Banana growers can be confident that there is an effective destruction method for Panama Disease Tropical Race 4 (TR4) that is a part of major research, according to an expert at the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.
Banana Production Systems Team Leader, Stewart Lindsay told the Australian Banana Industry Congress that although the industry was left "cold and shaken" following the outbreak of TR4 in 2015 in North Queensland, researchers are better prepared to deal with future outbreaks. He says through workshops, meetings, property visits, field days and online videos, significant progress was made to increase knowledge of the disease.
"We didn't need to reinvent the wheel, but we did need to recognise that there would be knowledge gaps, as we went forward," Mr Lindsay said. "There would be things that would require a research effort so we could clarify."
Stewart Lindsay
The department set out to examine the issue in three sections; what do I need to know now, what do I need to do now and what next if the worst happens. The first section was about bringing people up to speed with what panama disease is and what is the threat, so they know the risks. He says it was important that all stakeholders came together to share information about their experiences. It culminated with a document report that acts like a checklist.
"We are in a situation where we are much better informed about what works, how it works and how to get the best out of it," he said.
The department also looked at another scenario, focusing on what happens if the disease was discovered and how to stop its spread. Although, there was only one property that had been infected, the department says it had to be prepared for many other potential outbreaks.
"The most effective way is to reduce the disease inocculum, it's a numbers game," Mr Lindsay said. "The more diseased plants, the more spores. The more spores, the more chance of having an intersection with your other farming activities with a natural event that will result in this thing moving. There are two main things with that; being able to identify infected plants early, and being able to effectively destroy them to reduce spores."
He says a significant research and development project is underway, looking at activities that use machinery such as drones for early detection and surveillance. It is also important to be aware of the timeline of infection so it is known how quickly action must be taken to contain the disease. Mr Lindsay adds that research using Urea that produces toxic levels of Ammonia has shown promising signs.
"The bad news is that all the plants that we looked at returned some Fusarium wilt," he said. "We have not been able to identify a non-host. What we do know is that some return more Fusarium than others. What you can be confident about is that those infected plants have been very effectively dealt with. The inocculum associated with that has reduced much more than it otherwise would have been."
The Congress also heard from the department's Tony Pattison, who says there is no silver bullet, and that the industry cannot continue as normal, once infected by panama disease.
He echoed fellow researchers in admitting early detection is somewhat challenging. He says that once the disease gets into the roots of the plant, infection takes place within 10 days, often without symptoms. Work is currently under way to get incompatiblity in root systems.
"We are screening different ground covers, alternative hosts, rotation crops, to see what we can find that has incompatible roots to Fusarium TR4," Mr Pattison said.
Tony Pattison
Another way to manage the problem is to develop new varieties that have improved resistance, and Mr Pattison says while there are resistant varieties out there, which it has taken 20 years to develop.
"We don't have 20 years," he points out. "We don't have the same volume of tissue cultures coming through the program that Taiwan does. So what researchers are doing is using mutation to shuffle up the decks. We can no longer rely on countries from overseas breeding bananas for us. We have to look at what we can do as an industry to develop our own solutions to varieties, and this is the most cost effective way."
But he has praised the attitude of farmers in wanting to get on top of the problem.
"Are we ready to live with TR4," Mr Pattison asks. "Change is difficult, but not changing is fatal. The big thing is the growers themselves and their passion and quest for knowledge. So the next generation farmers going along to field days are innovating the new method of growing and as researchers we are validating their practices."