Field Evaluation of Six Plantain Cultivars for Response to Pseudocercospora fijiensis Incidence and Severity and their Yield, Bas-Fleuve Region, Democratic Republic of Congo

The objective of this study was to evaluate 6 plantain cultivars for response to P. fijiensis, the causal agent of black sigatoka disease (BSD) in Bas-fleuve agroecological conditions, Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of Congo. The study was conducted between October 2022 to October 2023 using a randomized complete blocks design with seven treatments replicated three times. The plantain cultivars used as plant material were: TSELUKA, NYAMA SOLO, ISANZI, NABIBUMBU, MUSHIBA, T6 and SUD KIVU. The cultivar TSELUKA was used as a control. Data collected concerned the height and circumference of the pseudostem, BSD incidence and severity, weight of bunch and yield estimated. All data collected were subjected to analysis of variance at a 5% threshold. The results shown pathological and yield data differ significantly among cultivars. All plantain cultivars expressed BSD symptoms. The cultivar MUSHIBA presented the highest BSD incidence (10.6%), while the cultivar NYAMA SOLO showed the lowest BSD incidence (5.9%). The highest BSD severity (score 4.5) was recorded on cultivar SUD KIVU, while the lowest BSD severity (score 3.0) was noticed on cultivar NYAMA SOLO. The cultivar NYAMA SOLO presented the highest weight of plantain bunch per plant, and plantain yield (6.0kg and 9.6 Mg per hectare, respectively), while the cultivar MUSHIBA presented the lowest weight of plantain bunch per plant and plantain yield (4.0kg and 6.4 Mg per hectare, respectively). In conclusion, the BSD symptoms were observed on all plantain cultivars with incidence and severity varying from one cultivar to another. The cultivar ISANZI showed better growth, while NYAMA SOLO showed lowest BSD pression, highest banana weight and yield.