Banana seed genetic resources for food security: Status, constraints, and future priorities

Kallow, Simon; Mertens, Arne; Janssens, Steven; Vandelook, Filip; Dickie, John B.; Swennen, Rony; Panis, Bart

doi:10.1002/fes3.345

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 106 publications

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“…Furthermore, of 59 banana CWR species recently assessed for conservation, 9 were endangered, 11 were threatened with extinction and 56 were insufficiently conserved ex situ , including in seed genebanks ( Mertens et al, 2021 ). Banana seed conservation is therefore a global priority for food security ( Kallow et al, 2021b ; Castañeda-Álvarez et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drying banana seeds for ex situ conservation

Kallow

Zuluaga

Sleziak

et al. 2022

Conservation Physiology

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The ability of seeds to withstand drying is fundamental to ex situ seed conservation but drying responses are not well known for most wild species including crop wild relatives. We look at drying responses of seeds of Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, the two primary wild relatives of bananas and plantains, using the following four experimental approaches: (i) We equilibrated seeds to a range of relative humidity (RH) levels using non-saturated lithium chloride solutions and subsequently measured moisture content (MC) and viability. At each humidity level we tested viability using embryo rescue (ER), tetrazolium chloride staining and germination in an incubator. We found that seed viability was not reduced when seeds were dried to 4% equilibrium relative humidity (eRH; equating to 2.5% MC). (ii) We assessed viability of mature and less mature seeds using ER and germination in the soil and tested responses to drying. Findings showed that seeds must be fully mature to germinate and immature seeds had negligible viability. (iii) We dried seeds extracted from ripe/unripe fruit to 35–40% eRH at different rates and tested viability with germination tests in the soil. Seeds from unripe fruit lost viability when dried and especially when dried faster; seeds from ripe fruit only lost viability when fast dried. (iv) Finally, we dried and re-imbibed mature and less mature seeds and measured embryo shrinkage and volume change using X-ray computer tomography. Embryos of less mature seeds shrank significantly when dried to 15% eRH from 0.468 to 0.262 mm3, but embryos of mature seeds did not. Based on our results, mature seeds from ripe fruit are desiccation tolerant to moisture levels required for seed genebanking but embryos from immature seeds are mechanistically less able to withstand desiccation, especially when water potential gradients are high.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drying banana seeds for ex situ conservation

Kallow

Zuluaga

Sleziak

et al. 2022

Conservation Physiology

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“…Research on M. velutina is necessary because this banana is a form of food security development. This research follows the statement of Kallow et al [8] that the conservation of banana seeds is a global priority for food security. This study aimed to determine the effect of the soaking time at various soaking media of the seven treatments on the seed germination of M. velutina.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 76%

The conservation of wild species banana (Musa velutina H.Wendl. & Drude) through seed germination technology

Puspitaningtyas,

Agustin,

Wanda

et al. 2023

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Musa velutina H. Wendl. & Drude is a member of the Musaceae family, which is known as the pink velvet banana. This species has problems with seed germination. The seed coat has a hard layer of the outer integument that inhibits the germination process. This study aimed to determine the effect of the soaking time at various soaking media of the seven treatments on the seed germination of M. velutina. The method used a completely randomized design with seven treatments and three replications. The seeds were collected from a fruit bunch of M. velutina in Bogor Botanic Gardens. The number of seeds was 10 for each treatment. The treatments in this study were scarification by seed wounds, soaking seeds in 1% H2O2 and 5% H2O2 for four days, soaking seeds in hot water at 60°C and 80°C for 1 hour, soaking seeds in water for 24 hours and 72 hours. Then, as a control, the fresh seeds were sowed directly without treatment. The results showed that soaking in water for 24 hours was the best method for the early emergence of sprouts, the percentage of germination rate, the coefficient of germination rate, and the coefficient of simultaneous germination.

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Section: Origin and Domesticationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bananas and plantains are the fruit of species, hybrids, and cultivars in genus Musa of the family Musaceae. The Musaceae comprises three genera, Musa , Ensete , and monospecific Musella , of which Musa is the most diverse with over 75 described species and subspecies (Häkkinen, 2013; Kallow et al, 2021; Mertens, Swennen, et al, 2021). Banana plants are giant perennial herbs and grow as underground stems, or rhizomes, from which emerge pseudostems composed of tightly packed leaf sheaths ending in large, undivided leaf blades.…”

Section: Origin and Domesticationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The long road to a sustainable banana trade

Bebber

2022

Plants People Planet

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Societal Impact StatementBananas are the world's most popular dessert fruit and a staple starch crop for millions in low-and middle-income countries. The banana export trade that supplies North America, Europe, and other wealthy nations has a history fraught with exploitation and conflict. The price of cheap bananas has been environmental degradation, violence, and poverty. Only recently have efforts to address the power imbalances in this trade been made. Voluntary certification schemes aim to address multiple sustainability issues, while research into biological control, accelerated plant breeding, and efficient irrigation will help prepare the industry for emerging threats from pests, diseases, and climate change.

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Banana seed genetic resources for food security: Status, constraints, and future priorities

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creat ive Commo ns Attri bution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 9 publications

References 106 publications

Drying banana seeds for ex situ conservation

Drying banana seeds for ex situ conservation

The conservation of wild species banana (Musa velutina H.Wendl. & Drude) through seed germination technology

The long road to a sustainable banana trade

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