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Results from the Subtropical packed product analysis – major defects

Posted on 2020-05-25 by Better Bananas

Results from the Subtropical packed product analysis

Major defects

Let’s take a closer look at the major defects found as part of the Subtropical packed product analysis. Results showed that 4.65% of clusters in the consignment had a major defect. This is over the Woolworths’ specifications requiring no more than 2% of clusters with major defects per consignment. This could result in the consignment being rejected by the retailer. Although this number may sound small, the potential financial impact to growers is much larger, and that’s not even taking into account minor defects.

For example, if you were to receive $20 per carton for a consignment of 71 cartons, the total value is equal to $1,420. A grower could risk a reduction in the value or the complete rejection of their consignment in this instance. Further, the value of this potential loss doesn’t include any additional costs associated with packing or getting the fruit to market, such as transportation costs.

So, what were the major defects found and which were more common? The answer to those questions is presented in the figure below. All five of these are largely associated with poor post-harvest handling and packing procedures.

Cut, hole or puncture

Physical damage that is deep enough to expose pulp. This may be caused by a knife, animal, bird or insect.

Cuts, holes or punctures were the most common major defect identified during the study and accounted for 45% of all major defects assessed.

Pesticide residue

White powdery residue on the surface of the peel from talc-based powder pesticide application.

Pesticide residue was identified as the second most common major defect and can be avoided by ensuring fruit are washed thoroughly prior to packing.

Cigar end rot

Fungus causes dry rot at the flower tip end of the finger with infection extending 10 to 20 mm into fruit. Affected area is blackened, becoming grey to white due to spores resembling ash on the end of a cigar.

The fourth most common major defect, Cigar end rot can be managed by implementing appropriate best management practices.

A cut, hole or puncture through to the pulp of the fruit was the most common major defect found in the study. There are a wide range of reasons that the pulp may become exposed before or after harvest such as de-leafing, de-handing, poor handling following harvest or animal and insect damage. Care needs to be taken to ensure that any affected fingers are found and removed prior to packing.

White residue from talc-based pesticides was the next most common major defect with immature or thin fruit, cigar end rot and live insects within a carton following in that order. It is possible to reduce the frequency of these issues with appropriate post-harvest handling and packing strategies. For example, washing fruit thoroughly prior to packing will remove any pesticide residue, whereas increased screening for underdeveloped fruit, or using callipers to check girth, would prevent thin and immature fruit from being packed. When applied to the data from this study, employing these two simple strategies could reduce the occurrence of major defects by 45%.

*Fruit in this study was assessed against the most recently released Woolworths subtropical Cavendish produce specifications, issued 9 December 2014. Always make sure you’re referring to the latest specifications relevant to your business.

More information...

Video – Developing a standard industry banana carton

A poster is now available showing common quality issues and packing guidelines for subtropical banana growers. To receive a hard copy or for more information contact NSW DPI Industry Development Officer Tom Flanagan on (02) 6626 1352 or email tom.flanagan@dpi.nsw.gov.au

NSW DPI would like to acknowledge all growers who agreed to participate in the study, Matt Weinert, Leanne Davis from NSW DPI and Valerie Shrubb, Anastasia Van Blommestein and Brett Renton from WA DPIRD for undertaking the research.

This research has been funded as part of the Subtropical Banana Development and Extension Program (BA16007), which is funded by Hort Innovation, using the banana research and development levy and co-investment from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

Subtropical packed product analysis

Posted on 2020-05-25 by Better Bananas

Is reject fruit causing growers to leave money on the table?

Subtropical packed product analysis

Supplying consumers with good quality fruit all year round is at the top of the list for many banana growers, especially in a competitive fresh fruit market. To do this however it’s important to understand why some fruit sent to market may not be up to spec.

About the study

In Coffs Harbour NSW, a packed product analysis was carried out to provide a clearer picture. It looked at fruit after ripening to see what issues were causing fruit to be rejected at retail outlets. The findings from this study provide growers and industry with information that can assist in recognising and addressing the most common reasons for fruit being rejected.

Fruit was assessed at Golden Dawn, a major banana ripening and wholesale company in the Coffs Harbour region. Assessments were made on fruit supplied by 12 banana growers, consisting of 71 cartons that contained a total of 709 clusters.

