View Single Post
Old 07-20-2014, 08:21 AM   #1 (permalink)
PR-Giants
Commercial Grower
 
PR-Giants's Avatar
 
Location: Florida & Greater Antilles
Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 4,544
BananaBucks : 3,716
Feedback: 16 / 100%
Said "Thanks" 2,900 Times
Was Thanked 12,461 Times in 3,620 Posts
Said "Welcome to Bananas" 3,204 Times
Joy Evaluation Of Banana Clones For Commercial Potential In Hawaii

Non Technical Summary
Over the last decade, banana has occupied a niche among the top 10 to 15 commodities produced in Hawaii. From 2002 to 2006, banana sales in Hawaii increased by 25%, but nearly all of that represented foreign imports. Local production has not kept up with demand. Foreign competition and crop diseases, particularly banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) and black leaf streak caused by the fungal pathogen Mycosphaerella fijiensis, have been important factors influencing this trend. Commercial banana production in Hawaii is based on two excellent dessert clones: the Cavendish clone Williams and the Dwarf Brazilian, an "apple" type banana. Of these, Williams has suffered more in the current market situation because world competitors produce the same Cavendish bananas, and consequently competition from imports is direct. Dwarf Brazilian is not typically a clone that enters world banana commodity trade, so local producers have unchallenged access to local markets. Williams is favored because of its higher yields, but it is more susceptible to both BBTV and black leaf streak. In spite of the good qualities of these two clones, everyone recognizes their vulnerabilities and the problems of depending on a limited number of production options. Luckily, the banana family (Musaceae) is tremendously diverse. Huge genetic variation is expressed in size, texture, and flavor nuances within dessert fruits, but goes beyond this familiar usage to include banana clones that are traditionally used for cooking, roasting, and even beer-making. Consequently, one option for the banana industry in Hawaii is to explore possibilities for developing local niche markets for new banana clones. Clones with better disease resistance or with interesting flavors, textures, or colors could be introduced by progressive growers at farmers' markets or by direct sales to restaurants and/or hotels for more exotic food applications oriented toward tourism. CTAHR has assembled a banana germplasm collection and has established it in the field on Oahu's North Shore. The CTAHR collection contains 57 clones that were imported in 2006 from the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) in Belgium and from Kenyan sources cooperating with the national Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI). Most of the clones are dessert types of the AAB "apple" genomic group similar to Dwarf Brazilian, but there are also clones of AA, AB AAA, ABB, and AAAB genome types that may represent potential new markets. CTAHR has an opportunity to screen these materials for local commercial potential. Objectives of the current proposal are to 1) evaluate horticultural characteristics of clones, including bearing height, bunch weight, finger size, and fruit quality, 2) tissue culture the collection for propagation and long term preservation, 3) evaluate BBTV resistance in greenhouse inoculation trials at UH Manoa, and 4) evaluate black leaf streak resistance in a replicated field trial at Waiakea, Hawaii. The anticipated outcome from the project is a banana industry invigorated by more production options allowing growers to overcome current limits imposed by foreign competition and disease. Animal Health Component 100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic(N/A)Applied100%Developmental(N/A)Classification

Knowledge Area (KA) Subject of Investigation (SOI) Field of Science (FOS) Percent
202 1010 1080 25%
202 1010 1160 25%
204 1010 1081 25%
212 1010 1081 25%

Knowledge Area
202 - Plant Genetic Resources; 204 - Plant Product Quality and Utility (Preharvest); 212 - Pathogens and Nematodes Affecting Plants;

Subject Of Investigation
1010 - Banana;

