First plantain in Tanzania to be resistant to Fusarium

To address the threat of Fusarium wilt (FW) to Tanzania's banana crops, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA-CGIAR) and other institutions including the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) have and the Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI), announced the transfer of four FW-resistant Mchare plantains for multi-site evaluation by the TARI and the Tanzania Official Seed Certification Institute (TOSCI). For eight years, the IITA breeding and internal pathology teamed up with partners from the universities of Wageningen and Stellenbosch to generate Mchare hybrids resistant to different strains of the Fusarium wilt fungus. FW (known locally as Panama disease) Race 1 has become a nightmare for Tanzanian growers as the fungus can persist in the soil for about 20 years. Another species, Tropical Race 4 (TR4), is present in neighboring Mozambique. "The resistant Mchare hybrids will ensure that Tanzanian growers will be able ...