Genotype X Environment Response of ‘Matooke’ Hybrids (Naritas) to Pseudocercospora fijiensis, the Cause of Black Sigatoka in Banana

Janet Kimunye,Anthony Fredrick Tazuba,Altus Viljoen,Evans Were,Rony Swennen,Kennedy Jomanga,George Mahuku

doi:10.3390/agronomy11061145

Abstract

Growing bananas resistant to Pseudocercospora fijiensis, the cause of black Sigatoka, is the preferred disease control strategy for resource-poor farmers. Banana breeding programs in east Africa have developed 27 Matooke hybrids (commonly known as NARITAs) with higher yields than local landraces. To assess the response of NARITA hybrids to P. fijiensis, 22 hybrids were evaluated under natural field conditions in four locations—Kawanda and Mbarara in Uganda, and Maruku, and Mitarula in Tanzania—between 2016 and 2018 for three crop cycles. Black Sigatoka was visually assessed and the area under the disease progress curve calculated for each plant over time. Significant differences (p < 0.001) were observed between genotypes, environments, and their interaction. The highest contributor to black Sigatoka severity (39.1%) was the environment, followed by the genotype (37.5%) and the genotype Χ environment interaction (GEI) (23.4%). NARITA 2, 7, 14, 21 and 23 were resistant and the most stable hybrids across locations. If other attributes such as the yield and taste are acceptable to end-users, these hybrids can be released to farmers in the region to replace highly susceptible landraces. Mitarula was identified as an ideal site for evaluating banana against black Sigatoka and should be used as a representative location to minimize costs of disease evaluations.

Highlights

Banana is an important staple crop in developing countries, especially in the tropics and sub-tropics, where it is ranked fourth in importance after wheat, rice and maize [1].In Africa, banana is mostly produced by smallholder farmers, primarily for home consumption, while the surplus is sold in local and regional markets [2,3,4]
The east African highland bananas (EAHB) include a genetically uniform triploid (AAA) group of cooking banana belonging to the ‘Mutika-Lujugira’ subgroup, called Matooke bananas [5,6,7,8] bananas are a product of hybridization between Musa acuminata ssp. zebrina and spp. banksii, with a contribution from M. schizocarpa [5,9]
The highest organic matter content was reported at Mitarula (7.1%), while the lowest was reported at Mbarara (1.8%) (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

In Africa, banana is mostly produced by smallholder farmers, primarily for home consumption, while the surplus is sold in local and regional markets [2,3,4]. Banana provides up to a fifth of the total calorie intake in east and central Africa (ECA), with per capita consumption ranging between 250 and 600 kg annually [2]. The east African highland bananas (EAHB) include a genetically uniform triploid (AAA) group of cooking banana belonging to the ‘Mutika-Lujugira’ subgroup, called Matooke bananas [5,6,7,8] bananas are a product of hybridization between Musa acuminata ssp. East African highland bananas account for 80% of all bananas produced in ECA [3]

Methods

Results

Conclusion