Effects of Chamber Types and Cultivar on the Performance of Plantain Macropropagation Technology (Musa paradisiaca L.)

Abstract

Plantain production is constrained by the limited availability of healthy, high-quality planting materials, making efficient and affordable propagation techniques important for sustainable production. Macropropagation provides a low-cost alternative to conventional sucker propagation and tissue culture; however, its performance may be influenced by the type of propagation chamber and cultivar. This study evaluated the effects of three macropropagation chamber types, namely wooden/nylon, bamboo/nylon and concrete chambers, and four plantain cultivars, namely Agbagba, Curare Enano, Obino Lewai and Orishele, on plantlet production and early plantlet development. The experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria, using a 3 × 4 factorial arrangement in a split-plot design with three replications. Data were collected on total number of plantlets produced, number of plantlets picked, survival rate and number of internodes. Chamber type significantly influenced plantlet production, plantlet pick, survival rate and number of internodes. The bamboo/nylon chamber recorded the highest mean plantlet production (7.68) and plantlet pick (2.62), followed by the wooden/nylon chamber (7.34 and 2.27), while the concrete chamber recorded the lowest values (5.10 and 1.49), respectively. The wooden/nylon chamber recorded the highest survival rate (82.39%), although this was statistically comparable with the bamboo/nylon chamber (79.62%), whereas the concrete chamber had the lowest survival rate (63.32%). Bamboo/nylon also recorded the highest number of internodes (2.33), followed by the wooden/nylon chamber (2.16), while concrete recorded the lowest (1.40). Cultivar did not significantly affect total plantlet production, survival rate or number of internodes, although Curare Enano recorded the highest numerical plantlet production (7.10), survival rate (78.40%) and internode number (2.03). Cultivar significantly affected plantlet pick, with Curare Enano recording the highest value (2.25) and Obino Lewai the lowest (1.94). The chamber × cultivar interaction was significant for plantlet production, with Obino Lewai producing the highest number of plantlets (8.63) under the bamboo/nylon chamber. The findings indicate that bamboo/nylon and wooden/nylon chambers provide more favourable conditions for low-cost plantain macropropagation than concrete chambers under the conditions of this study. Bamboo/nylon was particularly effective for plantlet production and internode development, whereas wooden/nylon chambers promoted superior plantlet survival. These chamber types may therefore be useful as affordable propagation structures for increasing the availability of clean, high-quality plantain planting materials.