date:Oct 29, 2013
-hybrids with pest/pathogen resistance.
Overall, IITA started its banana and plantain program in Nigeria in 1979 to address challenges facing plantain in that region-low yield and attack by the fungal disease Black Sigatoka.
This resulted in a breakthrough with the development of the technology to obtain seeds from the sterile banana crop, seed germination, and selection of Black Sigatoka resistant plantain hybrids with yield increases of up to 225%.