Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Screening for Banana Resistance to Weevils

Banana weevils are a very important pest that contributes to the decline in production and disappearance of bananas in some regions of Uganda (Gold et al., 1993). This pest can cause yield loss ranging from 5% in the first cycle to 40% in the fourth ratoon cycle (Rukazambuga et al., 1998). However, a loss of up to 100% can also be obtained starting from the fourth ratoon cycle (Sengooba, 1986; Gold et al., 2004). The measures used to control banana weevil damage vary widely depending upon the type of banana production system practiced (Padmanaban and Sathiamoorthy, 2001). One of the control measures is the use of chemicals (Masanza, 2003), mainly in commercial production (Gold and Messiaen, 2000). Cultural control strategies are also being applied and they are of greater significance to resource-limited farmers cultivating bananas for subsistence production (Padmanaban and Sathiamoorthy, 2001). Biological control measures like the use of exotic natural enemies, endemic natural enemies, secondary host associations, and microbial control, for example, entomopathogens, endophytes, and entomo-phagous nematodes (Gold et al., 2001). Germplasm improvement to develop resistant cultivars is the most sustainable solution to control of banana weevils (Tinzaara et al., 2009). However, the genotypes used in the banana improvement for weevil resistance need to be evaluated for resistance against banana weevils. Banana being a long-cycle crop, field screening for weevil resistance takes a long time (Kiggundu et al., 2000). This document describes standard operating procedures (SOPs) for screening for banana resistance to weevils in a reliable, resource-saving manner.