PANAMA disease would not be the end of the world for Queensland banana growers.
That’s the assessment from Northern Territory Farmers CEO Grant Fenton.
He said Queensland should be looking to the NT as an example of what impact the disease can have and how to handle it.
“If Panama becomes endemic to Queensland, and I’ve no doubt it will because it did here, then one would think that they can still operate and manage the problem,” Mr Fenton said.
“It’s not a great thing but I don’t think they should see it as the end of the world.”
Panama disease Tropical Race 4 was discovered on a commercial property at Berry Springs in the Northern Territory in 1997.
It was the first recording in Australia and the property was subsequently quarantined and all banana plants on it were destroyed.
In a situation similar to what Tully is currently facing, strict quarantine measures were put in place in the NT to attempt to stop the disease from spreading.
The NT Government declared the disease endemic in 2012.
“Declaring Panama disease endemic was a common sense thing to do because it allowed them to trade and manage the problem,” Mr Fenton said.
Last week Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter said he felt it was not impossible for the north Queensland banana industry to triumph over Panama disease.
“Underpinning my thinking is the fact that we were told continuously that we could not eradicate black sigatoka disease, yet within eight months we had completely eradicated it,” Mr Katter said.
“At this stage there is only one farm confirmed to have the disease in the Tully area.
“In the Northern Territory outbreak they closed the industry down and moved all neighbouring banana farms to another area.”
Mr Katter said that hundreds of ideas for dealing with the disease had been put up to him ranging from eradication to tree planting and all of these ideas were up for discussion.
“Information to hand is that the Panama bacteria can be over a meter deep into the soil, which makes burning or pesticides difficult,” he said.
“If there are a number of farms infected it may be that you look at the Reverse Tully Mill Stream Irrigation Project and plant trees for the next 30 years that will keep the water table in check and after 30 years we will see the death of the bacteria in the soil.”
NT Farmers’ Mr Fenton said he considered banana freckle to be a bigger threat to the industry.
Banana freckle was discovered to have infected the widely grown Cavendish variety in the NT in 2013.
Banana Freckle’s main symptom is a sandpaper feel to the infected (spotted) leaves and fruit.
A national biosecurity response is underway to eradicate banana freckle from the Territory and Australia from within the six declared “red zones” by April.
He pointed to one of the last commercial banana plantations in the NT, the Darwin Banana Farm, as a business to look at for how to live with Panama disease.
“The Darwin Banana Farm were able to manage the situation, so they were rotating their soil, managing their biosecurity protocols very stringently and they were doing a good job,” he said.
Mr Fenton said if it had not been for banana freckle, the farm would have continued on.
The other major plant crisis facing the Northern Territory is the Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic virus which has brought watermelon production to a standstill.
Mr Fenton said that fight was far from over and it was only a matter of time until it was found in Queensland.
“Given the experience in the Northern Territory, if it’s on one property, it’s on another property,” he said.
“You’d be living in a world of dreams if you didn’t think it was somewhere else in Australia. I’d almost bet my house on it. It’s only a matter of time and it’ll reveal itself.”
