PCAARRD teams anew with the Institute of Plant Breeding-Crop Science Cluster, University of the Philippines Los Baños (IPB-CSC-UPLB) for the study “Multi-location performance evaluation of new banana bunchy top virus (BBTV)-resistant lakatan cultivar”.
The favorable response of irradiated lakatan mutant lines against BBTV, an offshoot of an earlier study by IPB-CSC-UPLB funded by PCAARRD, prompted the latter to grant P9.53 million to the new study.
The "sequel” study aims to make lakatan production more profitable to small farmers by reducing losses due to BBTV by 20% through the adoption of a disease-resistant lakatan.
BBTV is known to be the most destructive virus disease of banana in the Philippines with no known cure. The virus is carried and spread by aphids scientifically called Pentalonia nigronervosa. The infective aphids transmit the virus to a banana plant by feeding on it. Its infection causes stunting and leaf malformation leading to the host’s premature death.
The most popular local dessert banana, lakatan, is among the cultivars affected by BBTV.
Incidentally, the collaboration between PCAARRD and IPB-CSC-UPLB dates back to 2007 when the former granted P2.98 million to a three-year study of the latter titled “Multi-location field evaluation and characterization of BBTV-resistant mutant lines”.
Results showed that the resistance of lakatan mutant lines to BBTV could be attributed to non-preference of the aphid to colonize certain lines and reproduce on them. Disease incidence was significantly higher on lines that were preferred by aphids and lower on those that were not colonized.
Also, the reduced virus multiplication as indicated by low titer on mutant lines implied a resistance to the disease.
Further, researchers found that typical lakatan had comparably high population of aphids, disease incidence, and virus titer.
Meanwhile, the new collaboration will test the performance of BBTV-resistant lakatan in Quirino, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon, and Davao. Results of the study are expected within three years.