Periodic Reporting for period 3 - MUSA (Microbial Uptakes for Sustainable management of major bananA pests and diseases)
Période du rapport: 2020-06-01 au 2021-11-30
Plant parasitic nematodes (PPN), Fusarium wilt (FW, F. oxysporum f. sp. cubense) and weevils (BW, Cosmopolites sordidus) are main threats to banana (Musa spp.) and enset (Ensete ventricosum), worldwide. In sub Saharan Africa (SSA) many pesticides, withdrawn in the EU, continue to be (mis)used, with threats to farmers, environment and consumers. The severe F. oxysporum TR4 attacks Cavendish bananas and is spreading in Africa, and Latin America. Farmers lack sustainable means of management for the cited pests. Data are needed to develop tools based on biocontrol agents and acquire knowledge on the effects of soil, rhizosphere and plant microorganisms. The gap to fill is how linking/exploiting beneficial plant and soil microbiota in safer production systems.
Social importance
Banana is a high income export and a basic diet crop in the EU. In SSA and Caribbean regions million farmers rely on cooking bananas as key staple food and for income. In the Tropics and Sub-tropics Cavendish variety replaced Gros Michel for export, as the latter is susceptible to FW. Many local varieties are used in the Tropics for domestic consumption. In these systems, pests and diseases cause billion € losses, affecting the food security of million small growers, and the income of small holders or commercial growers. TR4 is a severe threat to food security of million people in SSA and Caribbean. All these issues require an intensification of scientific efforts on low impact, organic pest management to ensure the sustainability of such crops. Exploitation perspective is getting a "greener" approach in pest management.
Overall objectives
MUSA aims at new Integrated Pest Management (IPM) or organic methods based on microbial consortia, studying phenotypic and molecular reactions of plants to the biotic stresses. Main goal is the sustainable intensification of crops, improving resilience through locally adapted IPM strategies based on endophytes and biocontrol agents (EBCAs) and tested germplasm. Partners aim at characterizing EBCAs, evaluating in the field their interactions with banana lines, and identifying genes involved in resistant/tolerant or susceptible responses. EBCAs include entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) for BW biocontrol. Dissemination, communication and exploitation actions allow persistence of Project impact after completion.