Promising High-Yielding Tetraploid Plantain-Bred Hybrids in West Africa

Figure 1

The making of “PITA 3”—a tetraploid (4x) primary hybrid bred by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA, Nigeria) in partnerships with Council for Scientific and Industrial Research/Ministry of Food and Agriculture/University of Ghana (Ghana), Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (Côte d’Ivoire), Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (Burkina Faso), and Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Benin (Benin)—as a new plantain cultivar for West Africa. Source for crossing data: [18, 19, 22]. November 1989: crossing; 1990–1991: EET = early evaluation trial using nonreplicated plots of 3 or 4 plants; 1992–1993: PYT = preliminary yield trial with 2 replications of 4 or 5 plants; 1993–1995: MET = multilocational environmental trial with 2 replications of 5 plants across at least 2 sites and over 2 crop cycles; 1994 onwards: AMYT = advanced Musa yield trials as per MET but also testing crop husbandry practices; 2007 onwards: OFT = on farm testing of hybrid(s) along with crop husbandry prior cultivar release in Côte d’Ivoire (2017).