Navigating Fusarium wilt of bananas: a ready-to-use subset of resistant Musa genotypes

Abstract

Fusarium wilt Tropical Race 4 (TR4) poses one of the greatest threats to global banana production, with major implications for food security and sustainable agriculture. Harnessing natural genetic diversity offers a primary line of defense, but progress is hindered by limited access to resistant or tolerant cultivars and the lack of harmonized resources. In this study, we identified and curated a priority subset of 37 TR4-resistant banana accessions from the International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC). These accessions were enriched with agronomic and genetic information and prioritized through a conservation and distribution framework at ITC to ensure their availability. This resource provides certified, diverse and well-documented planting material and ensures availability for breeders, researchers, and farmers. By strengthening global seed systems and linking to community-level multiplication, it can enable the distribution of TR4-resilient bananas in diverse agroecological contexts. This curated collection represents a critical step toward sustainable solutions for managing TR4 worldwide.