Present status of banana research in Malaysia

Banana research and development activities in Malaysia began in the early 1970's when the Department of Agriculture and later MARDI, embarked on the germplasm collection of bananas in the country. Between the 1970's to late 1980's, banana research in the country was carried out mainly by MARDI -the main focus being germplasm collection, clonal evaluation and selection, agronomy, post-harvest and product development. However from the late 1980's onwards, other research Institutions, Universities and the private sectors showed interest in the crop and active research programmes emerged, focussing on different areas which are closely related to their fields of interest, availability of facilities and/or expertise. New emerging and exciting areas in banana research are the use of biotechnological techniques to address the main problems which are limiting the banana a industry namely pests and diseases, low yield and vigour and lateness in bearing. The Malaysian Institute of Nuclear Technology (MINT) carries mainly irradiation-related research and also the use of biotechnological techniques. The Universities (University Malaya, Universiti Putra Malaysia) carry out basic research in physiology, agronomy and also areas in biotechnology, post-harvest and product development. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has done substantial work on banana diseases and their control, in collaboration with the private sector. Among the strengths of the private sectors are their large land banks and work-force. Production of quality planting materials and large-scale banana cultivation for both, the domestic and export markets have been their main contribution to the industry. Other achievements from the pool of banana researchers include the identification of superior accessions of Pisang Mas, Pisang Berangan, Pisang Rastali, the Cavendish type 'Novaria' (in collaboration with IAEA) and the processing types of MB I, MB2 (in collaboration with FHIA-INIBAP) for their high yield, quality and disease tolerance; the tissue culture technique for banana propagation; package technology for the post-harvest handling of the local cultivars for export and the development of diverse banana products.Beside the active involvement of the local players in banana research and development, Malaysia has also established good networking and working partnership with many outstanding international agencies and individuals in the field of banana research these include INIBAP (France), IAEA (Austria), FHIA (Honduras), Univ, of Leuven (Belgium), QPDI (Australia), TBRI (Taiwan), IITA (Africa) etc.