shannondicorse
10-01-2013, 08:11 PM
Hi,
I'm currently looking at the phenotype variation in a 100+ year old population of acuminata on Trinidad.
I was struck by the ability of a very tiny population to maintain a degree of polymorphism in over a century.
Part of it might be due to an influx of genes from cultivated bananas?
Apart from this population within parklands of Port-of-Spain, the capital city (!); there is a wild, cultivar-derived acuminata swarm that can't be more than a couple of decades old at the Arena forest Reserve on the island.
There are 2-3 quite interesting complex wild populations of Musa balbisiana; and, apparently, a near extirpated "ornata" population in Central Trinidad.
All populations show resistance to many of the biotic conditions that hamper banana cultivars locally; and I have begun using them to create multiple ultra cheap clonal lines of banana cultivars for farmer use.
If anyone knows of wild bananas outside their traditional ranges, please let me know. I know of the ornata of Mexico; the balbisiana of Costa Rica and Belize; and the acuminata of Pemba.
Oh, I really wrote this to test whether or not I could attach photos . So please forgive me.
shannon
shannon.di.corse@gmail.com
I'm currently looking at the phenotype variation in a 100+ year old population of acuminata on Trinidad.
I was struck by the ability of a very tiny population to maintain a degree of polymorphism in over a century.
Part of it might be due to an influx of genes from cultivated bananas?
Apart from this population within parklands of Port-of-Spain, the capital city (!); there is a wild, cultivar-derived acuminata swarm that can't be more than a couple of decades old at the Arena forest Reserve on the island.
There are 2-3 quite interesting complex wild populations of Musa balbisiana; and, apparently, a near extirpated "ornata" population in Central Trinidad.
All populations show resistance to many of the biotic conditions that hamper banana cultivars locally; and I have begun using them to create multiple ultra cheap clonal lines of banana cultivars for farmer use.
If anyone knows of wild bananas outside their traditional ranges, please let me know. I know of the ornata of Mexico; the balbisiana of Costa Rica and Belize; and the acuminata of Pemba.
Oh, I really wrote this to test whether or not I could attach photos . So please forgive me.
shannon
shannon.di.corse@gmail.com