The development of local banana cultivars to support national food security

• Main Authors: Sutanto, A., Sukartini, Hermanto, C., Syah, M. J. A.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bananas; Cultivars; Food security; Planting
• ISSN: 0094-243X; 1551-7616
• DOI: 10.1063/5.0183900

As a country with a high diversity of bananas, various banana cultivars and even the wild Musa species can be found in Indonesia. Based on the evidence of previous discoveries, it is estimated that the sources of origin for the diversity of bananas came from Indonesia because the natural hybridization between Musa species occurred thousands of years ago in the territory of Indonesia. However, until now, only a few commercial banana cultivars are on the market compared to the diversity of Indonesian banana cultivars. Many local banana cultivars have the potential to be developed both for fresh consumption and for the processed food industries. The limited distribution area of local banana cultivars is caused by the lack of knowledge of local cultivars and the lack of promotion and support from national development programs. Several steps can be carried out by exploring or collecting local cultivars, followed by evaluating the superior characteristics of the local cultivars. Several selected cultivars were introduced to the farmers through an on-farm conservation program, that is, planting several local cultivars onto farmers’ lands and allowing farmers to choose the desired cultivar based on the desired characteristics. Furthermore, the selected cultivar is registered as a new banana cultivar to be developed nationally. Support for mass planting materials propagation is required after a local cultivar is established as a new cultivar. Equally important is to include local banana cultivars as components in the development programs to support national food security.