Background:
Banana cultivation is expanding at a fast pace in the subtropics. Banana is grown in over 1.5 lakh ha area in UP and Bihar. The cultivation of commercial cultivar G 9 of banana is being threatened by the outbreak of a virulent strain of Fusarium wilt tropical race 4 (FOC TR4) which is considered to be one of the most devastating complex diseases of banana, limiting its production worldwide. Control of the disease has been a great challenge to researchers across the globe till date.:
Technology Details:
In vitro, Bio-immunization technology is a novel tissue culture technology for the production of Fusarium wilt disease-tolerant plants of banana. The process includes engineering the biomolecule into the banana tissue culture plantlets during in vitro organogenesis phase. Field studies conducted in the hot spot regions of Fusarium wilt at Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh and Kattihar district of Bihar revealed that Bio-immunized plantlets were able to sustain the disease incidence to about 98% for 9 months after planting and 85% till harvest.