Breeding report of a new banana cultivar Jiali with high resistance to Fusarium wil

Abstract: The Jiali (M. acuminata, AA) is a new banana cultivar selected from the adventitious buds of Kluai Lap Mu Nang (M. acuminata, AA) through 60Co-γ radiation induced mutation. The adventitious buds were mutated by 60Co-γ radiation, and then the nursery trees were produced by tissue culture in 2009. Ten strains were screened out under the exposure to Fusarium wilt in the field in 2010. Biological characteristics and fruit quality of the plants were investigated in the field. The superior plant with com-prehensive characters of stable genetic traits and high resistance to Fusarium wilt was screened out in 2011. The single plant was then selected for tissue culture and rapid propagation. The field surveys were invested from 2013 to 2017. More than 30 000 plants were investigated and no plant susceptible to Fusarium wilt was found. In the lab identification, the resistance to Fusarium wilt of Jiali were higher than that of Baxijiao and Nongke No.1. It was immune to Fusarium wilt pathogen with the bacterial concentration of 10 4 spores per mL. The multiple regional tests and production tests were conducted in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and Yunnan from 2014 to 2019. The plant variety protection right of Jiali was obtained form the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in Dec. 2019. The pseudostem height is 2.39-3.31 m. The leaf habit is erect and the leaf shape ratio is 3.23. The leaves of water sucker and tissue culture nursery trees are slender, while some leaves have purple pigmentation. The bunch position hangs at angle 45°. The young fingers and pedicel surface have fine hairs. The fruit shape is curved and its apex is lengthily pointed. The mature fruit peel is yellow. The pulp of the maturity fruit is ivory-white in color, sugary predominent in taste and with firm flesh texture and aromatic flavor. On average, the flesh of the fruit contains 26.6% of soluble solid content, 3.24 g · kg^-1 of titratable acidity content, 20.3 g·100 g^-1 of total sugars, 10.8 mg·100 g^-1 of Vitamin C and 0.1% of crude fiber. The life cycle of Ji-ali is relatively shorter than that of Gongjiao. It usually takes 220-270 days from planting to harvest. The period from flowing to harvest lasts 45-80 d. The ratoon cropping and multiple cropping could be used in its annual planting shcedule. The bunch weight is 6-16 kg. The average finger weight is 69 g. The shelf life of Jiali is longer than that of Gongjiao. In Guangzhou, the shelf life of the fruit is 5-7 days in the winter and spring and 3-5 days in the summer and autumn. The wind resistance of Jiali is higher than that of Cavendish. The waterlogging tolerance of Jiali is higher than that of Cavendish and Haigongjiao. With high resistance to Fusarium wilt pathogen of race 1 and race 4, Jiali could be grown in the area exposed to Fusarium wilt. It would be recommended that Jiali could be planted in neutral soil with good water conditions and high fertilization, and the planting density would be 220-280 plants per 666.7 m 2. Potassium fertilizer was highly needed for the flower differentiation. Fruiting in winter should be avoided in frost area.