Studies on banana diversity and distribution have been carried out in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) since the 1950s. However, there are still insufficient data on the distribution of diversity in large areas of the Congo basin. The present study was conducted in the surrounding region ...

Fusarium is one of the most important fungal genera of plant pathogens that affect the cultivation of a wide range of crops. Agricultural losses caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) directly affect the income, subsistence, and nourishment of thousands of farmers worldwide. For Viet...

The Musa International Transit Centre (ITC) maintains nearly 1200 banana (Musa spp.) accessions in vitro. Through the Global Conservation Strategy, ITC is linked to field collections, which are used for taxonomy training and data acquisition on-for example-disease and pest resistance. Bananas...

An ultrasensitive camera system consisting of a slow-scan, liquid nitrogen-cooled CCD camera connected to powerful image analysis software can detect very low levels of light emission from several signal sources, and has been used for the successful recording of results for different applications...

Bananas (Musa spp.) are consumed worldwide as dessert and cooking types. Edible banana varieties are for the most part seedless and sterile and therefore vegetatively propagated. This confers difficulties for breeding approaches against pressing biotic and abiotic threats and for the nutritional...

Banana (Musa spp.), a perennial (sub-)tropical crop, suffers from seasonal droughts, which are typical of rain-fed agriculture. This study aimed at understanding the effect of seasonal drought on early growth, flowering and yield traits in bananas grown in the East African highlands. A field...

Musa collection and characterisation has been ongoing in central and eastern DR Congo since the mid 1950s. This paper reports on the history of these collection missions and focuses on recent efforts to collect, establish and describe the germplasm from this important region of Musa...

The Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Center holds the world's biggest collection of banana biodiversity (>1500 accessions). We aim to characterize this banana diversity for its suitability for specific agro-ecological conditions. To achieve this characterization, a lab-based model is ...

Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is one of the most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies that disproportionately affects low income populations in developing countries. Traditional breeding and modern biotechnology have significant potential to enhance micronutrient bioavailability in crops through...