Protecting bananas and plantains from bacterial wilt disease

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Nearly 90% of all bananas in Sub-Saharan Africa are grown by smallholder farmers for home consumption or for sale in local and regional markets.

About 20 million people depend on bananas or plantains as their major source of dietary carbohydrates, and 70 million people in Africa obtain up to a quarter of their carbohydrates from this crop.

The banana crop is susceptible to bacterial wilt, which is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. musacearum. Bacterial wilt was first reported in Ethiopia, where it caused minor problems since banana production was limited. However, in 2001, the disease spread rapidly within major banana-producing districts of Uganda and currently threatens production of banana throughout the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Bacterial wilt causes wilting and premature ripening of the banana fruit, with reported cases of yield losses in excess of 90%. To date, there is no chemical or biological control for bacterial wilt and, because there are no known sources of resistance available in the crop's germplasm, breeding for resistant varieties through conventional means offers little hope.

In 2005, AATF signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) of Uganda that outlines how constraints to banana productivity in Uganda may be addressed by both institutions. In addition, AATF held a stakeholders’ meeting in Kampala and prepared a draft project concept note on developing banana bacterial wilt resistant germplasm, in collaboration with the Institut de Recherches Agronomique et Zootechnique (IRAZ) and Academia Sinica Inc.

At the request of IITA, AATF has negotiated a royalty-free licensing agreement with Academia Sinica, the main scientific research organisation in Taiwan, for access to proprietary genes that have been used to protect potato from bacterial wilt and to enhance the resistance of tobacco and broccoli against soft rot. Research and field tests with these crops suggest that the use of the technology will provide a valuable cost-effective means for combating bacterial wilt in bananas and plantains.