Field Of Science
1080 - Genetics; 1160 - Pathology; 1081 - Breeding;
Keywordsbananagermplasmclonesvirus resistancefungal disease resistancevarietal evaluationbbtvblack leaf streakwilliamsdwarf brazilianblack sigatokamycosphaerella fijiensisGoals / Objectives
Banana production in Hawaii is based on two clones: Williams Hybrid and Dwarf Brazilian ("apple"). In recent years, diseases and pests, particularly banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) and black leaf streak (Mycosphaerella), have threatened local banana production. Given the large array of banana clones in world germplasm collections, one option for the banana industry in Hawaii is to explore possibilities for developing local niche markets for new banana clones. Clones producing fruits with interesting flavors, textures, or colors could be introduced on a small scale by progressive growers and trial-marketed at urban farmers' markets or through direct sales to restaurants and/or hotels for more exotic food applications oriented toward tourism. In 2006, 57 banana clones from world collections were assembled at CTAHR as part of a now completed doctoral research program to define basic molecular-level relationships within this important crop. Objectives of the current proposal are to 1) evaluate horticultural characteristics of clones, including bearing height, bunch weight, finger size, and fruit quality, 2) tissue culture the collection for propagation and long term preservation, 3) evaluate BBTV resistance in greenhouse inoculation trials at UH Manoa, and 4) evaluate black leaf streak resistance in a replicated field trial at Waiakea, Hawaii. Outputs from the project will consist of recommendations regarding the suitability of the ~40 parthenocarpic banana clones for commercial production in Hawaii, as well as the banana clonal germplasm itself, which can be made available to interested growers after appropriate release of the plant materials by UH. Commercial suitability will be determined by analysis of data resulting from evaluation of horticultural characteristics and disease resistance of the clones, with specific information for growing conditions on Oahu's North Shore and near Hilo, Hawaii. These data will be tabulated and summarized in an extension publication and presented at a Hawaii Banana Industry Association conference. Project Methods
Objective 1: Horticultural aspects to be evaluated include productivity, fruit appearance, and eating quality. We will harvest every second week for a year. Clones are replicated, so we can make statistically meaningful comparisons among clones for annual yield, frequency of harvest, bunch height, bunch weight, finger length and girth, and quality assessment on a hedonic scale. Height of bunches will be measured, and bunches will be harvested, weighed, and de-handed in the field. General vigor, suckering potential, and disease incidence will be noted on a relative scale, but not quantitatively measured during the bi-weekly visits. Fruit length and girth measurements, fruit appearance, and eating quality assessments will be done in the lab. Objective 2: During the first year, suckers of approximately 40 parthenocarpic (seedless) clones in the Kawailoa Ridge collection will be indexed for absence of BBTV by ELISA assay and established in tissue culture for micropropagation and long term storage. Basal portions of young suckers will be washed, stripped of leaf sheathes, and the apex trimmed to a 2.5-inch cube containing the meristem. After surface disinfestation in 100% Chlorox for 30 minutes followed by three washes in sterile water, the corm is reduced to a 4-mm cube containing the meristem. Longitudinal slices of the meristem will be cultured aseptically in solid banana medium at 28 C under 16/8 hr (light/dark) photoperiod. Banana propagules can be maintained in this medium for 3 to 4 months before requiring subculture. Objective 3: The Kawailoa Ridge collection will be screened for BBTV resistance at the UH Manoa campus. Five tissue-cultured plants of each clone will be placed in a screened enclosure when 10cm tall and inoculated with five viruliferous aphids (Pentalonia nigronervosa) per plant, using a fine paintbrush to make the transfers. Inoculated plants that remain symptomless after three months will be re-inoculated at three-month intervals. Inoculated plants will be maintained in the enclosure for up to one year. The time from the first inoculation to the appearance of the classic "Morse-code" leaf vein symptoms will be recorded as the measure of virus resistance. ELISA assays will be employed to confirm the presence of BBTV in tissues of symptomatic plants or its absence in symptomless plants. Objective 4: Screening for black leaf streak resistance will be conducted in a field at Waiakea Experiment Station on Hawaii Island, using a completely randomized design with three replicates of two tissue-cultured plants for each of 40 parthenocarpic clones from Kawailoa. Waiakea (120" annual rainfall) is a dependable location for black leaf streak. BBTV-indexed tissue-cultured plants will be sent in vitro from UH Manoa to Waiakea for establishment in the greenhouse and later transfer to the field. The 0.5-acre field will be planted on a 10' x 10' grid. Disease resistance data will be recorded beginning in the second year and repeated quarterly. The relative vulnerability of the clones to black leaf streak will be determined by comparing the mean number of healthy symptomless leaves occurring below the flag- or "cigar"-leaf. Progress 10/01/11 to 09/30/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) is the most serious disease of banana in Hawaii today. It is vectored by the banana aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa, and both of Hawaii's main commercial banana cultivars, the Cavendish clone Williams and the Pome clone Santa Catarina Prata, are susceptible. Our objectives are to screen a diverse collection of banana germplasm 1) in the greenhouse to determine whether resistant genotypes exist and 2) in the field to determine whether commercially significant levels of tolerance (ability to produce a profitable crop in spite of susceptibility to BBTV) can be identified. A collection of 43 genotypes was assembled, including clones that are representative of the major genomic groups of edible bananas (AA, AAA, AAAB, AAB, AB, ABB) as well as related wild species. Six replicates of each clone were planted at the Waimanalo Experiment Station in March 2012. The planting has been exposed to natural populations of virus-vectoring aphids since it was established, and starting in August 2012, viruliferous aphids collected from BBTV-infected bananas kept in a growth chamber on the UH Manoa campus were intentionally introduced into the field. At the end of the reporting period, several of the Cavendish clones (AAA) that are known to be highly susceptible are showing BBTV symptoms. These results were reported at the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers annual meeting at UH Manoa in September 2012. PARTICIPANTS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. TARGET AUDIENCES: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: A no-cost extension until September 30 2013 was requested to advance the project objectives.

