Peru's National Institute for Agricultural Innovation (INIA) will release a new plant breeding technique at the end of the year that uses thermal multiplication chambers in organic banana fields, INIA  engineer Juan Carlos Rojas explained in www.agraria.pe.

According to Rojas, the technological implementation seeks to spread genetic material from elite mother plants indexed as being free of plagues and viruses.

The technique began in 2009 in collaboration with Bioversity International and since researchers have completed evaluations of installations in Piura and the central jungle with reportedly good results.

The technique consists of placing treated corms in a tubular chamber covered in transparent plastic. Afterwards, the chambers are placed in sawdust and irrigated with micro sprinklers. Rojas emphasized that to be successful, the temperature should not rise above 60°C (140°F).

During six weeks, about 20 shoots sprout from the corms. The shoots are extracted, placed in bags with substrate and held in a mesh house for six to eight weeks. This produces a seedling of 60cm (23.62in) in height and a developed root system ready for planting in the field.

The system has been found to produce quality seedlings that are low cost and easy to transport.

Rojas added that plants from the chambers did not show any pests, which is to say they were resistant to black weevil, thrips and other viruses.

The technique is also considered accessible to small farmers. Its cost amounts to about S/0.70 (US$0.26) a plant.

"This also reduced crop damage up to 10%, which produced 1.2 boxes of bananas per cluster. This would reduce freight and labor costs," Rojas said in www.agraria.pe.

He added that at least 2,000 sapling fit in a 10MT container.

The technology is being validated  through producer organizations, local governments and interested businesses.

"The validation phase is being implemented in the central jungle and the northern coast. The preliminary results are ideal and we hope that at the end of this process, it is available to the agricultural sector," Rojas said.

"In the months of May and June, it will be validated in the Chira river valley, below Piura, in Ucayali and in Pichanaki. This process will allow us to eliminate any error before releasing the technology at the end of the year."

The technology has already been tested in Central America and Africa with small farmers.

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