This document summarizes research objectives and methods to accelerate the breeding of high-yielding plantain and cooking bananas. The objectives are to breed varieties with good yield and consumer acceptability. The researcher describes banana breeding schemes including using diploids, triploids, and tetraploids. Methods proposed to speed up breeding include embryo rescue, molecular marker development, gene discovery for drought tolerance, genomic selection, and triploid production. Timelines for traditional breeding approaches and potential faster methods using new technologies are also presented.

1. Accelerating the
improvement of plantain
and matooke
Rony Swennen
RTB Annual Review and Planning Meeting
29 September 2014

2. Objectives of research
1. Breed high yielding plantain/matooke with good
consumer acceptability
2. Accelerate the development of improved hybrids

3. Plantain and Matooke
● Xxxxxxxx
● xxxxxxx

4. 3x 4x 2x
4x 2x 3x
Matooke (3x), 660K-1 (4x), Calcutta (2x), TMB2x 8075-7 (2x), 12468.S6 (3x)

5. Musa breeding scheme
3x landrace X 2x improved/wild
4x hybrids X 2x improved
3x secondary triploids

6. Diploid breeding

7. Narita hybrids: bunch variation
NARITA 1
NARITA 5
NARITA 7
NARITA 19
3x 4x 3x

8. Hybrid distribution and testing
NARITA testing
● Rwanda- Burundi : NARS evaluation
● Uganda-Tanzania: G x E, mother and baby trials
PITA testing
• Rwanda – Burundi – Comoros – Ghana – DR Congo
– Ivory Coast: NARS evaluation
PITA and NARITA
International Transit Centre, Bioversity International

9. Yield of the cooking banana hybrids
originating from Enzirabahima
Hybrids use Yield (kg ha-1)
NARITA 22 Cooking 34340.2
NARITA 8 Juice 33506.7
NARITA 14 Cooking 33456.7
NARITA 4 Cooking 32173.1
NARITA 9 Juice 28205.6
NARITA 15 Cooking 23671.4
NARITA 10 Juice 23071.3
NARITA 1 Cooking 22671.2
NARITA 3 Juice 19603.9
NARITA 16 Juice 9735.3
NARITA 5 Cooking 8468.4
ENZIRABAHIMA† Cooking 11555.0

10. Yield of the beer banana hybrids
originating from Entukura
Hybrids
use
Yield (kg ha-1)
NARITA 2
Food
15636.5
NARITA 20
Food
13802.8
NARITA 17
Food
12152.4
ENTUKURA†
7498.5

11. Objectives of research
1. Breed high yielding plantain/matooke with good
consumer acceptability
2. Accelerate the development of improved hybrids

12. Time to deliver
Year activity
0 Installation of a collection
1 selection of parents and multiplication of selected
parents
2-3 crosses and seed germination
4-5 F1 selection, cloning and evaluation
6-7 multiplication and crosses
8-9 F2 selection, cloning and evaluation
10-13 multilocational testing
14-16 on farm testing
17 large scale distribution

13. How to go faster?
1. Embryo rescue
2. Molecular marker development and use
3. Gene discovery (for drought)
4. Genomic selection for east African Highland
bananas
5. Triploid production

14. 1. Embryo rescue

15. 2. Molecular markers
Diploid crosses are made for segregation populations
for:
Parthenocarpy
Fruit length
Bunch orientation
Plant size
Nematode resistance
Black Sigatoka resistance
……

16. 3. Gene discovery (for drought)

17. 3. Gene discovery (for drought)

18. Proteomics and transciptomics
sequenced AA and
BB genome

19. 3. Gene discovery (for drought)
• 21 genes identified
• 21 gene families
• automatic annotation of the predicted genes of the
banana reference genome was often erroneous
• more than 90 genes needed structural revision of the
coding sequence

20. 3. Gene discovery (for drought)
Functional genomics
Genetic engineering
• Higher expression
• Silencing
Phenotypic analysis

21. Functional genomics
Control pIMHKUL3 pIMHKUL4

22. 4. Genomic selection
● Banana breeding is slow
● Need to develop a prediction tool to select hybrids
based
1) on genetic information
2) not on phenotypic information: takes too long, and
G x E effect

23. 4. Genomic selection
A training population needs to be analysed, to
calibrate markers effects
299 out of 320 plants already genotyped by GBS at
Cornell
Two phenotyping fields established under different E
A validation population analysed to estimate the
prediction value
Before applying it on a test population

24. 5. Triploid production
3x landrace X 2x improved/wild
4x hybrids X 2x improved/wild
3x secondary triploids

25. Linkage to outcomes and flagship project
● BA 5: Improved banana varieties
Banana plant
and fruit
ideotypes
defined
Improved banana
hybrids, adapted to
farmers’,
consumers’ and
market’s needs
Documented
genetic resources
for utilization in
breeding
Tools for improved
selection
efficiency
Improved
breeding
methods
Guidelines for
registration,
release and
dissimination of
improved hybrids
Improved
evaluation and
selection methods:
high throughput
phenotyping
methods improved
for key traits

26. Contributors organized by topic
Brigitte Uwimana, Delphine Amah
Jassmine Zorilla, Sebastien Carpentier, Nicolas Roux,
Mathieu Rouard, Alberto Cenci, Ismail Rabbi
Dang Vi Tuong, Windelinckx Saskia, Henry M Isabelle,
De Coninck Barbara, Cammue P Bruno, Remy Serge,
Jerome Kubiriba, Tendo Ssali, Alex Barekye, Robooni
Tumuhimbise
Moses Niyne, Jaroslav Dolezel, Eva Hribova
Michael Abberton, Badara Gueye, Emmanuel Njukwe
Inge Van den Bergh

27. Contributors organized by topic