plantain Archives - IITA News

Control of mycotoxin effect in plantain

Plantain (Musa paradisiaca L.) is a tropical staple found in Central and West Africa. They are often cooked green but may also be dried or ground for use as a meal. And the plantain meal can be refined further to flour. Fresh plantains are rich in potassium; a 100 g fruit provides 499 mg of potassium. They also provide adequate levels of minerals such as iron, magnesium, and phosphorous. Mature unripe plantain can be…

Study lifts the lid on plantain consumer preferences, adds fresh insights for breeding programs

Une étude met en lumière les préférences des consommateurs de plantain et ouvre de nouvelles perspectives pour les programmes de sélection

Au fil des ans, les sélectionneurs ont développé et distribué des variétés de plantain à haut rendement et résistantes aux maladies, mais les taux d’adoption sont restés limités. Pour comprendre pourquoi, les chercheurs de l’IITA, un des centres du CGIAR ont publié les résultats d’une nouvelle étude révélant les attentes des utilisateurs finaux (consommateurs) concernant…

IITA paper on genome editing among most read Open Access journal

A paper by an IITA Principal Scientist, Leena Tripathi, on ‘CRISPR/Cas9 editing of endogenous banana streak virus in the B genome of Musa spp. overcomes a major challenge in banana breeding’ was the second most downloaded paper in Communications Biology, an open access (OA) journal. The paper has had more than 12,000 downloads to date,…

Study lifts the lid on plantain consumer preferences, adds fresh insights for breeding programs

Over the years, breeders have developed and distributed high-yielding, disease-resistant plantain varieties, but adoption rates have been limited. To understand why, scientists from CGIAR–IITA have published the results of a new study revealing end-user (consumer) perspectives about desirable qualities/characteristics of the plantain fruit and its derivative food products. The research, carried out within the RTBfoods…

Photo of plantain bunches: Plantain sold at roadside in Osun (Photo by Esme Stuart, IITA).

Study lifts the lid on plantain consumer preferences, adds fresh insights for breeding programs

NIHORT evaluates IITA plantain hybrids for possible distribution to farmers

Following a call for stronger collaboration and partnership, the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT) has embarked on the evaluation of hybrid plantain and banana germplasm from IITA and its partners, for possible distribution to farmers. IITA Regional Breeding Manager for plantain/banana improvement in West and Central Africa, Delphine Amah, during an earlier visit to NIHORT,…

Project to improve nutritional value of plantain launched in Cameroon, Gabon, and Nigeria

Project to improve nutritional value of plantain launches in Cameroon, Gabon, and Nigeria

IITA in partnership with the University of Buea, Cameroon; Institut de Recherches Agronomiques et Forestieres (IRAF), Gabon; and the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Nigeria have launched a new project that aims to enhance the nutritive quality of plantain in the three countries. The launch ceremony of the project, which is funded by the African…

Picture of Delphine Amah, IITA Regional Plantain breeder, addressing the trainees.

Staff from Nigeria’s premier horticultural research institute receive training on plantain and banana production

As part of efforts to build the capacity of national research systems, IITA scientists provided a 2-week training from 10 to 21 September for 10 scientists and technical staff of the National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT).

Plantain is an important crop in the economy of Cameroon.

Researchers predict worse impacts of climate change on plantain and educational attendance in Central Africa

The impact of climate change continues to be high but coincides with low adaptive capacity of farmers in Central Africa.

IITA banana breeder honored at international Musa meeting

On 3 May in Miami, Florida, IITA banana breeder Rony Swennen was honored with a prestigious award by the Association for Cooperation in Research and Integral Development of Banana and Plantains (ACORBAT). The award, which was presented by Dr Jorge Sandoval, President of ACORBAT, recognizes Swennen’s “unquantifiable contributions to the development of Musa research in…