Day: 2 April 2016

John MacKay, one of the Australian banana industry’s outstanding pioneers and leaders, passed away at his Wongaling Beach home on December 23 aged 79. His family provided this tribute. For most North Queenslanders, the name MacKay is synonymous with bananas, something richly deserved given humble beginnings. Growing bananas…

Jim Dobson, one of the Australian Banana Growers’ Council’s longest-serving Chairmen, passed away on December 20 aged 92.  Chairman for six annual terms between 1977 and 1988, Mr Dobson was from Morayfield and farmed bananas in South East Queensland and in North Queensland where some of his family members farm bananas, near…

India is the world’s largest banana producer and, although it grows more than 20 cultivars, it relies heavily on Cavendish writes Dr Thangavelu (Thanga) Raman. India grows 28 million tonnes annually or 19 per cent of global production of bananas and plantains. The country has 800,000 hectares under banana production. India is a…