No rest in war on pest
New weapons swing into action to fight against threat of Panama disease
HI-TECH detection technology and disinfectants are some of the new weapons wielded in the fight against Panama TR4 disease.
The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries are hosting the open day on Friday at their South Johnstone research station, where they will unveil the first update on research and development since November 2015.
DAF Banana Production Systems head Stewart Lindsay has worked with the Far North’s banana industry for the past 23 years.
He has witnessed the disease’s devastating impact in countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, where the disease is unchecked and potentially causing a “major global impact.”
Mr Lindsay said growers couldn’t risk becoming complacent.
“Banana growers are just like everyone else in society. You’ve got some people who are very proactive and others who aren’t at all. I would say most have done what they can afford to do,” he said.
“Maybe they are just a bit complacent because we have done such a good job – they don’t know how quickly it can spread.”
Satellite imagery, soil biology measurements and management practices are among the topics that will be discussed.
Research horticulturalist Katelyn Ferro will showcase a proximal sensing method that she has been trialling to evaluate the health of banana plants before they show physical signs of Panama TR4 disease.
The disease was first detected at a property in the Tully Valley region two years ago.
It is a soil-borne fungus that can be spread by animals or humans moving between properties.
“The key thing with this disease is if you can get plants early and destroy the disease then it really slows down the spread dramatically,” Mr Lindsay said.
“The property is still infected, the only thing is there are no bananas on there anymore. That is what makes this disease so hard to manage is that it never goes away. It reproduces at its fastest and biggest numbers on bananas, but it can tick over on other plants and weeds forever.”
The disease is considered a “constant threat” to the country’s $600 million banana industry. Attending growers will also be given a free dip test to see if their property is infected.
Australian Banana Growers Council chairman Stephen Lowe, who has a 141ha banana plantation along the Tully River, said there were many “nervous farmers” out there.
“The positive you can get out of that is people still have biosecurity on their minds,” he said. “What we don’t want as an industry is complacency, where people think we have got it beaten and start having lapsed standards.” Tolerant varieties and the strategies being used to develop them ■Soil health practices Disinfectant demonstrations Understanding the effect of urea in the TR4 destruction process For catering purposes and since strict on-farm biosecurity practices will be required to enter the paddock, please RSVP to the open day, with your shoe size. Contact Tegan Kukulies on 0459 846 053 or email tegan.kukulies@daf.qld.gov.au