A new generation of dwarf plantain hybrids with resistance to black sigatoka and high yield

Plantains are important food and cash crop in the humid forest zones of west and central Africa. In those zones, plantains exhibit a high diversity and are especially cultivated by smallholders playing a great socioeconomic role in the farming community. The African Centre for Research on Banana and Plantain (CARBAP, formerly CRBP) and CIRAD initiated four years ago in Cameroon the breeding of dwarf plantains by using wild and advanced diploid male parents. Significant achievements of this approach are several tetraploid and triploid hybrids with dwarf stature and resistance to Black Sigatoka. Most of the selected hybrids look very similar to the plantains and exhibit a short plant stature, earlier flowering and big bunch with parthenocarpic fruits. Preliminary evaluation of the physicochemical characters of the fruits shows that dry matter content, pulp color and firmness of some hybrids are comparable with those of the plantain parents. Although the acceptability of these preliminary hybrids by taste panel is good, their cooking features have to be improved in order to enlarge their commercial value. To insure that, superior plantain-like diploid parental lines are using to cross the preliminary dwarf and a few hybrids are already under preliminary evaluation. These hybrids are now going to be planted at a large scale extensive evaluation under high pressure of black sigatoka as well as in small-scale farmer system. On-farm participatory evaluation is undergoing in several locations in Cameroon to allow the selection of hybrids adapted to different production zones. Furthermore, the evaluation of their commercial potential including the impact of a partial dehanding practice to develop false-horn-like fruits is underway. Current strategy to create plantain triploid hybrids with multiple resistance to diseases and pests is presented. (Texte intégral