Mass-screening techniques for early selection of banana and plantain crops resistant to major diseases and pests

Different in vitro selection techniques that are used for selecting banana and plantain plants resistant to diseases and pests are discussed in this chapter with a focus on Black sigatoka disease. Explants that are suitable for in vitro selection include shoot meristems, micro-cross sections, callus, cell suspension and protoplasts. A double selection system using the crude filtrate and the purified host-specific toxin 2,4,8-trihydroxytetralone (2,4,8-THT) is described. The optimum concentration of the host-specific toxin 2,4,8-THT and the non-host-specific toxin juglone used for selection and the mode of action of the purified toxins are also shown. A combination of mutation induction and effective selection methods appears to be the most effective strategy to improve tolerance to diseases in banana and plantains. (author)