ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Breeding
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1620276
Analysis of selected diploid banana genotypes for resistance to weevil damage and pollen quantity as key elements of banana breeding
Provisionally accepted
- 1National Agricultural Research Laboratories, National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Kampala, Uganda
- 2Kabale University, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, P.O. Box 317, Kabale-Uganda, Kabale, Uganda
- 3Kacwekano Zonal Agricultural Research Institute, P.O Box 42, Kabale-Uganda, Kabale, Uganda
- 4Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology, Makerere university, College of Natural sciencesKK, Kampala, Uganda
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The banana weevils (Cosmopolites sordidus) cause significant reduction in banana productivity in Uganda. Their distribution extends countrywide, with higher concentration in the central region due to a favorable environment. Integrated weevil management practices incorporate weevil resistance into susceptible genotypes through breeding that utilizes pollen from resistant diploid bananas. Field and pot screening experiments were conducted in central Uganda at Kawanda to assess the response of nine outsourced diploid banana genotypes from the International Musa Transit Centre (ITC) to weevil damage. The banana's pollen was quantified. The percentage of weevil damage on the peripheral and cross sections of the corms was recorded. Pollen quantity was recorded on a scale of 0 to 4, with 0 representing no pollen and 4 representing the highest pollen. Results showed that genotypes Saing hil, Pisang gigi buaya, Pisang rotan, Pisang tunjuk, Morong princessa, Morong datu, and Gabah gabah were resistant to weevil damage compared to the susceptible genotypes, Nakitembe and Kibuzi (EAHB). Saing hil and SH-3142 exhibited higher pollen quantities of 3.4 and 3.0, respectively closest to 4 exhibited by 'Calcutta 4', the highest male fertile wild diploid. Saing hil combined high resistance to weevil damage and pollen quantity and is therefore recommended for the conventional breeding activities in banana breeding.
Keywords: Diploid bananas, Pollen quantity, Banana weevils, Resistance, Breeding
Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 KEMIGISA, ARINAITWE, Kubiriba, Tugume and Tumuhimbise. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: JULIET KEMIGISA, National Agricultural Research Laboratories, National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO), Kampala, Uganda
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