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https://e-catalogs.taat-africa.org/gov/technologies/propagation-of-banana-and-plantain-disease-cleaned-suckers
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Propagation of Banana and Plantain Disease-Cleaned Suckers

Propagate Success with Clean Suckers

The propagation of disease-cleaned suckers involves two main techniques: field-based and detached corm methods. Field-based techniques include complete and false decapitation, stimulating lateral production of sucker buds by destroying the meristematic corm. Partial decapitation involves making a hole in the pseudostem to destroy the meristem. Detached corm techniques use excised buds or plants resulting from stem fragments, producing a higher number of seedlings with greater growth uniformity. It's crucial that starting material for macro-propagation is free of pests and diseases. Clean knives and hardened sprouts are essential for all methods to prevent disease transmission. Additionally, a propagation chamber of specific dimensions is used, filled with a substrate mixture sterilized by steam to ensure optimal conditions for growth.

2

This technology is TAAT1 validated.

8•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 8/9

Adults 18 and over: Positive high

The poor: Positive high

Under 18: Positive medium

Women: Positive high

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Biodiversity: Positive impact on biodiversity

Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released

Environmental health: Greatly improves environmental health

Soil quality: Improves soil health and fertility

Water use: Much less water used

Problem

  • Contaminated Planting Materials: Natural regeneration often results in contaminated banana and plantain planting materials, harming productivity and lifespan.
  • Limited Access to Quality Seedlings: Farmers depend on local markets for suckers, limiting access to high-quality, disease-free seedlings crucial for optimal growth.
  • Reduced Productivity and Lifespan: The use of contaminated planting materials contributes to reduced productivity and a shorter lifespan of banana and plantain plants.
  • Financial Barriers to Seedling Acquisition: Farmers face financial barriers when acquiring planting materials, impacting their ability to invest in sustainable agricultural practices.
  • Lack of Uniform Growth: Traditional methods result in non-uniform growth, affecting the overall efficiency of banana and plantain cultivation.
  • Stress-Prone Plantlets: Conventional methods may lead to stress-prone plantlets, negatively impacting their adaptation and performance in the field.

Solution

  • Disease-Free Seedlings: Macro-propagation ensures the production of banana and plantain seedlings free from pests and diseases, promoting healthier and more resilient crops.
  • Affordable, High-Quality Seedlings: By offering a cost-effective method, macro-propagation addresses the challenge of limited access to quality seedlings, allowing farmers to acquire high-quality planting materials at an affordable price.
  • Enhanced Productivity and Lifespan: Macro-propagation contributes to increased productivity and prolonged lifespan of banana and plantain plants by providing disease-free and robust seedlings for cultivation.
  • Financially Accessible Planting Materials: This technique reduces financial barriers by offering a low-cost method of obtaining disease-free seedlings, enabling farmers to invest in sustainable agricultural practices without excessive financial strain.
  • Uniform Growth Promotion: Macro-propagation ensures more uniform growth of banana and plantain seedlings, improving overall efficiency in cultivation and resulting in a more consistent crop.
  • Stress-Resistant Plantlets: The method produces stress-resistant plantlets, enhancing their ability to adapt and perform well in various environmental conditions, contributing to successful crop establishment.
  • Effective Pest and Disease Management: Macro-propagation incorporates effective control measures against pests and diseases, addressing the inefficiencies of conventional practices and improving overall farm health.
  • Predictable Crop Establishment: By moving away from natural regeneration, macro-propagation provides a more predictable and reliable method for crop establishment, reducing uncertainties in the farming process.

Key points to design your project

The adoption of Propagation of Disease-Cleaned Suckers technology presents a significant opportunity to enhance banana and plantain production while mitigating losses due to pests and diseases. This technology offers disease-free planting materials, crucial for maintaining high productivity and crop health. To integrate this technology into your project, consider the following steps:

  • Ensure access to disease-free suckers for banana and plantain farmers at affordable prices.
  • Educate farmers about the benefits of using disease-cleaned suckers and encourage their adoption of this technology.
  • Provide training and certification to farmers on proper sucker selection and planting techniques to maximize yield.
  • Where the macro-propagation units and nurseries will be set up and a timeline of the set up, 
  • How the materials and resources for macro-propagation units will be mobilized, 
  • How and who will carry out the different activities involved in setting up and maintaining the macro-propagation units and nurseries, 
  • How the planting material will be shared/distributed and how the unit will be financially and environmentally sustained.

Collaborate with agricultural extension services to disseminate information and support the implementation of disease-cleaned sucker propagation.

Source materials from countries like Cameroon, Zambia, Uganda, Togo, Tanzania, South Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Mali, Malawi, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Benin.

