19.06.2013 Views

Gamma Rays and CarbonIon-Beams Irradiation for Mutation ...

Gamma Rays and CarbonIon-Beams Irradiation for Mutation ...

Gamma Rays and CarbonIon-Beams Irradiation for Mutation ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

‘Cavendish Enano’, ‘Williams’, ‘Valery’ <strong>and</strong> ‘Dwarf Parfitt’ (Daniells et<br />

al., 2001). However, Valmayor et al., (2000) reported that exist different<br />

banana names <strong>and</strong> synonyms of ‘Cavendish’ in Southeast Asia such as<br />

‘Dwarf Cavendish’, ‘Enano’, ‘Giant Cavendish’, ‘Gran Enano’, ‘Robusta’,<br />

‘Tall Cavendish’, ‘Lacatan’ <strong>and</strong> ‘Gr<strong>and</strong>e Naine’.<br />

They are cultivated in over 10 million hectares of arable l<strong>and</strong><br />

worldwide. Total production was estimated in 1998 at over 88 million<br />

metric tons of which exports represented around 12 million metric tons<br />

(Marín et al., 2003).<br />

It is estimated that banana world exports would reach some 13.9<br />

million tons in the year 2010. Most of this growth would be in Latin<br />

American countries, in particular Ecuador <strong>and</strong> to a lesser extent Costa Rica<br />

<strong>and</strong> Colombia. In Asia, the Philippines projects to increase its exports,<br />

taking advantage of the growth of the Asian market. The United States of<br />

America, Japan, <strong>and</strong> the European Community are among the three most<br />

important import markets <strong>for</strong> export bananas, accounting <strong>for</strong> nearly 30<br />

percent of global imports (FAO, 2001b).<br />

In tropical <strong>and</strong> subtropical regions where banana crops are<br />

cultivated, intensive management has to be applied, otherwise production<br />

will be affected <strong>and</strong> the profits will diminish. However, though given the<br />

latest technologies in banana production, farmers are still faced by many<br />

problems due to the genetic constitution of the monocultured ‘Cavendish’<br />

type which is susceptible to many pests <strong>and</strong> diseases. The most critical are<br />

the black Sigatoka caused by Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet, Panama<br />

disease (Fusarium oxisporum, race 1 <strong>and</strong> 4), bacteria Pseudomonas<br />

solanacearum, viruses such as the Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV),<br />

Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), nematodes Radopholus similis <strong>and</strong> weevils<br />

Cosmopolites sordidus. Actually, banana breeding programs are aimed at<br />

4

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!