Banana Genetic Resource Assessment and Conservation in Southeast Asia: Papua New Guinea

Birte Komolong of the Papua New Guinea National Agricultural Research Institute will establish a seed collection in Papa New Guinea for locally-collected wild Musa bananas as genetic resources for banana breeding programs, focusing on M. acuminata ssp. banksii and M. schizocarpa. They will collect samples of these species along with soil samples and record agronomic traits of the plants, including observations of pests and diseases. They will establish a seed laboratory, processing seeds for long-term storage from the two species from new and existing collections. The project includes collaboration with the Meise Botanic Garden in Belgium. They will genetically characterize leaf and seed samples and potentially use the genetic techniques to screen for the agents of key diseases: banana wilt associated phytoplasma, Banana Bunchy Top Virus, and the fungal agent of Black Sigatoka.