Couto-Marrero, Ramón A.

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    Evaluación hortícola de nuevas Musáceas: 'FHIA-20' (tipo francés AAAB) y 'Macho x Hembra' (tipo falso cuerno AAB) en Puerto Rico
    (2021-12-09) Couto-Marrero, Ramón A.; González-Gill, Lizzette; College of Agricultural Sciences; Lugo-Torres, María de L.; Cabrera Asencio, Irma; Department of Crops and Agro-Environmental Sciences; Ferrer, Janette
    The farinaceous crop enterprise is one of the most important in Puerto Rico due to the high consumption of starchy crops such as plantain (Musa acuminata AAA x M. balbisiana, AAB). The high demand for plantain and the presence of potential diseases presents a need for the characterization of new plantain cultivars to evaluate their productive and horticultural potential for the market. Two plantain cultivars were evaluated: ‘FHIA-20’ and ‘MxH’. The experiment was established at the Agricultural Experiment Sub-station-Gurabo, PR. The objectives were to i) evaluate the horticultural and morphological characteristics of the cultivar French-type (‘FHIA- 20’) and false-horn type (‘MxH’) and to ii) determine the cultivar tolerance to pest and diseases, such as banana red-rust thrip, black Sigatoka (Pseudocercospora fijiensis) and the banana streak virus (Badnavirus). This study revealed that ‘FHIA-20’ was superior in many of the horticultural parameters evaluated. A bunch pruning treatment to 4 and 5 hands in ‘FHIA-20’ yielded much longer and thicker fruits and heavier bunch compared to ‘MxH’. ‘FHIA-20’ was superior expressing its productive potential with a higher number of functional leaves at flowering and harvest stages. ‘FHIA-20’ bunch pruned to 4 hands produced the higher number of fruits per plant compared to ‘MXH’. However, ‘FHIA-20’ required 30 more days than ‘MxH’ to reach physiological maturity. A colorimetric analysis showed that ‘FHIA-20’ produced fruits with white pulp indicating its suitability for industrial process. On the other hand, ‘MxH’ fruits tended to produce yellow fruits that are suitable for fresh consumption. ‘FHIA-20’ demonstrated to be more tolerant to black Sigatoka with a larger and healthier foliar surface than ‘MxH’. ‘MxH’ was more tolerant to the banana red rust thrip; however, ‘FHIA-20’ was susceptible to damage caused by thrips. The presence of banana streak virus was not observed in any of the cultivars evaluated. ‘FHIA-20’ and ‘MxH’ are promising cultivars for the processed and fresh plantain enterprise.