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'Saba'


'Saba' at a glance

Image

Ploidy level

3x

Genome group

ABB

Subgroup

Saba

Status

Cultivar

ITC code

ITC1138, ITC0116

'Saba' is the name given in the Philippines to a cultivar belonging to the Saba subgroup.

Its classification at the genome group level has been disputed ever since it was suggested to be a triploid derived from crosses between Musa balbisiana only1 . Whereas some molecular analyses seem to support a BBB genome group2 3 4 , morphological traits characteristic of Musa acuminata, such as curly bracts, place it among the ABB. On the other hand, if backcrossing occured5 , it is possible that backcrosses with M. balbisiana might have led to the substitution of M. acuminata genes by M. balbisiana ones, leaving only remnants of the original M. acuminata genome.

'Saba' is especially popular in the Philippines, where the male bud is also eaten as a vegetable.

Local names

'Pisang Kepok' (Indonesia), 'Pisang Abu Nipah' (Malaysia), 'Saba' (Philippines), 'Kluai Hin' (Thailand)6 7

Reaction to diseases and pests

In the Philippines, where the TR4 strain of the Fusarium fungus is present, Saba (Cardava) did not show symptoms of Fusarium wilt in field trials8 .

References

1 Valmayor, R.V., Jamaluddin, S.H., Silayoi, B., Kusumo, S., Danh, L.D., Pascua, O.C. and Espino, R.R.C. 2000. Banana cultivar names and synonyms in Southeast Asia. INIBAP, Los Baños (PHL). 24p.
2 Espino, R.R.C. 2000. Isozyme analysis of the Philippine bananas: Implication on their evolutionary pathway and classification. The Philippine Agricultural Scientist 83(1):13-27.
3 Sales, E.K. and Espino, R.R.C. 2002. RAPD markers for genetic analysis and classification of Musa B genome. The Philippine Agriculturalist Scientist 87:165.
4 Sales, E.K., Butardo, N.G., Gomez Paniagua, H., Jansen, H. and Dolezel, J. 2011. Assessment of ploidy and genome constitution of some Musa balbisiana cultivars using DArT markers. Philippine Journal of Crop Science 36(1):11-18.
5 De Langhe, E., Hribova, E., Carpentier, S.C., Dolezel, J. and Swennen, R. 2010. Did backcrossing contribute to the origin of hybrid edible bananas? Annals of Botany 106(6):849-857.
6 Jones, D.R. 2000. Introduction to banana, abaca and enset. p1-36. In: Jones, D.R. (ed.). Diseases of banana, Abacá and Enset. CABI Publishing, Wallingford (GBR).
7 Ploetz, R.C., Kepler, A.K., Daniells, J.W. and Nelson, S.C. 2007. Banana and plantain: an overview with emphasis on Pacific island cultivars Musaceae (banana family). p27. In: Elevitch, C.R. (ed.). Species profiles for Pacific Island agroforestry. Permanent Agriculture Resources, Holualoa (USA).

See also on this website

Photos of 'Saba' in Musarama
Local names for 'Saba' in the cultivar checklist
Musapedia pages on cultivars: