Current Progress/Outcomes:
East African Highland bananas and plantains are staple food crops in Uganda. Resistance evaluation of over 30 accessions of African highland bananas and plantains against Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (Foc TR4) revealed that none of these varieties are susceptible to the pathogen. This finding, validated through multi-year and multi-location trials, eliminates the threat posed by Foc TR4 to Uganda's food security. Furthermore, this study establishes a germplasm resource foundation for breeding new food and processing banana varieties in China.
