TAIWAN BANANA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Transcription

1 Taiwan Banana Research Institute 904 屏東縣九如鄉玉泉村榮泉街 1 號 TEL (08) ~3 FAX TAIWAN BANANA RESEARCH INSTITUTE 台灣香蕉研究所網址 1 信箱 tbri@mail.banana.org.tw

2 INTRODUCT'ION Banana is the most important fruit crop for export in Taiwan. Of 8,000 ha of banana cultivated, about 5,000 ha in the southern region of the island are grown mainly for export, and 3,000 ha in the central areas are grown for local consumption. Grown under the influence of subtropical climate, Taiwan banana has a flavor superior to those produced in the tropical countries. A large quantity of Taiwan bananas has been exported to Japan continuously in the past three decades, peaked in 1967 with total of 26 million boxes (16kg/box) per annum. However, the banana industry in Taiwan has shrunken dramatically since l970 due to the competition of Philippine banana and the occurrence of cultivation Problems which have seriously affected the current banana production. The amount of banana for the export trade was reduced to 3 million boxes in l990 Nevertheless, Taiwan banana has a great potential for increasing export trade in the future, because of its popularity in the Japanese market and the recent opening of the Korean market. QUANTITY OF BANANA EXPORT,

3 The Taiwan Banana Research Institute(TBRI)was founded in It was established through donations from the Taiwan Banana Fruit Quality Improvement Foundation, the Taiwan Provincial Fruit and Marketing Cooperative, and the then Joint Commission On Rural Reconstruction. In l972, TBRI was moved to the present address Chiuju, Pingtung, The key objectives of the Institute are to promote banana production, to reduce the cost of Production, and to improve the fruit quality. At present, there are six research groups focusing on control of fusarial wilt, variety improvement, Cultural practice, tissue culture, soil and nutrition, and postharvest handling and ripening. The Institute also provides technical services to the banana growers. GROWING AREAS OF BANANA 1991 UNIT:ha 3

4 ORGANIZATION AND STAFF The major decisions of the institution affairs are made by the Board of Trustees which is composed of 2l trustee members of which 7 are government representatives, 7 Fruit and Marketing Cooperative representatives and 7 scholars. The research projects are evaluated once year by a review committee consisting of 2l scholars from the government, universities and agricultural research institutes. There are l04 staff in the Institute. Ninety Percent of the staff are engaged in research and 10% in administration. The research staff is composed of 3 senior scientists, 3 scientists, 4 assistant scientists, 50 research assistants and 29 farm laborers. 4

5 Principal officers Mr. Min-chu Hsieh Taiwan Banana Research Institute Dr. Shin-chuan Hwang Director Ms. Mei-hsiu Shih Dr. Chin-ping Chao Dr. Ching-yan Tang Dr. Sin-Wan Lee Dr. Yun-peng Tsai Mr. Ru-Min Yang Mr. Yen-ching Wei Chairman, Board of Trustees Secretary Group Leader, Fusarial Wilt Group Leader, Variety Improvement Group Leader, Tissue Culture Group Leader, Technical Service Group Leader, Postharvest handing & ripening Manager, Experimenal Farm 5

6 MAJOR RESEARCH AND ACCOMPLISHMENNT Fusarial wilt (Panama disease) Fusarial wilt of Cavendish bananas caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4 has become the most important factor affecting the banana production in Taiwan. The disease devastates 800-1,000 ha of the banana plantation annually. At present about 30% of the banana plants are infected among 4,000 ha bananas grown in the southern part of Taiwan, and about 100 out of 2,000 ha are infested in the central region, Previous control measures including field sanitation, soil fumigation and liming were ineffective. Although crop rotation with paddy rice has been shown to be an effective method for reducing the disease, replanting of banana in the reclaimed, infested fields owed only one to two years of production before the disease returned to the damaging epidemic level. Using resistant variety to replace the susceptible Cavendish is the best way for controlling the disease. An extensive program to screen for disease resistance was initiated in 1985 by planting a large number of meristem plantlets of Giant Cavendish in seriously diseased fields for selection. out of 30,000 plantlets screened thus far, 9 somaclonal variants showing resistant reaction to fusarial wilt had been obtained. Among the promising resistant clone for commercial planting, at present GCTCV-215-l appears to be the best in both agronomic characteristics and fruit quality. Plantlets of GCTCV were planted in 700 ha of infested banana fields in 1990 for further evaluation of the stability of disease resistance and productivity under a wide range of environmental conditions. Increase in the planting of GCTCV215-l up to 2,000 ha is expected this year. Using resistant clone GCTCV-215 for controlling fusarial wilt of banana (GC:Giant Cavendish) 6

