FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

Apparently FHIA-26 is a patented AABB variety that is supposed to be very productive, disease resistant, and tasty. It has Pisang Awak as the maternal parent.

Given that FHIA seemed to have high hopes for it and it was patented several years ago, I'm surprised it doesn't seem to have made its way into circulation. It's not even in the main banana database, MGIS.

You can see pictures of it in the following document (and you can get more than that from the document if you read Spanish).

http://www.fhia.org.hn/dowloads/info...banoypp004.pdf


Here's part of the information from the patent (which appears to have an error in it, claiming Pisang Awak is in the Bluggoe subgroup):

Abstract
This new and distinct variety of hybrid dessert banana plant has both Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana in its pedigree. Its Latin name is Musa acuminata x balbisiana group AABB. AA representing two genomes of M. acuminata and BB representing two genomes of M. balbisiana. It has the following unique combination of desirable features: 1. A high level of resistance to Mycosphaerella fijiensis, causal fungus of the black Sigatoka (black leaf streak) disease. 2. A tall plant height. 3. A strong root system that makes it a hardy plant resistant to strong winds or weevil attach (corm borer Cosmopolites sordidus). 4. Fruit bunch sizes that are frequently greater than 20 kg. 5. Ripe fruit has a very good taste, flavor and texture.


Claims

It is claimed:

1. A new and distinct hybrid variety of dessert banana plant, substantially as illustrated and described, which is a tall plant and has a high level of resistance to Mycosphaerella fijiensis, causal fungus of the black Sigatoka (black leaf streak) disease; the fresh ripe fruit is further characterized by having a very good taste, flavor and texture.

Description

Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: This tetraploid plant has both Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana in its pedigree. This tetraploid hybrid is the product of an inter-specific cross between a triploid cultivar (ABB) type `Bluggoe` and an improved diploid (AA) of M. acuminata. Its Latin name is M. acuminata.times.balbisiana group AABB. AA representing two genomes of M. acuminata and BB representing two genomes of M. balbisiana.

Variety denomination: `FHIA-26`.


BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This new hybrid was developed at FHIA in La Lima, Cortes, Honduras from a field cross made in 1996. It was selected in 1998 from several first-generation seedlings from the cross `Pisang Awak`.times.SH-3437 (both unpatented). `Pisang Awak` is a naturally occurring, sweet-flavored, triploid clone that is grown commercially on a small scale in India and Cuba. SH-3437, which was developed by the inventor, is an improved diploid that is resistant to Mycosphaerella fijiensis, causal fungus of the black Sigatoka (black leaf streak) disease. SH-3437 was derived by crossing two bred diploids, SH-2989 and SH-3217. SH-2989 is a bred diploid derived from the cross of the bred diploid SH-2752 and Calcutta IV, a wild M. acuminata subsp. burmanica accession from Burma. The SH-3217 parent of SH-3437 is a complex bred diploid, which has in its pedigree the parthenocarpic `Guyod`, natural diploids `Tjau Lagada` and `Sinwobogi`, and a wild M. acuminata subsp. malaccensis accession, from the Philippines, Java, Irian Jaya and Malaysia, respectively. `FHIA-26` was selected as a tetraploid hybrid that maintained the fruit characteristics and resistance to Mycosphaerella fijiensis of its triploid parental line, but differs from `Pisang Awak` in higher fruit yields and less female fertility. (This trait of female fertility makes the practice of elimination of male flowers necessary as a cultivation practice.) This new hybrid dessert banana plant was asexually reproduced by corms by the inventor in the Centro Experimental Demostrativo Phillip Ray Rowe, the experimental farm of FHIA in La Lima, Cortes, Honduras, and shown that all plant and fruit characteristics run true to the original selected plant and are identical in all aspects.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This new and distinct hybrid variety of dessert banana is a vigorous, tall plant that produces large bunches of fruit. It is highly resistant to Mycosphaerella fijiensis, causal fungus of the black Sigatoka (black leaf streak) disease, the most destructive and most costly to control disease of bananas and plantains worldwide. Interest in this new variety is as a new specialty banana with excellent taste, texture and flavor that can complement the `Cavendish` dessert bananas in the U.S., European and Japanese markets.

Re: FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

Actually I have 5 patches of FHIA-26 growing in my garden. They are like a banana plant on steroids. At maturity the base can be 1 1/2 ft. wide and grows to over 6 meters tall with giant leaves and fruit bunches.

The fruit has an apple banana flavor. The fingers are shorter and fatter than supermarket bananas.

Re: FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

:pics:

Re: FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

If it isn't resistant to Panama disease, I wouldn't bother with the variety over plain dwarf namwah. I did find the pictures of the dehanded vs non-dehanded bunch interesting.

Re: FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

I'll try to get some pics when the weather clears. The oldest group has 4 full bunches right now. The other groups are younger. I replaced other varieties with these trying to make a privacy wall of FHIA-26 plants. I chose this variety because they're big and tall with an apple banana flavor I prefer. I got the first
seed from the director of FHIA.

Re: FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

OK, I think I've correctly uploaded at least 4 photos to my member's gallery correctly.

Re: FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

Thanks Harry. How tall are they?

Here are the photos pasted in:

Re: FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

As I said they're like bananas on steroids. On closer examination the stalks are about 7 - 8 meters tall where the fruit stem comes out.

The first pic is fruit at 84 days.

The 2nd pic is fruit at 131 days. The top hand should start splitting or turning yellow in a week or so when I'll score the stalk and let it hang down in reaching distance. That is generally around 4 1/2 months from when I first see the flower budding out. Then I cut off hands as they turn yellow. As soon as any fingers get yellow the birds are all over them. They always manage to get a few fingers that turn yellow on a hand overnight. There's plenty to go around.

The 3rd pic shows a local variety apple banana on the left and the FHIA to the right to show the height difference. In the foreground is a young pear apple tree.

The 4th shows a base over a foot in diameter. It has fruit at 120 days.

When the fruit is bright yellow it's still starchy. You have to wait till it starts spotting brown. It makes a great apple pie or cobbler with brown sugar and cinnamon.

I bought the empty lot next door and turned it into a garden with fruit trees on the far side, a line of bananas in the middle and a neem shaded family area on the near side. I had planted the neems several years before I bought the lot. After seeing this one monstrous banana family of FHIA-26 at one end of the line I replaced other short sweet varieties with FHIA-26 to create a privacy screen from a new apartment building next door. It's coming along very well. The line now has 5 FHIA-26 families, 2 local apple bananas and one tall variety plantain. A few remaining short bananas are struggling for sunlight a midst their taller growing neighbors.

Re: FHIA-26, anyone ever seen it?
 

Those are some massive plants! Thanks for the photos and the info.