Goldfinger banana
The Goldfinger banana (FHIA-01) is a banana cultivar developed in Honduras. The cultivar, developed at the Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research (FHIA) by a team of scientists led by Phillip Rowe and Franklin Rosales, has been bred to be pest-resistant (specifically against the black sigatoka) and crop-yielding. Taxonomy The FHIA-01 Goldfinger banana is a tetraploid (AAAB) hybrid of the cultivar Musa acuminata × balbisiana (AAB) 'Prata-anã' (a naturally occurring triploid clone from Brazil), and the cultivar SH-3142. SH-3142 was developed from a cross between SH-1734 and Musa acuminata (AA) 'Pisang jari buaya' from Papua New Guinea. SH-1734 in turn, was developed from Musa acuminata (AA) 'Lidi' (from Sumatra), Musa acuminata (AA) 'Sinwobogi' (from Papua New Guinea), and wild seeded Musa acuminata (from the Philippines). Its full designation is Musa acuminata × balbisiana (AAAB Group) 'FHIA-01 Goldfinger'. History The roots of the Goldfinger's development can be traced back to an initiative to develop new banana breeds by the United Fruit Company begun as early as 1959. This was later taken up by the Honduran Foundation for Agricultural Research, supported by organizations such as Canada's International Development Research Centre (IDRC). The initiative drew on the gene pool of more than 800 banana