7 Freckle disease Freckle disease caused by Phyllostictina musarum has repiaced black Sigatoka as the most destructive foliar disease of banana in Taiwan in recent years, The fungus causes severe defoliation from shooting to harvest during which the control measure is usually neglected. The disease when transmitted from leaves to fruit by rain water greatly reduces a fruit quality. For the control of freckle disease, Tilt is found to be superior to Dithane M-45 the conventional fungicide used in the control program, and the removal of basal diseased leaves is so vital to the success of the control program. Early bagging of the fruit after chemical spray is needed to ensure the production of top grade bananas. Mass propagation of disease-free plantlets Systemic diseases of banana such as bunchy top, cucumber mosaic virus, and fusarial wilt can be spread through infected suckers which are conventionally used in the replanting practice in Taiwan. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain disease-free suckers for planting because of the widespread nature of fusarial wilt. The method for mass propagation of disease-free plantlets from tissue culture was developed in A total of about 12 million plantlets has been produced for planting in over 6,000 since l984.vigorous growth, uniformity, superior fruit quality, and more importantly reduction in the cost of production are among some of the advantages of using plantlets as planting material. In recent years, more and more banana growers preferred meristem plantlets to suckers for establishing their fields. Adventitious buds induced on MS medium Separation of bud aggregate sand subculture Well-developed plantlets in the bottle 2-month-old plantlets, ready for planting to the field Mass propagation of disease-free banana plantlets 7

8 Variety improvement Two major Cavendish varieties, Giant Cavendish and Robusta, grown in Taiwan are too tall and prone to wind damage. Among several introduced semi-dwarf varieties of banana tested, Umalog and Cavendish (B.F.) appear to have the greatest potential for planting in Taiwan, Results of field tests indicated that both varieties are suitable for planting in rich soils as annual crop or in moderately productive soils as ratoon crop. Regional field trials involving 50 ha are in progress for further evaluation of the performance of semi-dwarf varieties in different ecological conditions. Ripening problem Although bananas are harvested all year round, in Taiwan most bananas are regulated for harvest during the period from March to June for export to Japan. Some of the bananas harvested in May-June fail to turn yellow or degreen at an extremely slow rate after ethylene treatment. The affected bananas are locally called "two-zone color" banana. The cause of two-zone color is still unknown, It is most likely that the ripening disorder is associated with multiple factors. Researchers are now looking into the possible relationship between low temperature, nutrition imbalance, or light intensity and the disorder of two-zone color. Results from the recent study showed that the amount of two-zone color banana can be reduced by using paper bag to replace the conventional polyethylene bag for bunch protection or by increasing air oxygen during the ripening process. Banana germplasm collection 8

9 Problem related to postharvest handling The majority of banana growers in Taiwan are small farmers, each with only about 0.5 ha. After harvest, bananas are dehanded in the field, stacked in vehicles, and carried to the packing house for packaging. Careless postharvest handling frequently results in serious bruising and scarring of the fruit. This problem is satisfactorily resolved by installing cable way for transporting banana in the production unit. To be economical of cable way operarion, increase in the size of production unit is needed. Reduction of production cost A widespread shortage of labor in farming has become an increasingly serious problem and caused the soaring of the cost of banana production in Taiwan in recent years. Under the conditions of small farm cultivation and suboptimal productivity of banana in the subtropics, the cost of producing a box of banana in Taiwan is now twice as much as in the Philippines. Approaches attempted to reduce the cost of production include the use of machinery to replace part of manpower in large scale plantations and development of innovative cultural practice for banana production. Tall variety of today (left) and short variety for tomorrow (right) to reduce the costs of banana production and wind damage 9

10 Technical services Disease forecasting For the control of black Sigatoka, a disease forecast system has been established since l974 The program was also applied to control of freckle disease recently due to the similar nature of these two diseases. Forecasting is based mainly on temperature and humidity. Banana plantations in the south are divided into 6 forecast districts, each comprising about 800 ha. At 7 to 10 day intervals, disease survey is made, and disease warning and spray recommendations are broadcasted according to the judgement of the forecast center. The chemical control program has increased the banana yield from 15 to 30 tons per hectare. Production forecasting - The time from planting to harvest and the yield of banana are affected greatly by the climate in the subtropics. The Institute has selected and maintained several banana farms, representing the climatic conditions in the lowland, valley, and seacoast for assessing the rate of fruit maturation after shooting. From these studies, the prediction formula of bunch weight per plant has been established based on the agronomic characters such as plant height, pseudostem circumference, and number of function leaves, etc. The total monthly production is thus predicated based on the flower counts surveyed at 10 day intervals. The production forecasting program conducted through the cooperation of the Taiwan Provincial Fruit and Marketing Cooperative has proved useful for providing the accurate production information for the banana export trade. Farmer s education-the Institute has published annual reports and numerous pamphlets concerning disease and pest control, fertilization, ripening, etc. for distribution to the banana growers. Cultural practice and postharvest handling of banana in Taiwan 1. Planting disease-free plantlets 2. Controlof foliar diseases by aerial spray 3. A banana orchard established with plantlets and good cultural management 4. Harvest 5. Bananas are transported from the field to packing house by cable way 6. Operation at packing house 7. Conveyer used for loading banana boxes on truck 8. Top grade banana-the product of adequate cultural and postharvest managemen 10

11 Technical bulletins published by the Institute 11

12 12