The Ecuadorian banana sector, through the Banana Cluster, is working on obtaining banana varieties that are resistant, or at least tolerant, to Fusarium race 4, given the threat that this pest - which was already detected in Colombia and Peru- poses to the Cavendish variety.
Juan Jose Pons, the Cluster's coordinator, said that they were developing a project with the Biotechnological Research Center of Ecuador (CIBE), of the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (Espol), to research and develop new varieties using national varieties. However, the results of the project, which will require a 1.5-million dollar investment, would only be known in some six years, said Pons.
Currently, the Cluster is working on the approval process for the importation of plant material of the Formosana –o 218– and Gal varieties, two clones developed by the Israeli company Rahan Meristem. The Cormael, Jasafrut, Palmar, and Asoagribal companies, representative members of the Cluster in the province of El Oro, seek to bring these varities to the country.
Last Wednesday, Pons stated that the banana producers of El Oro had already presented all the required information required to import the Gal variety to the country. However, Monica Gallo, Agrocalidad's Plant Health Coordinator, stated on Thursday that the agency had received and reviewed the information provided by the Israel company and the Cluster, and had returned it to the union for completion. "Once we have all the information, we'll be able to continue with the negotiation process for the establishment of the research protocol in the country together with the Iniap (National Institute of Agricultural Research)," Gallo said.
The Cluster is not only working to import Fusarium-resistant varieties from Israel. The government has also started the process to import a tolerant variety from Taiwan, Pons added. “The protocols and agreements between the Iniap and the Taiwan Research Center are also taking longer than expected. Agrocalidad and Iniap must be more diligent and agile to conclude these processes,” he added.
The Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Tanlly Vera, met this week with the Secretary-General of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), Jorge Hernando Pedraza, to discuss the threat that Fusarium race 4 poses for Ecuador, as it is just 350 kilometers away from the country, in the department of Piura, Peru.
Pedraza confirmed that the block was working to implement a Permanent Technical Monitoring and Surveillance Center, which would operate in Lima, to prevent the plague from spreading in the region.
Source:eluniverso.com