WHAT IS BNBP?
The Banana Nematodes Baselines Project (BNBP) is working to identify and track specific Plant Parasitic Nematode species that invade and destroy banana crops across East Africa. If left unchecked, these nematodes threaten the food security of over 30% of the population in Tanzania who rely on banana for a source of nutrition. BNBP’s research aims to generate basic information on the spread of these nematodes and develop new diagnostic tools to help increase banana productivity.
WHAT ARE ITS AIMS?
The project focuses on the following objectives:
- To establish the geographic distribution of the key parasitic nematodes of banana in major banana-growing areas
- To characterise the phenotypic and genetic diversity of burrowing and lesion nematodes affecting banana
- To identify potential microRNAs for development of nematode diagnostic tools
WHO IS DELIVERING BNBP?
- Kibaha Sugarcane Research Institute (KSRI)
- North Carolina State University
- Tanzania Agricultural Research Institute (TARI-Mikocheni)