Screening of in vitro derived mutants of banana against nematodes

Abstract

Investigations were carried out to screen the in vitro derived mutants of banana cv. Robusta (Caveidish- AAA) and Rasthali (Silk- AAB) by using certain bio-chemical parameters including some enzyme activities. The mutants tested were Ro Im V₄ 6-1-1, Ro Im V4 6-1-2, Ro Im V₄ 6-2-1, Si Im V₄ 10-5-3, Si Im V₄ 4 6-2-5 along with respective susceptible checks (Robusta and Rasthali), tolerant check (Anaikomban- AA) and resistant check (Pisang Lilin- AA). Various biochemical assays used were total phenol, tannin content, lignin content, peroxidase, polyphenol oxidase, phenyl alanine ammonia lyase and ascorbic acid oxidase. The results revealed that the mutants namely Ro Im V₄ 6-1-1 and Si Im V₄ 10-5-3 were found to be resistant while the mutant Ro Im V₄ 6-2-1 was moderately resistant. The rest of the mutants namely Ro Im V₄ 6-1-2 and Si Im V4 6-2-5 were found to be susceptible to nematodes. The resistant and moderately resistant mutants of banana could be further used in breeding programmes as well as being recognized as potential cultivars of commerce.

Key words: Banana, nematode, resistance, biochemical parameters, enzymes, screening.