Western DR Congo report:

Strategies for Developing

Banana Planting Materials free

from Bunchy Top Virus

infection in Bas-Congo

Patrick MOBAMBO (University of Kinshasa)

and Bioversity representative

with UNIKIN Team

and

Germaine VANGU (INERA-Mvuazi station) with

INERA Team

INTRODUCTION

Major Production Constraints

• Diseases: especially BBTD as it causes

100% losses

• Lack of clean planting materials

• Also, civil and military unrest in DRC

(1996-2003) has reinforced this situation

• There are also the following:

Roads

Transport

Lack of organized banana markets

BBTV occurrence, incidence and

distribution

• BBTD was observed in DRC for the first time at Yangambi in 1958

• Since then there was no real study on BBTV

• In 2006, a diagnostic survey was carried out

by INERA scientists with the CFC/INIBAP

funds in three districts to identify and

determine the impact of the disease in the

province of Bas-Congo

BBTV PILOT PROJECT

History • TRAVEL REPORT – Congo and Ghana:

9 – 22 June 2007

1. Submitted by: Charles Staver

2. Country visited: Kinshasa/M’vuazi, DR Congo;

Accra, Ghana; Amsterdam, Netherlands

3. Co-travelers: Nicolas Roux

(a) Locations and institutions visited:

Kinshasa – Ministry of Agriculture, SECID office

US AID; M’vuazi – INERA research station,

Masende village with BBTV; Accra – workshop with CRI and

IITA

• In 2007, one village was visited by

Bioversity scientists who found a very

horrible situation

• BBTV has destroyed completely

plantations and exposed the populations

to poverty and to change their diet

Actions taken to combat the

disease

• The more significant action was a

Bioversity project called « A BBTD Pilot

Zone Project in Bas-Congo Province »

• Funding from Bioversity through the

‘USAID Bridge Funds’

• Surveys conducted Prof. DEDHA in

Kisangani, Maniema, Equator

Objectives:

• Farmer awareness raising on BBTD (vector,

pathogen, spread, disease-free planting

material, etc.);

• Farmer acceptance and implementation of good

BBTD cultural practices across the Bas-Congo

province;

• Development of clean seed systems to reduce

the spread and impact of banana bunchy top

virus;

• Multiplication of highly productive clones of

preferred cultivars.

Activities

1. Training on ELISA Analysis in the laboratory;

2. Identify zones which are still relatively virus

free;

3. Extract suckers from plants without visual

symptoms;

4. Select only suckers negative based on TAS-

ELISA;

5. Multiply suckers through macropropagation

techniques;

6. Plant plantlets in a field where all banana

plants have been destroyed by BBTV

previously.

N° Cultivars Gpe genomic

Site of

collection Symptoms Results

20

Bitika

mayombe AAA Mvuazi Negative Negative

21 Mposa ABBB Mvuazi Negative Positive

22 Tiba AAA Mvuazi Negative Negative

23 Nsikumuna AAB Mvuazi Negative Negative

24 Bubi géant AAB Mvuazi Positive Positive

25 Kimbuambua AAB Mvuazi Negative Negative

26

Epanza 2

mains AAB Mvuazi Negative Negative

27

km 5

yangambi AAB Mvuazi Negative Negative

28

Epanza 3

mains AAB Mvuazi Negative Negative

29

Bitika

bimenta AAA Mvuazi Negative Negative

30 Muasi zoba AAA Mvuazi Negative Negative

31 CRBP 39 AAB Mvuazi Negative Negative

32 SH 3640 AAAA Mvuazi Negative Negative

33 FHIA 18 AAAB Mvuazi Negative Negative

34 Bitika AAB Mvuazi Negative Positive

35 FHIA 25 AABB Mvuazi Negative Negative

36 Nseluka AAB Mvuazi Negative Negative

37 Dessert roux AAA Mvuazi Negative Positive

Table 1. TAS-ELISA results of collected leaf samples

of mother plants from TUBA (Bas-Fleuve) and Mvuazi

(Cataracts) villages

• Results show that 8% of suckers

extracted from BBTD asymptomatic

mats were tested as BBTV-positive

using TAS-ELISA

• Only suckers which leaf-samples

showed negative responses were

selected for the macropropagation step

• The 2nd ELISA test was done on young macropropagated plants

Number Cultivars Gpe genomic Results

1 Diyimba AAB Negative

2 Nseluka AAB negative

3 Mukama AAB Negative

4 Gros Michel AAA Negative

5 Mfuba Ndong AAB Negative

6 Kinsongo AAB Negative

7 Bubi géant AAB Negative

8 Nsikumuna AAB Negative

9 Epanza 2 mains AAB Negative

10 Epanza 3 mains AAB Negative

11 Muasi zoba AAA Negative

12 SH 3640 AAAA Negative

13 Mafuta AAA Negative

14 Walungu 16 AAB Negative

15 Nsakala Ndomb AAB negative

Table 2. TAS-ELISA results of collected leaf samples of clean macropropagated plants

• Results show that 100% of plantlets

produced via macropropagation were

tested as BBTV-free using TAS-ELISA

• Macropropagated plants were established

in isolated plots in MASENDE with no

visual symptoms of reinfection two years

after planting

• Suckers from this plot were transplanted in

the village where all bananas were

destroyed by BBTV

July 2007

Dec 2010

Nov 2012

Evaluation of reinfection rate from

plants in Masende

• Collect leaf samples from suckers in

Masende plot

• Carry out ELISA analysis in INERA Mvuazi

station

• Multiply Suckers extracted which tested

negative

Table 3. TAS-ELISA results on reinfection rate of

BBTV on collected leaf samples of plantain

suckers in Masende

Number Variety Genomic group Results

1 Diyimba AAB Negative

2 Nseluka AAB negative

3 Mukama AAB Negative

4 Gros Michel AAA Negative

5 Mfuba Ndong AAB Negative

6 Kinsongo AAB Negative

7 Bubi géant AAB Negative

8 Nsikumuna AAB Negative

9 Epanza 2 mains AAB Negative

10 Epanza 3 mains AAB Negative

11 Muasi zoba AAA Negative

12 SH 3640 AAAA Negative

13 Mafuta AAA Negative

14 Walungu 16 AAB Negative

15 Nsakala Ndombe AAB negative

Therefore, there was no re-infection

rate of BBTV in Masende village after

2.5 years of planting. This can be seen

visually on plantain matts here below.

Results show that

• The Bas-Fleuve District in Bas-Congo has

been identified as a main source of potentially

BBTV-free Musa planting materials and

should ideally be used in conjunction with a

serological assay such as TAS-ELISA to

insure that suckers collected in the field are

free from BBTV.

• The proposed local seed system model shows

promise for recovery of BBTV-infested zones,

with investment in virus detection and training,

as a key component.

On-going and future research

efforts (2nd Funding)

• Change cropping systems or introduction new

cultural practices: intercropping and alley

cropping systems;

• Raise awareness campaign among farmers;

• BBTV control passes by production and

distribution of clean planting materials.

• Participative experimentations with farmers

Agroforestry system with plantain

for improving production without

BBTV in the UNIKIN’s research

station in Kinshasa

• Establish the nursery for tree-seeds is

established

• Transplant tree-seedlings in the field

Complete macropropagation techniques of plantain suckers

Effect of Substratum on

Macropropagation

This work is still on-going

THANK YOU