MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
(SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)
(a) Yes, Madam. National Banana Festival - 2018 was organized by the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action [CISSA], Kerala in partnership with Kalliyoor Gram Panchayat and a host of National and State organizations from 17-21 February 2018 at Kalliyoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. In this festival, a largescale Exhibition was arranged to showcase the diversity of banana in India. Large numbers of producers, farmers, business men, academicians and researchers from the various parts of the country participated, and exhibition highlighted the multifarious uses of this unique fruit and other plant parts of banana.
ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana (ICAR-NRCB), Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) was the foremost active Knowledge partner in the festival. In this festival, three days [17-19 February 2018] National Seminar on Banana was organized, in which five lead presentations were given by ICAR-NRCB Scientists. ICAR-NRCB Scientists also participated in the Farmers interaction meeting on 20th February 2018. A five-day exhibition was also organized in connection with the festival, in which ICAR-NRCB and ICAR-CTCRI participated.
ICAR-NRCB displayed 50 varieties of banana and 20 value added commercialized banana products. More than 1.5 lakh visitors including banana farmers, entrepreneurs, stakeholders, students and other public visited the festival. Mass media partners like Door Darshan TV, local TVs, Newspapers like The Hindu, The New Indian Express, Malayala Manorama, Mathrubhoomi, etc. covered the festival in their dailies.
(b) Yes, Madam. There are four viral diseases namely banana bunchy top, infectious chlorosis (or mosaic), banana bract mosaic (BBTB) and banana streak recorded to affect banana and plantains in India.
(c) Banana bunchy top causes 100 % loss, whereas, other viral diseases cause the loss in a range of 40-100% depending on climate and growth stage of the crop. The loss recorded due to BBTV and BBTV in Hill banana is a major problem in Tamil Nadu which damages / kills almost 30 per cent of the plants every year.
(d) Yes, Madam. Surveys were undertaken at regular intervals by ICAR-NRCB and in different centres under ICAR-All India coordinated Research Project on Fruits working in various parts of the country.
(e) The survey has revealed presence of all four viral diseases in banana. Last year, the viral disease incidences were recorded in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Assam, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar. Bunchy top disease recorded was in the range 1-12%. Upto 6% incidence of CMV was recorded. Bract mosaic (upto 12%) and Banana streak (upto 8%) disease was recorded only in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
(f) Viral diseases are managed by supplying virus free quality plants through a system called National Certification system for tissue culture raised plants (NCS-TCP) being implemented by DBT, GoI. Under this system, ICAR-NRC Banana, Trichy has tested tissue culture banana and certified the plants free of viruses. A total of 225 million tissue culture banana plants were certified under this NCS-TCP in the last three years. The centre has developed an on-site / in field detection kit for CMV and BBrMV.
In case of wilt disease of banana sensitisation and awareness campaign have been conducted in Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat. Management package has been distributed to 80 research centres working across the country. Many KVKs are also working towards the disease management in banana.
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