Banana breeding program at Embrapa
Sebastião de Oliveira e Silva; Manoel Teixeira Souza Junior; Élio José Alves; Jorge Raimundo Silva Silveira and Marcelo Bezerra Lima
The principle factors related to the banana breeding are described: botanic classification, cultivars, origin and evolution of the banana, reproductive systems, sterility and partenocarpy, polyploidy, inheritance of characteristics. To solve the problems caused by fungus, bacteria, virus, nematodes and insects, high stature and low productivity of some cultivate, it has been used the creation of new resistant varieties by means of the genetic program. The breeding program consisting of the following stages: formation, characterization and evaluation of wide germoplasma collection, introduction and selection of clones, improvement for hybridization, improvement for mutation, somatic hybridization and genetic transformation. The principle results obtained in the breeding program are: the morphologic characterization of the germoplasma, allowing the identification of promising genotypes and its recommendation to the producers; the obtainment of resistant hybrid tetraploid (Pome type) to the yellow and black sigatokas and to the Panama disease, with reduced stature and cycle and high productive; the genetic improvement of diploid AA, whose pollen has been used in the improvement of the commercial cultivars and for the own hybrid diploid; the evaluation of the cultivars and hybrid in different ecosystems, allowing to identify potential varieties to be recommended as a local and national status for several ecosystems; obtainance of hybrid of Silk cultivar (AAB) with the diploid (AA) ‘Lidi’, by means of the employment of somatic hybridization for eletricfusion, although, none cultivar was obtain from this technique.