Ugandan researchers unveil new cooking banana variety
Ugandan researchers have unveiled a new cooking banana (matooke) variety called NARITA 17, also known as NAROBAN6.The high-yielding and disease-resistant variety was unveiled on Thursday (April 3) at the National Agriculture Laboratories (NARL) offices in Kawanda.It presents a major breakthrough for both farmers and consumers in a country where matooke is a staple in many households.The unveiling of the new variety to the media followed clearance by the National Variety Release Committee of the agriculture ministry that sat last month (March 21).NARITA 17 was developed by researchers on Uganda’s banana research programme in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
Pests and diseases
Dr Alex Barekye, the lead of the NARO-NARL banana programme, said the new variety weighs 26 kilogrammes compared to the 17.2 kilogrammes of NAROBAN5, and represents a 33 percent higher production, according to results from the national field trials.He said that while NAROBAN5 is tolerant to nematodes — pests that attack the roots and destroy the feeding system, making the plant weaker — NAROBAN6 on the other hand is resistant to nematodes.Barekye explained that the new variety is tolerant to weevils and resistant to Fusarium wilt and Black Sigatoka that affect the leaves of bananas, leading to low yields of the banana bunch.Typically, banana weevils attack the comb (bottom part) of the plant, rendering the plant weak and easily destroyed by heavy wind.
“These effects reduce the plantation life of bananas and all these were considered in the breeding of NAROBAN6 that can stand up to more than 10 years of banana plantation span,” said Barekye.In addition to the management of Fusarium wilt, Dr Michael Batte, a banana breeder at IITA, said they supported the research team with varieties that are resistant to the wilt.Dr Robooni Tumuhimbise, the director of research at NARL, attended the unveiling. He called for strict adherence to best farming practices in order for farmers to get the best out of the new banana variety.He advised farmers interested in getting new banana plantlets or seeds to contact research stations nearest to them for guidance on where to find quality seeds. Tumuhimbise said they plan to work with different seed multipliers, especially those into bananas, and to contact NARO Holdings, the commercial arm of NARO, to further make seed for the new banana variety available.
From New Vision
