For the first time in Cuba, the botanical seed of the malanga (Xanthosoma spp.) has been obtained. This result from the Tropical Root Vegetable Research Institute (INIVIT) in Villa Clara places the country at the top of this type of research.
According to the young agricultural engineer Alay Jiménez, author of the research, who spoke to the Ministry of Agriculture's website, the achievement is of transcendental significance for the genetic improvement of the taro Xanthosoma spp. for several reasons. Among these, he noted that it "resolves the historical and fundamental problem of erratic flowering in the taro Xanthosoma spp., which was the greatest impediment to applying classical hybridization methods."
He said that "the malanga Xanthosoma spp. is polygenic, which allows for the generation of new genetic variability through the recombination of genes from different parents. This is radically superior to the clonal selection method, which only exploits pre-existing variation and is subject to reversion."
"There are few countries with a program as strong as INIVIT's, which already has two families: one with 140 hybrids and the other with 35," he emphasized.
This achievement was announced to the scientific community on June 2, 2025, through the article "Novel Insights into Botanical Seed Production of Xanthosoma spp. in Cuba," published in the high-impact international journal Agronomy.
«Until 2023, the genetic improvement of the malanga Xanthosoma spp. used the selection improvement method, which consists of identifying, in a population of individuals, the plants with superior phenotypic characteristics.
"If the selection was not carried out on a genetically mutated plant, the selected genotypes would no longer express superiority over time. Furthermore, despite using the classic hybridization method, it was unsuccessful for more than half a century, mainly due to the erratic flowering of this species under our conditions," the researcher stated.
He asserted that the initial impact and verification of the experiment were carried out within INIVIT's Genetic Improvement Program (PMG). "It was proven in its experimental fields and with the creation of the first germplasm bank of Xanthosoma malanga hybrids," he added.
The young agricultural engineer Alay Jiménez recognizes Alfredo Morales Rodríguez's guidance and vast knowledge of plant breeding in the results of his work, and says that this was always a long-awaited achievement of the late researcher Sergio Rodríguez Morales, who directed INIVIT for years. "He entrusted me with the responsibility of the PMG for the malanga Xanthosoma spp. and placed complete trust in the skills I have acquired since I began working at this Institute," he added.
With information from Granma
