Browsing by Author "Amah, Delphine"

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    Application of Pollen Germination Media on Stigmas during Pollination Increases Seed Set in East African Highland Cooking Bananas (Musa spp.)
    (Agronomy, 2021) Waniale, Allan; Swennen, Rony; Settumba, B. Mukasa; Tugume, Arthur K.; Kubiriba, Jerome; Tushemereirwe, Wilberforce K.; Amah, Delphine; Tumuhimbise, Robooni
    Seed set in East African Highland Cooking bananas (EAHBs) is extremely low and therefore hampers breeding. Pollen–pistil interaction is a key contributing factor. We assessed the effect of pollen germination media (PGM) on seed set in EAHBs. Five EAHB cultivars were pollinated with pollen from the wild banana ‘Calcutta 4’. Glucose-based PGM sprayed on freshly emerged stigmas significantly increased seed set per 100 fruits per bunch. Increases were 73.5% in ‘Enzirabahima’, 39.9% in ‘Mshale’, and 302.4% in ‘Nshonowa’. However, PGM did not increase seed set in the female sterile ‘Mlelembo’ and ‘Nakitembe’. As larger bunches were more fertile, good field management practices are also recommended to get more seed to improve breeding efficiency.
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    Bananas and Plantains (Musa spp.)
    (Springer, Cham, 2017) Brown, Allan; Tumuhimbise, Robooni; Amah, Delphine; Uwimana, Brigitte; Nyine, Moses; Mduma, Hassan; Talengera, David; Karamura, Deborah; Kuriba, Jerome; Swennen, Rony
    With a production of 145 million metric tons worldwide (worth 26.5 billion Euro), banana (Musa spp.) is one of the world’s most important staple food crops and arguably the world’s most popular fruit in terms of international trade (FAO 2014). Banana and plantains (Musa spp.), collectively referred to here as bananas, are grown in more than 135 countries and found in most tropical and subtropical regions around the world. While industrialized nations view banana primarily as a dessert item, many regions of the developing world consider cooking bananas and plantains as essential staples that contribute significantly to the caloric intake of low-income subsistence farmers. Although sensitivity to photoperiod has been noted in certain cultivars (Fortescue et al. 2011), banana is an almost nonseasonal crop that reliably provides a carbohydrate source year-round which makes it vitally important to both nutrition and food security.
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    Use of timelapse photography to determine flower opening time and pattern in banana (Musa spp.) for efficient hand pollination
    (Scientific Reports, 2021) Waniale, Allan; Swennen, Rony; Mukasa, Settumba B.; Tugume, Arthur K.; Kubiriba, Jerome; Tushemereirwe, Wilberforce K.; Uwimana, Brigitte; Gram, Gil; Amah, Delphine; Tumuhimbise, Robooni
    Sterility and low seed set in bananas is the main challenge to their conventional genetic improvement. The first step to seed set in a banana breeding program depends on pollination at the right time to ensure effective fertilization. This study aimed at determining bract opening time (BOT) to enhance efficient pollination and seed set in bananas. A Nikon D810 digital camera was set-up to take pictures of growing banana inflorescences at five-minute intervals and time-lapse movies were developed at a speed of 30 frames per second to allow real-time monitoring of BOT. Genotypes studied included wild banana (1), Mchare (2), Matooke (4), Matooke hybrid (1), and plantain (1). Events of bract opening initiated by bract lift for female flowers (P < 0.01) started at 16:32 h and at 18:54 h for male flowers. Start of bract rolling was at 18:51 h among female flowers (P < 0.001) and 20:48 h for male flowers. Bracts ended rolling at 02:33 h and 01:16 h for female and flowers respectively (P < 0.05). Total time of bract opening (from lift to end of rolling) for female flowers was significantly longer than that of male flowers (P < 0.001). On average, the number of bracts subtending female flowers opening increased from one on the first day, to between one and four on the fourth day. The number regressed to one bract on day eight before start of opening of bracts subtending male flowers. There was a longer opening interval between bracts subtending female and male flowers constituting spatial and temporal separation. Bract rolling increased from partial to complete rolling from proximal to the distal end of the inflorescence among female flower. On the other hand, bracts subtending male flowers completely rolled. Differences in BOT of genotypes with the same reference time of assessment may be partly responsible for variable fertility. Hand pollination time between 07:00 and 10:00 h is slightly late thus an early feasible time should be tried.