THE ongoing task of creating a commercially-acceptable banana variety resistant to the dreaded Panama Tropical Race 4 (TR4) has been given a financial boost.
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and Hort Innovation have put $9.8 million toward the research project that aims to develop two new TR4-resistant varieties.
The soil-borne fungus has impacted plantations in most banana-growing regions including North Queensland; Asia including the Philippines, China and Indonesia; the Middle East; Africa and most recently, South America.
It was discovered in Australia's major growing area six years ago.
Currently, the disease, which cannot be eradicated, survives in the soil for decades and can infect nearly all banana varieties.
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Australian-led research has been going for nearly a decade now with a field trial that ran from 2012 to 2015 on a commercial banana plantation outside Humpty Doo in the Northern Territory.
In 2017 the research team announced one Cavendish line transformed with a gene taken from a wild banana remained completely TR4 free, while three others showed robust resistance.
The research continues to be led by Distinguished Professor James Dale, from QUT Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy.
Professor Dale said his team aims to develop Cavendish and Goldfinger varieties using gene-editing techniques through the five-year project.
"The original Cavendish varieties emerged probably more than 1000 years ago," he said.
"It is an excellent banana but it is susceptible to some devastating diseases including Panama Disease TR4.
"There is also concern that the banana industry worldwide is too dependent on a single variety and that greater variety diversity is highly desirable."
Professor Dale said the Goldfinger banana was resistant to many diseases including TR4 and researchers aim to use recent advancements in gene editing to improve this variety to appeal to the Australian palate.
This new project will arm Australian growers with the tools they need to sustainably and effectively produce Australia's number one selling grocery item for years to come.
- Alok Kumar, business development manager, Hort Innovation
"We are now in a position to make very small changes in a banana genome that can have dramatic effects on the phenotype of the banana whether it is disease resistance, fruit quality or fruit taste and texture," he said.
Hort Innovation Hort Frontiers business development manager Alok Kumar said the research, which is being conducted in consultation with Australian banana growers, will meet the industry's priority to develop new TR4 disease-resistant varieties that meet consumer quality expectations.
"TR4 is widely considered the most lethal banana disease in the world," he said.
"This new project will arm Australian growers with the tools they need to sustainably and effectively produce Australia's number one selling grocery item for years to come."
Australian Banana Growers' Council (ABGC) chief executive officer Jim Pekin said access to a TR4-resistant variety that is commercially acceptable would give banana growers certainty about the future.
"TR4 presents challenges for Australia's banana growers. If it is successful, this research to develop, gene-edited, TR4-resistant varieties would change that," Mr Pekin said.
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Ashley Walmsley
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
