Breeding new banana varieties in response to fungal diseases

Science at work 29 September 2025
CIRAD is leading the bana+ multi-partner project under the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty's PARSADA* action plan. The project covers the period 2025 to 2029, and aims to develop new banana varieties resistant to fungal diseases such as black Sigatoka, also known as black leaf streak, to reduce pesticide use in the French West Indies and other overseas regions. It relies on combining two approaches, to offer three possible ways of creating new varieties.
Banana varieties resistant to pathogens that satisfy consumer requirements © G. Brehinier, CIRAD

There will soon be banana varieties resistant to pathogens that satisfy consumer requirements © G. Brehinier, CIRAD

The banana sector in the French West Indies and other overseas regions, which faces a range of major challenges relating to reduced pesticide use, competitiveness, etc, is working to find innovative solutions for sustainable agroecological transition. Production is reliant on the Cavendish variety, which is very sensitive to emerging fungal diseases, primarily black Sigatoka, and is under threat. 

Diversifying banana varieties in response to reduced pesticide use and to the challenges facing the value chain 

It is increasingly difficult to control black Sigatoka, as a result of changing fungicide use regulations, and there is no treatment for TR4 fusarium wilt, a new threat to the sector. Growing new varieties resistant to these diseases looks like the most promising way of preserving banana growing in the French overseas regions.
Jean Carlier
Project coordinator, CIRAD, UMR PHIM

The challenge set for a new partnership coordinated by CIRAD under the Ecophyto-PARSADA plan led by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty aimed at rolling out alternatives following the reduction in pesticide use is to build an approach centred on creating new banana varieties, to satisfy producer requirements. 

Concrete solutions for producers and other stakeholders in the sector are expected between now and 2029:

  • new varieties resistant to black Sigatoka, suitable for the value chain; 
  • diversity in terms of banana growing and on markets;
  • an operational platform to anticipate future issues (TR4 fusarium wilt, climate change).

A novel, daring approach

Several options are under study as part of the PARSADA programme. The bana+ partnership (CIRAD, Vitropic, INRAE, IT2) is marked out by its unique approach to controlling black Sigatoka. The project relies on combining two approaches, to offer three possible ways of creating new varieties: conventional breeding by crossing (creating new hybrids), genome editing (making the Cavendish variety more resistant) and a combination of the two (improving the quality of existing hybrids if necessary). The emphasis will be on pathogen resistance and quality.

The project primarily rests on a varietal creation and breeding platform in Guadeloupe and on infrastructures in Montpellier, which will include advanced phenotyping, genomics and genome editing tools.

The three methods used by bana+

The three methods used by bana+

The bana+ project's strengths

  • the partnership's unprecedented capacity to build an integrated approach;
  • a combination of the advantages of two methods;
  • pooling unique skills and know-how: knowledge of banana biology, genetics and agronomy (CIRAD, Vitropic and IT2); transfer of knowledge and breeding methods developed for other plants (INRAE).

*PARSADA: Plan d’action stratégique pour l’anticipation du potentiel retrait européen des substances actives et le développement de techniques alternatives pour la protection des cultures (Strategic action plan to anticipate the potential EU ban on active ingredients and develop alternative crop protection techniques).

See also