Comparative Assessment of Tensile Strength and Microscopy Analysis of Abaca (Musa textilis Nee) Fibers from Bunchy Top Virus Resistant and Susceptible Varieties

Abstract

Abaca (Musa textilis Nee), an endemic plant in the Philippines, is one of the best sources of the strongest natural fibers. The production of the abaca fibers drops due to the infestation of bunchy top virus (BTV). Thus, the development of abaca variety without compromising its fiber quality becomes a mandate for plant breeders to boost the fiber industry in the country. In this study, a total of forty (40) abaca varieties composed of twenty resistant and twenty susceptible hybrids/varieties were selected using molecular markers for ABTV esistance and were evaluated for their tensile strength. Fiber durability was observed on susceptible varieties compared with resistant varieties. After ranking the means of the tensile strength, eight (8) varieties, namely BC2-7, BC2-2,PSU X, PSU XX, Abuab Rapo, Abuab TC, Minononga, and Parang, were selected consisting of two strongest and two weakest tensile strengths from the two sample groups. The samples were subjected to microscopy analysis to evaluate their fiber structure. It was observed that the resistant varieties were more porous and had less mean pore area than the susceptible varieties. The decrease in the mean pore area of the resistant varieties, which causes the reduced infection and proliferation of the BTV, can be due to a lesser surface area of contact. Moreover, the porosity and tensile strength had a negative relationship in the correlation analysis implying that the increase in the tensile strength of abaca can be attributed to the lower percent porosity of the fiber of the variety.