Banana is among the most important fruit crops in the Philippines with at least 91 distinct varieties. The common banana varieties are Lakatan, Saba, and Latundan. Other unique cultivars include Inabaniko, Pitogo, Ginuyod, Tindok, Moradong Pula, Señorita, and Pisang Seribu.Meanwhile, abaca, the “Manila Hemp”, which is endemic to the Philippines has 400 reported varieties, and 20 commercially important varieties. .
However, some varieties of banana and abaca are getting lost, and there must be strategies for their conservation. This was emphasized by Dr. Lavernee S. Gueco, a university researcher from the Institute of Plant Breeding, University of the Philippines Los Baños, during the online seminar series organized by the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) on 18 April 2024 via Streamyard and Facebook Live.
According to Dr. Gueco some reasons behind the scarcity of some banana varieties are land conversion, habitat destruction, natural calamities (drought, typhoons, etc.), pest and diseases (Fusarium wilt, BBTV), and replacement with other crops or varieties.
Dr. Gueco’s presentation titled, Safeguarding the diversity of banana and abaca at the National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory, discussed several strategies to protect and conserve banana and abaca varieties are Field genebank, In-vitro conservation, screenhouse conservation, and seed conservation.
Field genebank is one of the techniques in the strategy for plant genetic conservation. It is an ex situ method where the genetic resources were maintained outside its original habitat and samples of species, subspecies, or variety are transferred and conserved as living collections. Moreover, in-vitro conservation consists of conserving parts of banana in flasks or tubes in artificial media, under controlled environments, normally in sterile conditions.
Screenhouses are agriculture structures covered with high-density plastic netting, and providing protection from the sun, insects, and other pests.
“Why is it important to conserve these banana and abaca varieties? Primarily because it ensures the availability of banana and abaca in the future. They are useful for direct utilization, identification of desirable traits, breeding new cultivars, among others,” Dr. Gueco said.