| Popis: |
Banana and plantains are among the most valuable agricultural commodities in the world. Banana Fusarium wilt, caused by the soil-borne Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc), is one of the most devastating diseases of banana globally. In the 1990s a new strain of Fusarium oxysporum called tropical race 4 (TR4) emerged in Southeast Asia that affected commercial Cavendish plantations. The development of resistant cultivars is an effective strategy for management of the disease. Field-based screening to identify Foc-resistant plants is time-consuming, expensive and is often challenged by variable environmental conditions. Here we present an early selection protocol enabling evaluation of the disease under in vitro conditions. This method provides a preliminary screening and allows evaluation of a large number of in vitro plantlets. Using this method, within a short time and in a small laboratory, breeders can evaluate thousands of banana plantlets, produced via irradiation. Subsequently, putative, disease-resistant mutant lines can be identified and evaluated in the field. |
