Abstract
Aim The efficiency of production depends greatly on knowledge of the
plant’s performance (including stress tolerance, nutritional quality and
overall yield) and genetics. The review was aimed at gathering
information on the conservation of banana germplasm and its potential in
breeding programs. Finding out whether banana cultivars being grown in
Zimbabwe have been characterized both genetically and morphologically
thus creating a catalogue and also assessing production and its impact
in Zimbabwean economy. The evaluation of species distribution models
that can better extrapolate production to new area within the country.
Location Zimbabwe Methods Obtaining information on banana production in
Zimbabwe has been done through phone call inquires to research stations
and plantations, face to face inquires and literature search on
peer-reviewed publications and also greys literature. Results
Information obtained through database search was extremely limited.
Literature citing banana production in Zimbabwe was not greater than
0.00028%. Interaction with farmers and the department of Agricultural,
Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX) Officers yielded better
results showing a clear picture of undocumented relevant banana
information. Main Conclusion Characterization of Musa Spp. is a
necessity for germplasm conservation, breeding and improved banana
production. Currently, there is vast literature on characterized banana
accessions across the globe, but limited publicly available information
concerning accessions in Zimbabwe. Banana production in Zimbabwe is
concentrated in the warm and humid areas and similar climatic conditions
are found in areas dotted across Zimbabwe. Using species distribution
models, cultivars can be mapped to new environments and this in return
expands production area in the country. In so doing, cultivars digital
maps are created for ease of banana information access. Cultivar maps
and biological information from multi-locational gene banks has great
potential for use in banana production improvement programs.