Banana research and
development

Latest updates

Latest news and events

A growers' guide to ant related problems and their management

Ants are commonly found in plantings of bananas across Australia. Ants find suitable sites to nest including in the ground, behind old leaf sheaths, inside decaying pseudostems or on weeds and leaf trash surrounding the plants. Depending on the species, ants play a different role on the farm and have different effects on production.


Read more about the different types of ants commonly occurring on farms and how to manage them. Click here to find out more.

Exotic Electric ant species farming a mealybug in bananas. (Credit: Hawaii Ant Lab.)

Protecting crowns improves fruit quality for Sellars Bananas

Sellars Bananas are renowned for producing premium quality bananas. However, frustratingly, even when supplying the best quality fruit at the farm gate, fungal organisms can wreak havoc with consignments down the supply chain. 

Naomi Brownrigg shares their experience with the post-harvest quality issue of Crown end rot (CER) and what they have put in place to manage it. 

Read more about Naomi’s case study here.

Anne Rikini and Naomi Brownrigg of Sellars Bananas. Naomi is happy with the results of using a post-harvest fungicide for controlling CER.

New yellow Sigatoka information resources now available

Three new videos, web pages and downloadable factsheets on yellow Sigatoka are now available. The resources provide a short overview of the disease, it’s life cycle  and management tips. These can be used as handy training resources for your staff.  Click here to view

A guide to fungal issues

The prolonged wet season has seen increased reports of fungal issues affecting growers across all regions. 

This factsheet is designed to easily identify common fungal issues affecting fruit quality. 

Click here for more information.

Better Bananas is an initiative of the National Banana Development and Extension Program (BA16007). This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the banana research and development levy, co-investment from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

The project is supported by the Australian Banana Growers’ Council (ABGC).
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