Drought has emerged as one of the major constraints in banana production. Its effects are pronounced substantially in the tropics and sub-tropics of the world due to climate change. Bananas are quite sensitive to drought; however, genotypes with “B” genome are more tolerant to abiotic stresses than those solely based on “A” genome. In particular, bananas with “ABB” genomes are more tolerant to drought and other abiotic stresses than other genotypes. A good phenotyping plan is a prerequisite for any improvement program for targeted traits. In the present article, known drought tolerant traits of other crop plants are validated in bananas with different genomic backgrounds and presented. Since, banana is recalcitrant to breeding, strategies for making hybrids between different genomic backgrounds are also discussed. Stomatal conductance, cell membrane stability (CMS), leaf emergence rate, rate of leaf senescence, RWC, and bunch yield under soil moisture deficit stress are some of the traits associated with drought tolerance. Among these stress bunch yield under drought should be given top priority for phenotyping. In the light of recently released Musa genome draft sequence, the molecular breeders may have interest in developing molecular markers for drought resistance.

Endogenous hormone secretion proteins along with stress and defense proteins play predominant role in banana embryogenesis. This study reveals the underlying molecular mechanism during transition from vegetative to embryogenic state. Banana (Musa spp.) is well known globally as a food fruit crop for millions. The requirement of quality planting material of banana is enormous. Although mass multiplication through tissue culture is in vogue, high-throughput techniques like somatic embryogenesis (SE) as a mass multiplication tool needs to be improved. Apart from clonal propagation, SE has extensive applications in genetic improvement and mutation. SE in banana is completely genome-dependent and most of the commercial cultivars exhibit recalcitrance. Thus, understanding the molecular basis of embryogenesis in Musa will help to develop strategies for mass production of quality planting material. In this study, differentially expressed proteins between embryogenic calli (EC) and non-embryogenic calli (NEC) with respect to the explant, immature male flower buds (IMFB), of cv. Grand Naine (AAA) were determined using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE). The 2DE results were validated through qRT-PCR. In total, 65 proteins were identified: 42 were highly expressed and 23 were less expressed in EC compared to NEC and IMFB. qRT-PCR analysis of five candidate proteins, upregulated in EC, were well correlated with expression at transcript level. Further analysis of proteins showed that embryogenesis in banana is associated with the control of oxidative stress. The regulation of ROS scavenging system and protection of protein structure occurred in the presence of heat shock proteins. Alongside, high accumulation of stress-related cationic peroxidase and plant growth hormone-related proteins like indole-3-pyruvate monooxygenase and adenylate isopentenyltransferase in EC revealed the association with the induction of SE.

Banana with good amount of resistant starch (RS) offers greater benefit to human health. Studying the dehydration mechanism of the raw banana slice is very important for subsequent processes and quality of the product. Thus the study was aimed to investigate the influence of varying temperatures viz., 45, 55, and 65°C in a convective dryer on thin layer drying kinetics and to infer their influence on the rheological properties coupled thermal and sensory quality. Time for reducing the moisture content from the initial 71.2 ± 0.2% to a final 4.66–6.13% was found to be 270, 210, and 150 min for the drying temperatures 45, 55, and 65°C, respectively. Moisture ratio decreased exponentially with an increase in drying time. Page and logarithmic models obtained highest r2, lowest chi‐square values and least root mean square error and better reflected drying mechanism of banana slices. Improved rehydration ratio (1:2.4) and RS content (36.26%) was observed with the drying temperature of 55°C. Higher water absorption capacity (WAC) was observed in 55°C (4.86%). Swelling power of the flour was maintained to 4–6% till 70°C but it reached to 22% with the increase in temperature to 90°C. Thermal properties and microstructure of flour differed significantly with the temperatures. The lower value for whiteness index with low temperature drying reflected the better drying than at higher temperatures. Dehydration at 55°C was superior with nutrients like ascorbic acid. The banana flour had the rod shaped starch granules and traces of protein in its surface as evidenced. Irregular spherical shape, surface dents, and shrinkages were observed in powders dehydrated with high temperature (>65°C). Equilbrium relative humidity (ERH) studies revealed that 13.27 and 15.23% were the danger and critical point, respectively, for the banana flour. Descriptive sensory scores of the banana flour endorsed that dehydration at 65°C was found superior to other temperatures. Practical applications Banana flour offers greater potential to increase the resistant starch (RS) content in the food products besides adding minerals and basic nutrients. Drying process should retain the characteristics of fresh fruits by minimizing the cellular and structural changes during the drying. Mathematical modeling offers scope to set the variables which are influencing the drying of banana slices. The dried banana flour could be a replacement or supplement for various formulations. With the better physical properties like swelling capacity and enthalpy along with high RS, banana flour allow the formation of low bulk, high‐fiber products like pasta, noodles, and healthy functional foods with improved sensory descriptors. Banana flour‐based enterprises could be started in places where banana is cultivated and large sum of produced bananas are getting wasted due to poor postharvest management.

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The present study was aimed to screen the phytochemicals and quantification of alkaloids, phenolic compounds and flavonoids and to evaluate the nematicidal activity of ethanolic leaf extracts of Datura metel, Datura innoxia and Brugmansia suaveolens against Meloidogyne incognita. Phytochemical screening of leaf extracts of D. metel, D. innoxia and B. suaveolens was carried out by qualitative analysis and the results revealed that the presence of bioactive compounds like alkaloids, steroids, flavonoids, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, tannins, anthroquinone glycosides,