Flhorban 920
Flhorban 920 (FB920) is a synthetic banana hybrid (Musa spp. AAA group) developed as a cultivar of banana naturally resistant to Black and Yellow Sigatoka fungi (Mycosphaerella fijiensis and Mycosphaerella musicola respectively) in an attempt to replace the highly susceptible Cavendish banana. Additionally, FB920 has been shown to improve root resistance to Burrowing nematodes (Radopholus similis). History The FB920 cultivar was developed by the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement under the code MU-920. As a means of ensuring the cultivar's performance it has been field tested in both Martinique and Mexico. Currently, the cultivar is available through the International Transit Centre under the accession code ITC1585. Description Similar to other Musa cultivars, FB920 is an herbaceous, polyploid monocot that produces fruits after maturation. However, in experimental field trials, the FB920 cultivar has been found to demonstrate a number of distinctive characteristics. FB920 showed a very high level of productivity in the first production cycle sporting >90% successful yields, though it does show a greater propensity to topple during the second production cycle, resulting in only 17% second cycle harvesting; the lowest yields being 11% and the highest 34%. The general size of FB920 banana fruit has been noted to be smaller than that of highly commercialized banana cultivars. There is evidence which shows that the bunch weight of the FB920 cultivar is significantly lower in the first production cycle than that of most of the other test material at ~11.4 kg per bunch 6.07 kg (37.09%) lighter than the average (17.47 kg). There is data to suggest that FB920 recuperates much of these losses in the second production cycle, though these data are based on a highly non-representative sample. The days between planting and flowering for the FB920 was found to be the lowest of all the tested cultivars in the first production cycle at ~254 days; 18 days (9.3%) earlier than the next best performing subject and 30 days (10.75%) earlier than the average. Moreover, the days between planting and first harvest were also found to be the lowest for all tested material in the first production cycle, though by a very small margin, at ~332 days. These results were sustained in the second production cycle, as the days between planting and flowering and between planting and harvest were found to be ~475 days and ~592 days respectively; 75 (13.6%) and 17 (2.4%) days fewer than the next best performing germplasm and 101.73 (17.64%) and 37.78 (6%) fewer than the respective averages. The plant height of FB920 was found to be greater than that of each of the other test germplasm, while the circumference was found to be near the smallest in the first production cycle, and the smallest in the second production cycle. In the first production cycle, the FB920 plant height was observed to be ~213.3 cm, 40.6 cm (23.51%) higher than the next tallest cultivar and 54.1 cm (39.39%) higher than the average. In the second production cycle, the observed height