Embrapa develops banana varieties resistant to the world's most severe disease

Embrapa has developed two Brazilian banana cultivars, called BRS Princesa and BRS Platina, which are highly resistant to the most devastating form of Fusarium wilt, known as tropical race 4 (TR4). This is considered the most serious disease affecting banana crops worldwide. TR4 has not yet been detected in Brazil, but it is already present in neighboring countries: Colombia (since 2019), Peru (2020), and Venezuela (2023). This scenario keeps the Brazilian crop under constant surveillance and alert. See everything about agriculture, livestock, economy, and weather forecast first-hand: follow Canal Rural on Google News! The seedlings of the BRS Princesa and BRS Platina cultivars were sent to Colombia in January 2022. After undergoing safe isolation (quarantine), they were subjected to the fungus in a controlled environment and then planted in areas of land already infected, where the disease has been present since its discovery. After three production cycles in the field, less than ...