Background
Africa produces 16.4 million metric tonnes per year- about 20 percent of the world output. However, many biotic and abiotic factors greatly reduce productivity for banana cultivated under traditional African farming systems one of them being the banana bacterial wilt disease. The disease broke out in Uganda in 2001. The disease causes the banana fruit to ripen prematurely, the leaves wilt and then the inevitable death of the entire plant. The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) estimates economic loss due to diseases in Uganda alone to be at a staggering US$ 200 million.
The Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) disease, costs banana farmers millionsof dollars in damages every year across East and Central Africa. The pathgen infects all varieties, including East Africa Highland Banana and the exotic types. The rapid spread of the disease has endangered the livelihoods
of millions of farmers who rely on banana for staple food and cash.
Other costs associated with BXW include labour for cutting down and disposing of infected plants, de-budding the male flowers and disinfecting cutting tools. These cultural disease control methods currently in use have not been successful and hence the need for exploring feasible alternatives.
There are presently no commecial; chemicals, bio-control agents or resistant varieties that could control the spread of BXW.
Project goal
The goal of the Bacterial Walt Resistant Banana Project is to develop a Xanthomonas Wilt- resistant banana from East African preferred germplasm. Prospects of developing varieties with resistance to bacterial wilt through conventional breeding are limited, as no source of germplasm exhibiting resistance against BXW has been identified. Transgenic technologies for banana may provide a timely altenative solution to the BXW pandemic.
The Bacterial Wilt Resistant Banana Project is a public private partnership that AATF is collaborating to develop BXW resistant transgenic bananas from east African prefered germplasm.
Facts and figures on banana and the BXW disease
. East Africa produces 16.4 million tonnes per year- about 20 percent of the world output
. Uganda is the World's second largest producer after India.
. Banana is a staple food and income source for over 100 million East Africans
. The disease infects all banana varieties including both East African Highland and the exotic types
. The BXW disease was first reported about 44 years ago in Ethiopia on Ensete (a native plant to Ethiopia) which is closely related to banana
. Outside of Ethiopia the disease was first identified in Uganda in 2001 and then in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and Kenya
Expected benefits from the Bacterial Wilt Resistant Banana Project
. Increased research capacity to address other banana production constraints.
. New techniques will enable banana farmers access more pest- and disease- free and affordable tissue culture plantlets
. AATF facilitates access o the appropriate proprietary genes and their sub-licensing to partners
. Academia Sinica has donated the plant ferredoxin like protein (pflp) gene and hypersensitivity response assisting protein (hrap) gene isolated from sweet pepper
. The International Institute of Tropical agriculture is developing the transgenic banana lines which resistance to the BXW disease
. Public and private tissue culture laboratories in the Great lakes region of Africa including burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
African Agricultural Technology Foundation
P.O BOX 30709-00100, Nairobi, Kenya / Tel: +254- (0) 20-4223700 / Fax +254-(0) 20-4223701
Email:aatf@aatf-africa.org / Website: www.aatf-africa.org