Engage a team of trainers to provide comprehensive support during project installation and operation. Allocate resources for training and ongoing assistance to ensure successful adoption of the technology.

Explore partnerships with agricultural research institutes and government agencies to promote the widespread adoption of disease-cleaned sucker propagation and improve banana and plantain production nationwide.

You have to associate with Improved Varieties of Plantain for Tropical Lowlands and improved Varieties of Banana for the African Highlands technologies.

Cost: $$$ 1500 USD per 8000 plantlets

Nusery four months maintenance

ROI: $$$ 725—1050 USD

Net profit per cycle

340 USD

2,500 plantlets shade house

2,300 USD

Cost of chamber of 8,000 plantlets

IP

Open source / open access

Countries with a green colour
Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour
Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour
Tested
Egypt Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burundi Burkina Faso Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Côte d’Ivoire Eritrea Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Cameroon Kenya Libya Liberia Madagascar Mali Malawi Morocco Mauritania Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo Rwanda Zambia Senegal Sierra Leone Zimbabwe Somalia South Sudan Sudan South Africa Eswatini Tanzania Togo Tunisia Chad Uganda Western Sahara Central African Republic Lesotho
Countries where the technology has been tested and adopted
Country Tested Adopted
Benin Tested Not adopted
Burkina Faso Tested Not adopted
Burundi Tested Not adopted
Cameroon Tested Not adopted
Côte d’Ivoire Tested Not adopted
Democratic Republic of the Congo Tested Not adopted
Ethiopia Tested Not adopted
Ghana Tested Not adopted
Kenya Tested Not adopted
Malawi Tested Not adopted
Mali Tested Not adopted
Nigeria Tested Not adopted
Rwanda Tested Adopted
Somalia Tested Not adopted
South Sudan Tested Not adopted
Tanzania Tested Adopted
Togo Tested Not adopted
Uganda Tested Adopted
Zambia Tested Not adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ Subtropic - warm Subtropic - cool Tropic - warm Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Sustainable Development Goal 1: no poverty
Goal 1: no poverty
Sustainable Development Goal 2: zero hunger
Goal 2: zero hunger
Sustainable Development Goal 8: decent work and economic growth
Goal 8: decent work and economic growth

False Decapitation:

a. Select a 6-month-old banana or plantain plant.

b. Incise the pseudostem at 20 cm from the ground level, creating a square hole.

c. Angle the bottom side of the hole slightly downwards to collect water and sap.

d. Leave the decapitated plant for at least one month to allow for sprouting.

e. After sprouting, detach suckers with three to four leaves and transplant them to the field.

 

Complete Decapitation:

a. Choose a 6-month-old plant.

b. Cut down the plant to ground level.

c. Excise the middle 5 cm of the softer meristem, leaving the harder corm intact.

d. Cover the cut stem with soil to promote sprouting.

e. Within three weeks, four to seven suckers will emerge.

f. Detach suckers with three to four leaves and transplant them to the field.

 

Detached Corm Technique:

a. Collect healthy suckers between flowering and harvest.

b. Cut roots from the suckers and wash them.

c. Peel the leaf sheaths from the suckers.

d. Submerge the whole corm in boiling water for 30-40 minutes or use fungicide for 20 minutes to sanitize.

e. Scarify the corm by making a shallow incision at the top.

f. Let the corm air dry for 24 hours.

g. Plant the whole corm in the weaning chamber at a 30 cm distance or split it into 2 or 3 fragments/buds and plant at a 10 cm distance.

h. Cover with 2 cm of sawdust.

 

Weaning Chamber Preparation:

a. Create a propagation chamber with dimensions 1.5 m wide, 5 m long, and 1 m high.

b. Cover it with transparent polyethylene, ensuring at least 50% shading.

c. Fit plastic covers to maintain high humidity and temperature.

d. Fill the chamber with a substrate mixture of soil, composted manure, and sawdust or other materials at a ratio of 6:3:1.

e. Steam-sterilize the substrate by placing it on top of a metal drum containing boiling water.

 

Knife Sterilization:

a. Clean knives with boiled water before use to avoid disease transmission.

b. For the detached corm technique, ensure that knives are specifically cleaned when using hardened sprouts.

 

Propagation Unit Setup:

a. Determine locations for macro-propagation units and nurseries.

b. Develop a timeline for unit setup.

c. Mobilize materials and resources for unit setup.

d. Specify activities involved in setting up and maintaining the units.

e. Establish a plan for sharing/distributing planting material.

f. Ensure financial and environmental sustainability of the unit.

Last updated on 2 August 2024