Banana Friend Forever

16/04/2025

Recorded some time ago, but now online: the promo video of the Plant Science Group at Wageningen University & Research. First (short) shot of the video: Banana leaves from one of our experiments with Fusarium wilt in the greenhouse!!
We welcome (new) collaboration opportunities. Please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Delve deeper with us into who we are, what we do and what we stand for. Let's plant the future together! 💪🌱 More info: wur.eu/plant-research

30/01/2025

Another phenotyping trial completed! Starting early in the morning in a full greenhouse compartment with Fusarium wilt *TR4* infected banana plants and finishing late in the afternoon with an empty compartment.. Now, nearly 2000 pictures await analysis. Screening at our WUR facilities at high-throughput level under controlled greenhouse conditions, ensuring no biological or non-biological interference. If you are interested in conducting a trial, feel free to request more information by contacting Dr. ing. Harold Meijer at Wageningen University & Research !!
Trial overview & pictures by Dr. ing. Harold Meijer Wageningen University & Research

12/11/2024

Phenotyping under controlled conditions remains one of the best approaches to detect Fusarium wilt resistance in banana. Currently, we have over 1,500 plants in our compartment, with a few more weeks until the first 'clean-up after inoculation with TR4.
Picture & trial supervisor: Dr. ing. Harold Meijer (contact via www.linkedin.com/in/harold-meijer-b702521/)

31/10/2024

During the yearly Fusarium meeting at the Westerdijk Institute (Utrecht) from the Fusarium working group of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Planteziektenkundige Vereniging several representatives of WUR gave a presentation on Fusarium research that is ongoing. Fusarium spread through alternative hosts, the road to resilience by microbiome, ongoing genomics and host-switches as well as new threats due to advancing Fusarium. Much more research is needed to comprehend the impact of Fusarium in general, well beyond its impact on banana production.

04/10/2024

The collaboration between Chiquita, KeyGene, MusaRadix and Wageningen University & Research resulted in the development of a banana plant with resistance against TR4 and Black Sigatoka.

Researchers led by Wageningen company KeyGene have developed a banana plant that is resistant to both Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4) and Black Sigatoka, two of the most destructive diseases for bananas. Professor of Phytopathology Gert Kema at Wageningen University & Research was involved as an advi...

13/09/2024

Ornamental plants represent a largely overlooked yet potentially significant source of plant pathogens that can impact major crops. This is well illustrated in the latest manuscript of the banana team at Wageningen University & Research in the European Journal of Plant Pathology. Fusarium strains causing Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), including the Tropical Race (TR4) strain, can infect, survive in, and thus can spread through alternative hosts like ornamental Heliconia species. Our findings call for an update of current protocols to prevent the spread of plant diseases in general and for FWB in particular.

Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB), caused by soilborne Fusarium lineages, is a major global threat to the cultivation of bananas. In addition to persistent chlamydospores, weeds are a reservoir of the causal agents. However, it remains unclear whether other Zingiberales species, which are grown in the s...

06/09/2024

Cyclic lipopeptides (CLPs), particularly from bacterial species like Bacillus and Pseudomonas, show strong antifungal activity against plant pathogenic oomycetes and Fusarium species. Along with other compounds, they hold promise as biocontrol agents for sustainable disease management in banana crops. Members of the WUR banana team contributed to a study demonstrating the effectiveness of these CLPs in suppressing these pathogens, potentially reducing the reliance on chemical fungicides and promoting eco-friendly agricultural practices.

Fusarium wilt of banana (FWB) caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) is a widely distributed disease that generates devastating losses in banana production. Foc belongs to the Fusarium oxysporum species complex (FOSC) which includes several evolutionary lineages. Nin...

24/05/2024

In the Journal Environmental Microbiology we report on the current genetic diversity of the banana Fusarium wilt pathogen that exists in Latin America and the Caribbean with a focus on Cuba. It underscores the historical introductions of the various genotypes as well the risks due to human mobility and behavior.

Our comprehensive survey investigated the Fusarium wilt of bananas (FWB) across all production zones in Cuba, resulting in a collection of 170 Fusarium isolates. By employing genotyping-by-sequencing...

18/04/2024

The 'Banana team' of Wageningen University & Research came together to celebrate !

31/10/2023

Update on the phenotyping of 1400 plants for Fusarium wilt resistance at Wageningen University & Research. Symptoms are clearly present after (not even) 4 full weeks. From the top it still looks modest, but the side view (see comments) tells the story.
Interested in phenotyping your plants of interest. Contact Gert Kema or Harold Meijer at Wageningen University & Research !!

04/10/2023

Serious phenotyping for Fusarium wilt resistance. Last batch of 1400 plants out of 5000 inoculated with TR4 today... waiting for first symptoms in 3-4 weeks.