Poster 9: Banana (Musa spp.) genetic resources: preservation and use

INIBAP, the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain, established and holds in trust for the world community the most extensive ex situ collection of Musa spp. Since 1985, acquisition emphasis has been placed on genetically diverse wild and cultivated species from existing field collections or obtained through explorations in the centres of origin and diversity, and on improved germplasm produced by breeding programmes worldwide. The international banana collection at the INIBAP Transit Centre at K.U.Leuven, Belgium, currently contains more than 1,100 accessions. Germplasm is kept in vitro as shoot tip cultures under slow growth conditions at low temperature (16°C) and low light intensity, requiring subculturing on average once per year. In the perspective of the establishment of a long-term base collection, three cryopreservation protocols for meristem cultures have been developed. Banana germplasm is freely available from the gene bank on request. Every year, hundreds of samples are supplied to researchers and development workers around the world for characterization, breeding, evaluation and distribution to farmers.

Germplasm conservation and dissemination activities at K.U.Leuven are funded by the International Network for the Improvement of Banana and Plantain (INIBAP) through a grant from the Directorate General for International Cooperation (DGIS-DGIC), Belgium.