MS banana shows worth

MS banana shows worth

By ZAC B. SARIAN

MANILA, Philippines -- The Mama Sita banana, an introduced cultivar from Thailand, is showing some of its fine qualities in field trials as well as in actual small plantings of people who have planted some of the first available planting materials.

The latest report from Dr. Benito S. Vergara of Los Banos is that the MS bananas in a field trial at UPLB have withstood the strong winds of Typhoon Bebeng that hit the country recently. The two photos below show the contrast between MS banana and the other cultivars in the field trial.

The MS bananas are proudly standing with their fruits unscathed, except for the tattered leaves. On the other hand, the second photo shows the other cultivars in the field trial practically all of them toppled by the fury of Bebeng.

The field trial is being conducted by Dr. Augusto Molina and Laverne Gueco. Earlier, it was also observed that the MS banana was one of the few varieties that were not infected by disease.

Some of the local planters who have planted a couple of years ago, or less, are reporting to us their very encouraging observations. Dr. Rene Sumaoang who has a farm in Sta. Ignacia and in Tarlac City reports that his MS bananas are fruiting now after just one year of planting the suckers. He has also planted about 50 tissue-cultured MS banana earlier this year which, he said, are growing very fast.

Another early grower of this imported cultivar is Mrs. Soledad Agbayani of Console Farm in San Miguel, Bulacan. She has been harvesting big bunches of her crop which, she says, are big and very sweet. They are also producing a lot of suckers.

The MS banana has a stout trunk which makes it very sturdy and can’t be easily toppled by strong wind. It is recommended that before a typhoon arrives, some of the leaves have to be pruned.

AANI Mango Festival – Watch for the Mango Festival on May 21-22 at the AANI Weekend Market at the St. Vincent Seminary on Tandang Sora, Quezon City. There will be ripe mangoes available at very affordable prices. From the Console Farm alone, there will be at least two tons available. There will also be other attractions. Planting materials not only of mangoes but also other exotic fruits like Vietnam pummelo, variegated Valencia orange, rambutan and others will be available from Teresa Orchard & Nursery.

Aside from plants, there will be side attractions that include displays of turkeys, free-range chickens, native pigs and others. Dr. Eduardo Paningbatan and his hanging vegetables will also be there.

Smut in sugarcane – We just got the most recent annual report of the Philippine Sugar Research Institute (Philsurin) from which we learn that sugarcane smut has become one of the most destructive diseases plaguing the sugar industry in almost all regions producing the crop.

The disease is caused by a fungus named Ustilago Scitaminea Sydow. It now occurs in all mill districts in

Bananas toppled by Bebeng — These are some of the banana cultivars in the field trial of 9 imported and 9 local banana cultivars at UPLB. Unlike the MS banana in upper photo, these were toppled by Typhoon Bebeng when it hit Los Banos recently. Photos courtesy of Dr. Benito S. Vergara. By the way, MS banana produces big fruit bunches. The fruits may be eaten fresh ripe, boiled, fried, and can also be made into banana chips.the Philippines and can infect 50 to 70 percent of a standing crop, and yield reductions of up to 71 percent have been documented for even high-performing varieties in the Visayas and Mindanao. In the past, losses have been so extensive that a number of commercially grown varieties had to be discarded, according to the annual report.

Sugarcane smut is characterized by the growth of unbranched gray to black whip-like structures from the top of infected stalks. These whips are made up of both host and fungus tissue, and may emerge at any time when the infected sugarcane is from two to seven months old. The disease is easily spread by wind, infected cuttings, through the soil, and may be borne by insects, animals, people, machines and other objects.