Growers try to protect Cavendish bananas from Panama disease

By Sophie Johnson

ABC Rural

Topic:Banana Growing

TR4 is a soil‑borne disease that harms banana farms in Queensland and the region.

In short:

Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4) has spread to an 11th Queensland banana farm.

The soil‑borne fungus attacks Cavendish bananas, threatening world production.

What's next?

Scientists and growers use old and new tools to create banana types that resist TR4.

Leon Collins's farm south of Cairns is the newest front in the fight against a fungus that threatens Cavendish bananas worldwide.

"Some days you feel you are losing the fight. It is very hard," the Tully farmer said.

"It is sad, but this is what we must live with."

For more than ten years, growers along the Tully River have lived with Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4), which has slowly moved down the river despite their best efforts.

The fungus cannot be removed.

Its spores stay in soil for many years, waiting to attack banana roots and eventually kill the plants.

It is especially dangerous for the Cavendish banana, which makes up over 97 % of bananas grown in Australia and much of the world.

The newest TR4 case was found on one of Leon Collins's farms. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)

As chair of the Australian Banana Growers' Council, Mr Collins has led the fight against TR4, but the 11th local case means he is now also on the front lines.

"It is part of life and sometimes you get bad luck," he said.

He hopes the rest of the industry will avoid the same battle.

Researchers, scientists and plant breeders are getting closer to a new tool: a Cavendish banana that can survive the disease.

New frontline, new frontiers

In 2024, Queensland University of Technology researchers received government approval to sell the world’s first genetically modified banana made to resist TR4.

Australia's first GM banana has been changed to protect it from a disease that could wipe out crops worldwide. Scientists hope it will be in stores by 2027.

Called QCAV‑4, it looks and tastes like a normal Cavendish, except it carries a resistance gene.

The fruit was tested in the Northern Territory, where Panama disease has existed since the 1990s, but no one is yet growing it commercially.

Anthony James from QUT’s Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy said growers are showing interest.

"We have a commercialisation team that will work with growers, retailers and the industry in the future to move the product forward," he said.

The bananas are not yet for Australian shoppers, and many people have been wary of GM foods.

The Office of Gene Technology Regulator’s 2024 report on public opinion found only 32 % of people would eat GM fruit and vegetables.

Dr James said QCAV‑4 has passed strict scientific and safety checks, so when it reaches stores consumers can trust it is safe.

Queensland University of Technology created a GM banana that resists TR4. (Supplied: Queensland University of Technology)

Other projects, like Naomi Abbott’s work at North Queensland Banana Research, use traditional methods such as cross‑breeding.

"There are many other varieties in the pipeline and we hope some will finish testing and reach the market," she said.

She explained the TR4‑resistant lines were made with help from FIA, a banana breeding program in Honduras.

"We now have about 30‑40 hybrid plants in the pipeline, and four are being studied more closely," she said.

Early signs of Panama disease include banana leaves that wilt and turn yellow. (ABC Rural: Charlie McKillop)

Queensland’s Department of Primary Industries is also working with overseas partners to bring TR4‑resistant Cavendish types.

Principal Horticulturalist Jeff Daniels said seven Cavendish lines showed good resistance, but they did not produce enough fruit for Australian growers.

"They all give 60‑90 % of the normal yield," he said.

Living with Panama disease

So far, strict biosecurity steps by Tully growers have kept TR4 limited to that district.

"It is a whole approach that we use together and it is very hard to slow this disease down," Mr Collins said.

"Innisfail, 50 km north, is now our biggest growing area, so we must protect it and keep it disease‑free," he added.

Banana farmers in the Tully region have used strict biosecurity to slow TR4 spread. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)

Nearby Tully farmer Adrian Crema does not have TR4 on his farm, but the threat is always on his mind.

He felt hopeful about the progress toward resistant bananas.

"I was very happy to hear that research is moving forward and that new varieties may appear soon," he said.

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