Impacts
Data are being collected; no outcomes at this time.

Publications


•No publications reported this period



Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Graduate Research Assistant Gabriel Sachter-Smith was hired with project funds in fall 2011, but he had been voluntarily working during summer 2011 to transplant and establish tissue cultured plants in the greenhouse at the Magoon Horticulture Facility on the UH campus in Manoa Valley. An arrangement was made with Kona Station manager Mark Meisner, to reserve field space for a banana demonstration plot to be planted with six promising clones (Ney Poovan, Inyoya, Niyarma Yik, Muraru, Kayinja, and Goldfinger) for extension field day use in West Hawaii. Tissue cultured materials of these clones are in our lab at the UH Manoa campus on Oahu and will be shipped to Kona for establishment once they have been indexed for BBTV to ensure that they are free of disease. A similar arrangement to rent field space at the Maunawili Research Station on Oahu was made with the Hawaii Agriculture Research Center in September 2011. The intent of this field is to establish a larger number of clones for black leaf streak evaluation in a wetter microclimate. PARTICIPANTS: In summer 2011, graduate student Gabriel Sachter-Smith participated in a three-week training program in banana characterization and germplasm evaluation in the Solomon Islands, sponsored jointly by Bioversity International, the Secretatiat of the Pacific Community, Kastom Gaden Association (Solomon Islands), and the Global Crop Diversity Trust. TARGET AUDIENCES: Gabriel and PI Richard Manshardt presented information at the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Society meeting in Kona, Hawaii, Sept. 9-10, on the objectives of the Hatch project, and specifically the goal of evaluating and making recommendations for small growers and backyard gardeners concerning banana bunchy top virus disease reactions in new banana clones with high quality fruits. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Our original plan to evaluate black leaf streak reactions in Hilo on Hawaii was changed to Maunawili, Oahu, to take advantage of better logistical efficiencies, given the relocation of co-PI Scot Nelson from Hilo to Manoa, Oahu, in spring 2011.

Impacts
The project is still in the development phase and there are no outcomes at present.

