez ajouter une référence, corriger une erreur dans un enregistrement ou fournir des informations manquantes, contactez Leïla Er-Rachiq

Towards a better access to literature on bananas

Bioversity Montpellier — Wed, 30 Oct 2013 10:31:47 +0000

A new version of Musalit, the largest repository of references on banana, was recently put online. The new Musalit interface provides better access to documents and improved search functionalities to help users navigate the database’s close to 15,000 records. In addition to offering more search fields, it also makes it possible to refine the results of a search by language, author, keyword or type of document, to name only a few. Users can also produce bibliographies by selecting records and exporting them in citation format, as well as save a search as a unique URL. The results will be automatically updated with any new record matching the search criteria.

Read more about the database on Promusa blog

Look for publications on Musalit: (www.musalit.org) and take this opportunity to check if all your published papers on banana are recorded in the database. If you want to add a reference, correct an error in a record or provide missing information, contact Leïla Er-Rachiq

Second announcement of the ISHS/ProMusa Symposium: Unravelling the banana’s genomic potential

Bioversity Montpellier — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 13:38:32 +0000

The upcoming ISHS/ProMusa Symposium will be held as one of the symposia of the 29th International Horticultural Congress in Brisbane, Australia on 17-22 August, 2014.
Banana acts as a starchy staple food crop for approximately 500 million people, particularly those in the least developed countries, where many poor families are involved in its cultivation and many others benefit as consumers. In many parts of the world, productivity remains well below the optimum and, in certain areas, pitifully poor. Banana is also a potential gold mine of vitamins and micronutrients. With the banana genome recently unravelled, that potential is now more than ever ready to be exploited by the scientific community beyond boundaries not yet imagined. The genome sequence provides access to the plant’s over 36,000 genes, making it possible to identify those genes responsible for particular traits, such as disease resistance, dwarfism, fruit quality and many more, and opening up many exciting new opportunities.
This symposium will take stock of ongoing research efforts with the impact of the recently sequenced genome but also other areas of research. Special attention will be given to Fusarium wilt tropical race 4, which is already a major problem in Asia and poses a huge threat for banana production in Africa and Latin America. The contribution of banana to human health and nutrition will also be highlighted, with a special focus on the crop’s diversity.
More symposium information here

Deuxième annonce du Symposium ISHS / ProMusa: Unravelling the banana’s genomic potential

Bioversity Montpellier — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 13:26:08 +0000

Le prochain Symposium ISHS/ProMusa sera l’un des colloques du 29e Congrès international d’horticulture qui se tiendra à Brisbane, en Australie, du 17 au 22 Août 2014.
La banane est une culture vivrière qui sert de féculent pour environ 500 millions de personnes, en particulier dans les pays les moins avancés où de nombreuses familles pauvres la cultive et bon nombre d’autres la consomme. Dans de nombreuses régions du monde, la productivité reste bien en deçà de l’optimum et, dans certains zones, elle est dramatiquement basse. La banane est également une mine d’or potentielle de vitamines et de micronutriments. Avec le génome du bananier récemment dévoilé, ce potentiel est plus que jamais prêt à être exploité par la communauté scientifique au-delà de frontières qu’on ne peut pas encore imaginer. Le séquençage du génome donne accès à plus de 36 000 gènes qui constituent la plante et permet donc d’identifier les gènes responsables de traits particuliers, tels que la résistance aux maladies, le nanisme, la qualité des fruits et beaucoup d’autres, et d’ouvrir ainsi de nombreuses nouvelles possibilités passionnantes.
Ce colloque fera le bilan des efforts de recherche en cours avec l’impact du génome récemment séquencé, mais traitera aussi d’autres domaines de recherche. Une attention particulière sera accordée à la race tropicale 4 de la fusariose, qui est déjà un problème majeur en Asie et constitue une menace grave pour la production bananière en Afrique et en Amérique latine. La contribution de la banane à la santé humaine et à la nutrition sera également soulignée avec un accent particulier sur la diversité de la culture.
Pour de plus amples informations sur le symposium, cliquez ici.

RTB partners on alert over the spread of Banana Bunchy Top Disease in West Africa

Bioversity Montpellier — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 16:10:21 +0000

Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD) of plantains and bananas is caused by a destructive virus which is very difficult to eradicate (see video) . While it has already been detected in at least 14 African countries, its impact in the affected regions is drastic: diseased plants are severely stunted and do not produce fruits. “BBTD has the potential to thwart smallholder banana production and to threaten food security for millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa”, warns IITA virologist Lava Kumar…
read more

Africa Feeding Africa through Agricultural Science and Innovation

Bioversity Montpellier — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:46:49 +0000

Accra, Ghana – Every three years, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) convenes a continental gathering of all stakeholders involved in African agricultural development. This has come to be
known as the Africa Agriculture Science Week. The 6th Africa Agriculture Science Week will take place in Accra from 15 to 19 July. Bioversity will participate to this important event.
See second announcement here.

