1. The document provides an update on IITA's banana and plantain breeding program in West Africa. 2. The program focuses on classical breeding to develop varieties with disease resistance and improved yield, as well as pre-breeding techniques like chromosome doubling and hormone treatments to facilitate breeding of local landraces. 3. Activities are carried out in several West African countries in collaboration with national partners, focusing on variety development and testing, agronomic research, and establishing germplasm collections.

1. Update on West Africa
Banana and Plantain Program
1. Classical breeding 2. Pre-breeding 3. Agronomy
-Old and new germplasm -Chromosome doubling -Production map
-Program restructuring -Hormone treatment -Yield prediction
-Variety registration -Density testing
-Seedling production
Molecular genetics
in vitro culture
Cytogenetics

2. Pre- and Classical Breeding
1. Classical breeding
1. Main targets: resistance to diseases (e.g. BS)
-Improved plantain (PITA) series
-Improved bananas (BITA) series
-Promotion of PITA and BITA series ongoing
-Registration in process for Nigeria (IITA-NIHORT)
2. Utilization of small number of local varieties to initiate classical breeding (1)
-Mainly driven by overcoming fertility barriers
3. PITA and BITA have good potentials
-High yield
-Tolerance to BS
-Nutrient contents
4. Local landraces continue to be preferred
-Susceptible to pests and diseases
-Poor root system
-Very low yield

3. Germplasm for Breeding
-Landraces, hybrids and wild species
-PITA and BITA series put back in breeding scheme
-New materials being acquired from other breeding programs
-Creation of new breeding blocks

4. Pre-breeding: a step before breeding
Direct breeding using the preferred landraces (intractable to breeding so far)
-Creation of double haploids (3n segregates as 2n + n)
-Ovule culture + chromosome doubling
-Direct chromosome doubling of triploid followed by crosses
-Chromosome doubling of key diploid hybrids
-Direct utilization of preferred triploids by improving fertility before crosses
-Treatment with growth hormones
Chromosome doubling Ovule culture

5. Country specific aspects
1. Nigeria
-Moved away from Onne Station (South East Nigeria)
-Activities concentrated in Ibadan
-National partners and networks maintained
-Variety registration with NIHORT. Variety description catalog available
-Two projects ongoing
-One national project developed (IITA, NIHORT, NAGRAB, NABDA)
2. Ivory Coast
-Collaboration with national partners [CNRA and Universities]
-One breeding block created. A Field Technician hired.
-6 project ideas in development (including one on banana-plantain)
-Ivory Coast chosen by ECOWAS and the World Bank as the center of specialization for
plantain with spill over in other ECOWAS countries
[Second phase of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP) ]
3. Ghana
-The Crop Research Institute (CRI) has designated A responsible for Plantain (Michael
Kwabena Osei).
-In the course of developing a national project.
4. Liberia:
In touch with Liberian Colleagues. Problem is baseline data

6. Tanzania Ivory Coast
-Breeding for ESA -Breeding for WCA
-East African Highland bananas -Plantain
-Plantain -Other cooking bananas
-Agronomy -Molecular laboratory aspects
-Agronomy
Pre-breeding support,
seed and seedling transfer
Transfer of breeding
Materials for conservation and distribution
Nigeria
-Pre-breeding operations
-Introduction, in vitro regeneration
and sanitation of new germplasm
-Molecular laboratory aspects
-Agronomy
Transfer of breeding
Materials for testing
Cameroon Ghana
-Germplasm testing -Germplasm testing
-Post-harvest operations -Agronomy
IITA banana and Plantain -Agronomy
Program and WCA overview
COUNTRY SPECIFIC DELIVERY HUBS