Chanvre de Manille

Given the major application of Abacá as a source of fibre, it is suspected that wild plants are sometimes collected for this purpose, although Spencer (1953) observes that the fibrous content of wild plants is very low in comparison with domestic plants, and that fibre is rarely gathered from the wild. In the Philippines, forest cover fell from 70% to 20% over the course of the 20th century, driven by extensive logging activities, fuelwood gathering and charcoal making, shifting cultivation and permanent agriculture (Lasco et al. 2001). Although the species is observed to grow in forested areas, the specific impact of deforestation on members of the Musa genus is somewhat difficult to quantify: while clear-felling or land conversion is likely to be detrimental to the species, wild bananas spring up in transient, often man-made, habitats and thus may benefit from human disturbance to some extent (Simmonds 1962). Cultivated plants are susceptible to a wide range of diseases and pests, particularly abaca bunch top virus, abaca mosaic virus, Fusarium wilt and the corm weevil (Vaughan 2011); however, the impact of these upon wild plants is not clear. Limited information is available with respect to the contemporary wild distribution and habitat requirements of this species. Further research into these areas, together with assessment of the threats in action, is recommended.

The genus Musa is listed in Annex I of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) which aims to guarantee sustainable agriculture and food security through the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well as ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use (FAO 2009). In the Philippines, the National Abaca Research Center at Leyte State University, holds the world’s largest collection of M. textilis germplasm, with more than 600 accessions of both cultivated and wild types. Though the species is a genetic contributor in some edible seedless hybrid banana varieties, it has not been used in any breeding programs for edible bananas (Vaughan 2011). There are four wild M. textilis germplasm accessions of wild origin held by the Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC) in Belgium, three by the Indonesian Centre for Horticultural Research and Development (ICHORD) in Indonesia, three by the Centre africain de recherche sur bananes et plantains (CARBAP) in Cameroon, and one by each of AGROSAVIA in Colombia, the Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) in Guadeloupe, the Institute of Fruit Tree Research, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IFTR/GDAAS) in China, the Corporación Bananera Nacional S.A. (CORBANA) in Costa Rica, the National Agricultural Research Organization (NARO) in Uganda, and the Institute of Plant Breeding - University of the Philippines Los Baños (IPB-UPLB Pili Drive 2) in the Philippines (Ruas et al. 2017, Genesys Global Portal on Plant Genetic Resources 2020). It is not clear whether these accessions were all collected within the native range for the species. At least 35 botanical gardens are listed as sites of ex situ conservation for this species (BGCI 2020). Most collections of this species have been made from protected areas, particularly those affiliated to large volcanoes, such as the Bulasan Volcano and Mayon Volcano Natural Parks, so passive conservation is presumed in these localities (UNEP-WCMC and IUCN 2020); it is unclear whether active management is practised in any of these areas.