ABSTRACT
The adoption of new banana cultivars by large-scale producers is a relatively straightforward process when the commercial incentives for adoption are high or when there are no other alternatives. Productivity gains achievable from improved agricultural technologies have not been fully exploited by farmers in developing countries. Farmers’ awareness and knowledge of disease-resistant hybrids through participation in on farm trials and/or field days and demonstration plots are important factors in adoption. Managing diversity in farmers’ fields requires a good understanding of the pattern of variation among popular cultivars, particularly in juvenile plants. Export-oriented production is carried out by a small number of entrepreneurs operating largescale farms with high-input technology and in close partnership with transnational trade companies. During the past few decades of plantain and banana research, progress has been made in the area of host-plant resistance to black Sigatoka, through the development of improved hybrids and populations with Sigatoka resistance.
