
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Smith, MK 
A1  - Drew, RA 
T1  - Growth and yield characteristics of dwarf off-types recovered from tissue-cultured bananas
JF  - Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
JO  - Aust. J. Exp. Agric.
Y1  - 1990
VL  - 30
IS  - 4
SP  - 575
EP  - 578
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/EA9900575 
N2  - Dwarf off-types recovered from a tissue cultured line of banana cultivar New Guinea Cavendish (Mum sp., AAA Group, Cavendish subgroup) were used to quantify some of the changes associated with dwarfism, the most common off-type associated with tissue-cultured Cavendish bananas, and to determine the relative stability of the trait. The off-types were significantly (P<0.01) shorter than true-to-type plants and retained their dwarf stature over 5 generations. The dwarfs were characterised by small fruit with closer packing of the hands on the bunch. Choking, when the bunch fails to emerge fully from the plant, was a characteristic of the dwarfs but not observed in true-to-type plants. Dwarfism appears to be a relatively stable genetic trait and not a transient (epigenetic) change produced in vitro. By contrast, a thin-leafed off-type reverted to normal morphological characteristics 3-4 months after field establishment. 
ER  -