Publications


•No publications reported this period



Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10

Outputs
OUTPUTS: The original banana germplasm collection on Kawailoa Ridge has been terminated due to expiration of the agreement under which the field was being maintained by a private grower. From the original 55 clones, corms of 36 with at least some commercial potential were removed and placed into tissue culture for maintenance and propagation. Thirty-two of those have been successfully established in culture, and are being multiplied for future screening for sigatoka resistance in the field and for banana bunchytop virus (BBTV) resistance in the greenhouse. Twenty-five clones have produced more than the 10 propagules needed to establish the sigatoka screening field, but these are being maintained in tissue culture until the remaining seven clones with fewer than 10 propagules catch up. This tactic will allow simultaneous establishment of all clones in the field. Nineteen clones previously transferred from the Kawailoa Ridge collection to a field at Waimanalo Experiment Station include 6 clones not established in tissue culture. These plants are being evaluated for developmental, disease resistance, and fruiting characteristics, including pseudostem height (m) at flowering, days to flowering, days from flowering to harvest, bunch weight (kg), number of hands in bunch, number of fingers on bunch, length of fingers (cm), days from harvest to ripe, number of bunches produced since planting (20 mo.), BBTV symptoms, flavor characteristics, and reaction of informal tasters. Evaluation data are incomplete, but variation in plant height ranges from 2 m (several clones) to 4 m (Kayinja), time from planting to harvest ranges from 313 days (Ungoye Sweet) to 579 days (Bakurura), bunch weight ranges from 9 kg (Pisang Buntal) to 36 kg (Muraru), finger length ranges between 7 to 10 cm (Auko, Vunapope) to between 20 to 25 cm (Muraru), and informal fruit quality ratings range from poor (Ungoye Sweet) to "extremely well liked" (Kingala No. 1, Muraru). A more extensive comparison of taste preferences was statistically analyzed as an undergraduate class exercise in Fall 2009, using four exotic banana clones from Kawailoa Ridge and the two major commercial clones Williams and Dwarf Brazilian. These results were communicated to the UH research community in a poster presented at the CTAHR Student Research Symposium in April 2010 and to the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association at their annual meeting in September 2010. PARTICIPANTS: PI Richard Manshardt is responsible for administration of the grant, all report filing, and overall coordination of efforts toward the project goal. He organized and directed the transfer of the banana germplasm from the Kawailoa Ridge field into tissue culture for maintenance and propagation at the UH campus in Manoa, and with the help of undergraduate assistants, to a second field planting at Waimanalo Experiment Station for clonal evaluation. Co-PI Scot Nelson has assisted with arrangements for the receipt and growth of banana plants in the greenhouse and research plot at the Waiakea Experiment Station. Co-PI Eden Perez is responsible for overseeing the maintenance and propagation of the banana germplasm in tissue culture. She organized and directed undergraduate assistants to establish the tissue cultures and propagate clones to be used for testing sigatoka disease resistance in the field and BBTV resistance in the greenhouse. Undergraduate student Gabriel Sachter-Smith was hired as an hourly-wage assistant to transfer banana germplasm from the Kawailoa Ridge field into tissue culture at the UH campus in Manoa. On his own initiative, he established the field at Waimanalo Experiment Station and undertook the evaluation of clones for developmental, disease resistance, and fruiting characteristics. As part of his UH class in research methodology, he organized and participated in a survey to determine banana taste preferences, including statistical analysis of the resulting data. The survey provided training for three other CTAHR undergraduate students involved in the exercise and resulted in a poster presentation at the CTAHR Student Research Symposium in collaboration with Dr. Loriena Yancura of CTAHR's Family and Consumer Sciences Department. TARGET AUDIENCES: The Hawaii Banana Industry Association and the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association are two principle organizations targeted to benefit from research conducted in this project. The potential for production of new specialty banana clones of high quality for niche markets in Hawaii was presented to the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Association at their annual meeting in September 2010. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
Preliminary evaluations of banana fruit quality based on statistical analysis of taste tests involving 66 participants indicate that preference is not restricted to Cavendish and Dwarf Brazilian (Apple) clones that are the dominant types among local commercial producers. Tasters rated the AA clone Niyarma Yik significantly higher on a preference scale than five other clones that included Cavendish Grand Nain and Dwarf Brazilian. Two other exotic clones, Inyoya (AAA) and Ney Poovan (AAB), were also rated higher than either of the dominant commercial clones, although the difference in preference was not significant at the 95% confidence level. This output supports our premise that a niche market for high quality banana fruits is not limited by lack of suitable clones.

Publications


•Mitchell, A-C., Tateno, A., Morgan, R., Sachter-Smith, G. and Yancura, L. 2010. Eating quality preference of alternative dessert banana cultivars (Abstract). Program Schedule for CTAHR Student Research Symposium, April 9-10, University of Hawaii at Manoa, p. 48.
__________________



PR-Giants Photo Gallery



15,000+ Varieties

PR-Giants is offline   Reply With Quote Send A Private Message To PR-Giants
Said thanks:

Join Bananas.org Today!

Are you a banana plant enthusiast? Then we hope you will join the community. You will gain access to post, create threads, private message, upload images, join groups and more.

Bananas.org is owned and operated by fellow banana plant enthusiasts. We strive to offer a non-commercial community to learn and share information. Receive all three issues from Volume 1 of Bananas Magazine with your membership:
   

Join Bananas.org Today! - Click Here


Sponsors