Table 3 Farmers' most and least preferred cultivars according to their preference score (PS) rank, as well as their characteristics for selection across Tanzania and Uganda
From: Farmers' preferences for East African highland cooking banana 'Matooke' hybrids and local cultivars
Most-preferred cultivars | Least-preferred cultivars | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cultivars | PS | Characteristics | Cultivars | PS | Characteristics |
‘Enyoya’, ‘Nshakala’, ‘Mbwazirume’, ‘Nakitembe’, ‘Kisansa’ | 1 | • Large bunch •Bunch marketability • Large fruit • Vigorous stem • Appealing plant appearance • Tolerant to drought • Less affected by diseases • High cultural value and respect, for wedding ceremonies • Can withstand wind • Leaves and stem for animal feed • Has fibers that can be used as rope to tie grass, for thatching, making poaches, hut caps | NARITA 17 | 1 | • Small fruit • Short fruit • Unappealing bunch appearance • Unappealing plant appearance • Inability to retain leaves during the dry season • Unhealthy suckers • Resembles a juice banana cultivar |
NARITA 2 and NARITA 23 | 2 | • Large bunch • Bunch marketability • Compact bunch • Vigorous stem • Appealing plant appearance • Tolerant to drought • Not affected by diseases • Retain many leaves • High sucker ability • Resembles local cultivar ‘Bogoya’ | NARITA 19 and NARITA 20 | 2 | • Small bunch • Small fruit • Not suitable for business • Unhealthy and thin pseudostem • Unappealing plant appearance • Unable to withstand drought, leaves are drying • Difficult to peel |
NARITA 4 and NARITA 12 | 3 | • Large bunch • Bunch marketability • Large fruit • Many fruit • Not affected by diseases • Tolerant to drought • Many healthy suckers • Resembles local cultivars ‘Enjagata’ and ‘Ndizi Bukoba’ • Medium plant stature | NARITA 10 | 3 | • Small bunch • Not suitable for business • Small compact fruit despite maturation • Fruits are short • Weak stem • Unappealing plant appearance • Not tolerant to drought • Resembles a juice cultivar due to very dark pseudostem |