Hort Innovation has received a grant worth more than $5 million to continue improving tree crop management – including bananas – through innovative mapping and monitoring.

The banana industry has entered this project with the aim of working with others to identify technologies and image processing techniques that will provide more effective and efficient surveillance tools of Panama tropical race 4.

The University of New England will be conducting the majority of the research into the new technologies, in collaboration with industry representatives and biosecurity agencies.

The grant, awarded under Round 4 of the Federal Government’s Rural R&D for Profit program, will also fund work in the mango, macadamia, olive and citrus industries.