'Mbwazirume'

'Mbwazirume' is the most widely grown cultivar in the East African highland bananas subgroup. It belongs to the Nakitembe clone set. In the Luganda language, its name means "Let the flies bite" in reference to the abundance of biting flies in the Central Region's Kyaggwe county, where it is common.

Morphological characteristics

Like the other cultivars in the Nakitembe clone set, 'Mbwazirume' has an imbricate waxy male bud, a persistent style at the tip of the fruit and persistent neutral flowers along the rachis. It is characterized by a red midrib and petiole.

The raw fruit is ivory in colour. When cooked its colour is a deep yellow. 'Mbwazirume' produces a large compact bunch and matures quickly (the time from flowering to harvest is 3-4 months).

Host reaction to diseases and pests

Mbwazirume is susceptible to nematodes, weevils and black leaf streak. In field trials conducted in Asia between 2011 and 2012, 'Mbwazirume' (ITC0084) was exposed to tropical race 4. The proportion of plants showing symptoms was 2% after 72 weeks in the Davao field site in the Philippines, and 0% after 52 weeks in the Guangzhou field site in China1 .

References

See also on this website

External links