Banana Genetic Resource Assessment and Conservation in Southeast Asia: Vietnam

Vu Dang Toan of the Vietnam Rural Development Science Association in Vietnam will collect genetic resources from wild banana relatives in different regions across Vietnam and screen for resistance to two key diseases: those caused by Banana Bunchy Top Virus and by the fungal pathogen Fusarium Tropical Race 4. The project includes collaboration with the Meise Botanic Garden in Belgium and Vietnam National University. They will screen for disease resistance in seedlings derived from new and existing collections of wild Musa, including from M. balbisiana, M. acuminata, M. itinerans, M. paracoccinea, M. lutea, and M. haekkinenii. They will also perform crossbreeding in preparation for genetic mapping of disease-resistance and ultimately the combination of multiple desirable traits in new hybrid banana varieties.