AN Israeli agricultural biotechnology company is looking to trial tissue cultured banana varieties in major Australian growing areas and to collaborate on developing a variety resistant to Panama disease.
Several north Queensland growers, hosted by Haifa Australia and Lindsay Rural, recently visited the plant propagation, selection and breeding company, Rahan Meristem, located near Israel’s north-west border with Lebanon.
While it could be some time before the company’s varieties are commercially available in Australia, the growers were excited with the opportunity to access its tissue cultured technologies for the local industry.
Rahan Meristem, regarded as one of the world’s leading exporter of tissue cultured banana and plantain, also hopes to work with researchers and growers to develop a Panama Tropical Race 4 (TR4) resistant variety.
The company is already working with Philippines growers to identify TR4 resistant types and it has clonal material being screened for TR4 resistance in Holland.
Scientific Director Dr Eli Khayat told the growers Rahan Meristem was seeking to pass Australian quarantine and establish two field trials in the country’s major growing areas.
“Then we will identify a laboratory for tissue culture and propagation of material,’’ Dr Khayat said.
“I am certain that our material will be helpful to growers in Australia.’’
Rahan Meristem takes superior clones of leading cultivated idio-types and evaluates them for increased yield and fruit quality in tropical and subtropical climates.
This results in preferred selections of pest and disease-free banana cultivars and plants capable of increasing plantation profits.
“Every year we take the best 20 per cent of the population and we propagate only these in the laboratory, then we select the best 2-3pc of clones,’’ Dr Khayat said.
“In the selection, we focus on quality and the appearance of plants, including uniformity, but most important is the genetic constitution of plants. We try to remove off-types.’’
This selection and then re-introduction into the tissue culture ensures seedlings supplied by Rahan Meristem are always at the top level of the genetic potential of the particular variety.
He said Rahan Meristem’s work with cultivar selection was some of the best in the world because it was effectively positioned in an “island area’’.
“We have quarantine in Israel and we also have island quarantine or a closed environment here because we are bordered by the sea, the mountains and Lebanon.’’
The company has two laboratories in Columbia, one in Ecuador, is looking to develop a laboratory in the Philippines, and has a major distribution centre in Costa Rica.
Its major markets are in Central America, while it is also active in the Caribbean, Middle East, Africa and the Philippines.
Rahan Meristem sourced some of its original Williams variety seed from Australia and its cultivars are improvements of the most popular variety with consumers, Cavendish.
Dr Khayat said with Cavendish, generally a taller plant would produce a bigger bunch, but Rahan Meristem had successfully developed a dwarf plant with a big bunch, weighing up to 70kg in boxes.
Another promising variety was Adi, a second generation after Grand Nain that could trigger interest from Australian growers due to its ability to withstand strong winds.
It is short with strong stems and, importantly, produces big bunches.
Tully grower Steve Lowe said Rahan Meristem’s use of somaclonal variation in its selection and breeding was impressive.
“The way they use this technique and keep selecting in the field and regenerating plants until they get what they want is very good,’’ Mr Lowe said.
“They also have at least four varieties in South America that are not used here.’’
Innisfail grower Shayne Cini said the company’s plant selection, continually taking the best 20 per cent of the population for propagation, and its tissue culture in the laboratory was ahead of similar work in Australia.
Lindsay Rural north Queensland regional manager Shane O’Flanagan agreed Rahan Meristem’s continuous selection to identify the best performing varieties and its moves to develop types tolerant of TR4 were impressive.
Mr O’Flanagan said like the company’s location in an “island area’’, Australia was an island nation and while its banana industry currently had a problem, latest technologies showed that, with the proper knowledge, there could be a successful solution.
Banana growers will have the opportunity to meet with Haifa Australia and Lindsay Rural at the 2015 Australian Banana Industry Congress to be held in Melbourne from June 17-20.
