Question

How has TR4 arrival in Australia affected budgets and friendships in Australia’s banana heartland?

Answer 1

The banana disease Fusarium wilt Tropical Race IV (TR4) has spread on the three farms in Queensland, Australia, since the initial 2015 detection.

But Australia's Department of Agriculture said the disease (a.k.a. Panama disease) has not spread to other Tulley Valley farms.

"The disease has spread uphill and up-river within the infested farms, with nearly 60 plants confirmed positive since March 2015," it said. Nearly 60% of these plants were on the first infested farm.

As the Australian Banana Growers’ Council reports in its August edition of Australian Bananas Magazine, it expects further detections of infected plants.

As they do not change the biosecurity situation on the property and to respect the privacy of growers, authorities do not announce these detections individually.

"Detection of these infected plants took place through routine Biosecurity Queensland surveillance and growers self-reporting. Early detection and rapid plant destruction is key to reducing inoculum build-up and limiting disease spread," the Department of Agriculture said.