Screening for susceptibility to Radopholus similis: evaluation of plantains AAB and diploid AA, AB, and BB.

Two experiments were carried out with 17 clones of Musa AAB (of which 10 were plantains) and 28 diploid Musa clones to determine sources of resistance and tolerance to Radopholus similis. Suckers were inoculated with 1000 nematodes per plant. Results from the first experiment indicated that most of the plantain AAB were comparable in susceptibility to the susceptible French Sombre cultivar. In the second experiment, a significant difference was found between diploids in their level of susceptibility to R. similis. The wild diploids showed a higher level of resistance compared to diploid cultivars. Accessions from the M. acuminata banksii subgroup were the most susceptible.