IITA News no. 2592 Archives

Policymakers approve Aflasafe testing in Burundi

IITA-Burundi officially unveiled Aflasafe by presenting two Aflasafe products—Aflasafe BU01, a country-specific product, and Aflasafe KE01, the regional product—for field testing in Burundi. The Institute presented the products to stakeholders at the IITA-Burundi office in April. The IITA Country Representative, Emmanuel Njukwe, urged national and development partners to adopt practices that minimize aflatoxin contamination, particularly…

Banana project applauded for making record progress amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

IITA management and the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) of the Accelerated Breeding Better Bananas (ABBB) project—the biggest banana breeding project—have praised the project for its solid achievements in improving the production and productivity of banana in Tanzania and Uganda, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. Notable achievements include the official release of new banana hybrids…

Study sheds light on banana’s defense mechanism against the deadly Fusarium wilt disease

IITA scientists have identified the defense mechanisms for Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) in resistant and susceptible cultivars with or without biological control agent (BCA) inoculation as part of efforts to identify effective ways to control Fusarium wilt of banana. Fusarium wilt is a disease caused by the soilborne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp….