ACCEPTANCE OF BANANA CULTIVARS RESISTANT TO BLACK LEAF STREAK BY CONSUMERS OF THE BRAZILIAN NORTHEAST REGION

Black leaf streak (BLS) is a devastating disease for many traditional banana cultivars. In Brazil, resistant cultivars are being studied but consumers’ preference needs to be taken into account for adoption to be successful. In this work, the acceptability of six BLS-resistant hybrids, ‘Vitoria’, ‘Maravilha’, ‘PA 4244’, ‘FHIA-18’, ‘Tropical’ (all AAAB group) and ‘Bucanero’ (AAAA), was assessed in the Brazilian Northeast region and compared to BLS-susceptible commercial cultivars from the AAB group (‘Prata An㒠and ‘Maçã’). A hedonic scale was applied to external appearance of hands (global appearance, size, color), overall acceptance of fruits and acceptance per attribute (flavor and texture). Also, purchase intent was annotated. Data were submitted to ANOVA and Preference Mapping. ‘PA 4244’ presented high acceptance, both for external appearance and palatability. Flavor and texture of ‘Maravilha’, ‘Vitoria’ and ‘FHIA-18’ pleased consumers, but their appearance could be still improved. ‘Bucanero’ has low chances of adoption based on the opinion of consumers from the Brazilian northeastern region.