Response of banana germplasms to banana bunchy top virus

Abstract

Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) is one of the important viruses causing disease in bananas and its infection has the potential to cause yield loss. This study was conducted to evaluate the response of several commercial cultivars (Cavendish, Bebek, Goroho, Tanduk, and Barangan Merah) and wild accessions (Klutuk NTT, Halabanensis, SPn 001, LNT 001, and Microcarpa) of banana to BBTV infection. Transmission of BBTV was carried out through banana aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa, using 20 adult aphids per plant with an acquisition feeding period of 24 hours on BBTV-infected plants and an inoculation feeding period on healthy test plants for 48 hours. Observation on plant growth and disease intensity was conducted for 8 weeks after inoculation. At the end of the observation period, only 5 cultivars, i.e. Cavendish, Bebek, Goroho, Barangan Merah, and Halabanensis showed typical symptoms of BBTV with disease incidence reached 80%, 60%, 20%, 20%, and 20% respectively. Significant inhibition of plant height and leaves width occurred in Cavendish, Bebek, and Goroho i.e. 44.60%, 36.31%; 12.62%, 41.08%; and 25%, 10.13%, respectively. This paper discusses the need for banana germplasm exploration to find sources of resistance to BBTV.