identification of banana cultivars morphologically Posted by aishmuhammad on 13 Aug 2013 09:48 How we can identify banana cultivars in the field by their morphological characters (williams, pisang, brazillian)
identification of banana cultivars morphologically Posted by aishmuhammad on 13 Aug 2013 09:48 How we can identify banana cultivars in the field by their morphological characters (williams, pisang, brazillian)
Posted by Anne Vézina on 22 Aug 2013 11:15 Dear Aish, Your question is a very important one. Unfortunately, the identification of cultivars, especially closely related ones, is a difficult problem that has been only partly addressed. A number of identification keys have been published in the literature, but since they are usually based on the cultivars present in a given area, they may not work everywhere. Rather than having one identification key for all cultivars, which would be a complex endeavour, one idea that has been proposed is to do a set of keys for the different groupings that form the basis of the nomenclature system developed for bananas: genome group, subgroup, clones sets/clusters. Once the smallest unit has been identified, another key would then be used to identify the individual cultivars in that unit. At this stage, however, such a system would not include all cultivars since many have not been classified beyond their genome group, while some don't even have a genome group because they are not related to either of the wild species on which the existing groups are based. Synonyms and the influence of the environment also have to be taken into account. The latter could theoretically be addressed by basing identification on morphological characters that are relatively stable across environments. Another option is to develop field tools, such as a mobile phone application that would compare photos of a specimen with photos of known cultivars. On the ProMusa website, our approach has been to document the groups that experts have identified, concentrating on their distinguishing characteristics to help field identification. There are a few examples in progress. East African highland bananas, Iholena, Maoli-Popoulu, Cavendish and Gros Michel are the most advanced, although far from complete. Cultivars are also being described in separate pages that are linked to their respective group page when the information is available. We hope that documenting what is known will help stabilize the taxonomy of bananas. That is why the pages are done using a wiki software, to allow people to correct mistakes and add information and photos. People in banana-growing countries are also encouraged to document the diversity in their region, such as this page on the diversity in Bangladesh. We are also working on a checklist of local names to help sort out the synonyms. We hope to put it online in the coming months. Of course, we are not the only ones interested in the question. Other regional or global efforts might also like to give their take on how they are tackling the question. Anne
Posted by Anne Vézina on 22 Aug 2013 12:25 Here are the links to the Musapedia pages mentioned in my reply. The subgroup pages are: East African highland bananas, Iholena, Maoli-Popoulu, Cavendish and Gros Michel. There is also a page on the nomenclature system developed for bananas and the diversity of bananas in Bangladesh. Anne
Posted by animos on 30 Oct 2014 12:31 Hi everyone. I am a newcomer into the forum and i'm not sure whether this message will reach to the right people who can address my problem. I have got a hand on the INIBAP Musa descriptor and have tried to score on the parameters of the characters given on it, BUT how do I, or where do i incorporate this data so as I can know which particular species i am studying based on the Musa descriptor. Can anyone please help me.
