Author: Amy Spear

A former Far North Queensland banana farmer believes a mechanical banana harvester he developed 20 years ago will eventually become the way of the future. With horticultural farming practices increasingly moving towards automation and robotics, Tom Johnston maintains his robotic harvester reduces fruit damage, is more cost and labour efficient and…

Banana growers in the Wet Tropics can increase their profitability and sustainability by adopting the banana industry’s suite of best management practices (BMP). That was the message from Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ (DAF) economists to growers at a workshop in Innisfail last month. The DAF economists have just…

If time and money are two things you value, a Wet Tropics invention may be right up your alley – or interrow, in this case. David Rolfe, a Mena Creek grower and 2017 Reef Award finalist, designed his own wick wiper four years ago. Already used by a…

Efficiency on a North Queensland banana farm has spiked, thanks to the recent introduction of a locally-built spreader. Mick Horsford farms at Mena Creek and Pin Gin Hill, along with his brother Kris and father Lance. His grandfather began growing bananas in the area more than five decades ago,…

Under the Microscope profiles the industry’s emerging and exotic diseases. Sometimes you just need the facts, fast. With higher rates of Yellow Sigatoka (leaf spot) in North Queensland currently, Black Sigatoka can be harder to detect so it is very important to remove  infected leaves before the disease becomes…

By Jennifer Cobon and Wayne O’Neill The most damaging nematode pest of bananas worldwide is the burrowing nematode (Radopholus similis). The burrowing nematode is common in the tropical and subtropical banana production areas of Australia and previous research projects have resulted in a reduction in its importance. However we suspected that…

By Dr Tony Pattison Miami, Florida is better known for its beaches, rather than bananas, but it was the host city for the 22nd ACORBAT Conference from May 2-4, 2018. ACORBAT is the Association for the Cooperation Of Research in Bananas in the Caribbean and American Tropics, and Ecuador,…