Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Screening Banana resistance against Fusarium Wilt (Foc Race 1)

Banana (Musa spp.) is an important staple and source of income for many people in developing countries. Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc) race 1, is a major disease, causing yield losses of up to 100% (Arinaitwe et al., 2019). Foc. once introduced into farmer's fields, very little can be done to eradicate the pathogen and there are no effective management strategies. It is widely reported that the breeding and selection for disease tolerance or resistance is the most effective and sustainable management option available for smallholder farmers (Buddenhagen, 2009). Therefore, phenotyping of quantitative disease resistance (QDR) through exposure of plants to pathogens and visual observation of disease symptoms is an important stage in many plant-breeding programmes (Skelsey and Newton, 2014).