L’Afrique nourrit l’Afrique grâce aux sciences agricoles et à l’innovation

Tous les 3 trois ans, le Forum pour la Recherche Agricole en Afrique (FARA) organise une rencontre
continentale de toutes les parties prenantes qui participent à la recherche agricole pour le développement en Afrique, connue sous le nom de Semaine africaine des sciences agricoles. La sixième Semaine africaine se tiendra à Accra du 15 au 19 Juillet prochains. Bioversity participera à cette importante réunion.
La deuxième annonce est disponible ici.

Expert survey: Brief overview of the survey results

Bioversity Montpellier — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 16:22:26 +0000

A total of 504 banana experts from around the world participated in an online survey conducted as part of the CGIAR Research Programme on Roots, Tubers and Bananas priority setting study between 18 January and 12 March 2013.
The aim of the survey was to elicit the most important constraints limiting or reducing banana yields and farmers’ income as well as to identify the most important research areas for future investment.
The next step in the priority setting exercise will be an expert workshop conducted on 8 – 11 April in Kampala, Uganda which will be accompanied by an e-Forum to facilitate the input of the wider banana research and development community.
The survey was structured into 5 sections: profile of respondents; yield limiting constraints; income increasing factors; ranking of research options; and the assessment of the importance of general research areas.

Profile of respondents

Most of the survey respondents are scientists at national agricultural research organizations (33%) or scientists at universities (20%). The large majority (54%) of the survey participants indicated a national focus of their banana work with more than 50 countries represented. Roughly a third each of the respondents are from Africa (37%), Latin America and the Caribbean (33%) and Asia (23%), respectively. The share of women in the sample was 26% and 57% of the respondents were between 46-65 years old and 67% had 6 or more years of experience in banana research or development.

Major constraints to yields

The five highest ranking single constraints based on all responses are i) planting material infested with pests and/or diseases; ii) black leaf streak/black Sigatoka; iii) water deficits; iv) Fusarium wilt; and v) planting material with non-uniform yield potential. However, the scores look different for different cultivar groups and regions (e.g. BBTV highest ranking yield constraint among respondents from South Africa and Xanthomonas wilt for East African Highland bananas). On average respondents allocated 16% of points to planting material constraints, 15% to climatic constraints, 19% to soil constraints, 29% to diseases; 17% to pests and 4% to other biotic constraints.

Income increasing factors

The five highest ranking single income increasing factors based on all responses are i) higher yield; ii) better quality of bunch and/or fingers; iii) improved information and knowledge on agronomic practices; iv) improved information and knowledge on pest/disease management; and v) lower cost of fertilizer and pesticides. Again, the scores look different for different cultivar groups and regions (e.g. lower cost of irrigation among top five factors among respondents from South Africa and improved access to urban areas and local markets in the top 5 list among respondents reporting on East African Highland, ABB cooking and diploid cultivar groups). On average respondents allocated 34% of points to production related factors, 26% to factors related to post-harvest, processing and marketing, 21% to information and knowledge factors, 10% and 8% to socio-economic and policy factors, respectively, and 1% to other factors.

Ranking research options

A total of 71 different research options were evaluated by respondents using a scale from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important). Five technology options have an average score larger than 4 (very important): breeding for higher yields, research on the management of fungal leaf diseases, breeding for resistance to fungal leaf diseases, strategies to improve soil fertility, and methods for improved phytosanitary and physiological quality of planting material. Again the average scores vary considerably between regions and cultivar groups.

Importance of general research areas

The top five research areas for the whole sample are: Research on disease and pest management (excl. resistant varieties) (12% of points), breeding for higher yield (10%), breeding for biotic stress-resistance (9%), crop management and production system research (9%), and genetic resource management research (8%). Again, there are substantial differences between regions, but also between male and female respondents. The women in the sample assign significantly fewer points to the area of breeding for higher yield, and significantly more points to research on post-harvest handling and processing technology as well as socio-economic research.
The results from the survey will feed into the upcoming expert workshop and e-Forum where participants will be asked to select 10-15 distinct research lines matching the major constraints. For these research lines, parameters such as expected yield, production cost effects, research costs and development time as well as gender, environment, natural resource and health implications will be estimated. The e-Forum is open to all members of the banana community and we very much welcome your contribution.