Fruit was checked against the most recent specifications released for Woolworths subtropical Cavendish produce, issued December 2014. These specifications have the most strictest criteria compared to other retailers. In broad terms, the specs state that ‘total minor defects should not exceed 10% of consignment’ and ‘total major defects must not exceed 2% of consignment’ with a ‘combined total not to exceed 10%’ of clusters with a defect. If defect levels are found higher than this, retailers are well within their rights to pay suppliers less for the fruit or reject the consignment entirely. This is what could have happened to the fruit that was assessed as part of this study.

As an example, the potential loss of this consignment could be as much as $1420 (71 cartons @ $20/carton price).

This doesn’t include any additional costs associated with packing or getting the fruit to market, such as transportation costs.

Results

The results showed that 38% of all clusters inspected were deemed to have either a major or minor defect, more than 3 times above the levels specified by Woolworths. Figure 1 below provides a breakdown of that percentage and lists the most common defects found.

The findings of this study suggest that at present there is too much fruit with major or minor defects that is being packed, increasing the risk of consignments being rejected or their value reduced. As a result growers are potentially leaving money on the table.

However, the good news for growers is, there are opportunities to improve quality by taking a closer look at the defects found in this study. This includes simple and cost-effective changes that can be made in the paddock, in the pack shed and in the supply chain. All of these can increase profitability for growers and further improve the quality of fruit we see on retail shelves.

A new banana packing poster is now available for subtropical banana growers. The poster highlights some of the most common banana defects identified in this study and provides a guide to help growers determine whether they should be packed or rejected. See below for details on how to get a copy.

More detailed information on the types of defects found in the study, as well as management strategies are available via the links below.

More information...

Video – Developing a standard industry banana carton

NSW DPI would like to acknowledge the contributions made to this study by Geoff Bridgfoot, Paul Gibbins, Paul Thorburn, Kaye Adriaansz from Golden Dawn, Dave Norberry from D&D Ripeners, all NSW banana growers that supplied fruit.

This research has been funded as part of the Subtropical Banana Development and Extension Program (BA16007), which is funded by Hort Innovation, using the banana research and development levy and co-investment from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

Results for Lady Finger fruit rejects

Posted on 2020-05-25 by Better Bananas

Results for Lady Finger fruit rejects

Subtropical banana reject analysis

The following are the results for reject Lady Finger fruit assessed as part of the Subtropical Banana Reject Analysis. The figure below shows the proportion of reject fruit that fell within each of the defect categories. As can be seen, pre-harvest physical defects were responsible for the rejection of 83% of all Lady Finger fruit assessed. Pest and disease defects accounted for 10%, whilst post-harvest defects were the cause of 7% of reject fruit. As was the case with results from the Cavendish assessment, pre-harvest defects again offers the greatest opportunity for improving fruit quality and reducing the number of rejected fruit.

Let’s take a closer look at the defect types resulting in the rejection of Lady Finger bananas. The graph below shows the 15 most prevalent defect types resulting in rejection of Lady Finger bananas. In descending order from left to right they account for almost 90% of all reject fruit for this variety. Again, there are several defects that cannot be prevented or doing so would require too much time and resources to make it financially beneficial. For example, misshapen fruit and doubles or fused fruit cannot be prevented to a large degree as they are caused by factors beyond our control. However, animal damage, rub, pruning damage and damage caused by bunch pests are issues that could addressed through changes to on-farm practices.

It is worth noting that misshapen fruit occurs more commonly in Lady Finger than Cavendish due to varietal differences in fruit development. However, it is believed that the dry conditions experienced across the NSW growing regions during the study significantly worsened the problem, contributing to the high proportion of rejects resulting from misshapen fruit. Further reject analyses under ‘normal’ growing conditions or over a longer period would need to be undertaken to confirm this result.

The aim of this reject analysis study was to identify the predominant causes for rejection of fruit by growers within our subtropical banana growing regions. With a better understanding it will now allow resources to be best prioritised to address, demonstrate &/or trial innovative practices to reduce these defects. Overall reducing the quantity of fruit rejected through the implementation of cost effective practices will increase profitability.

More information...

NSW DPI would like to acknowledge all growers who agreed to participate in the study, Matt Weinert, Leanne Davis from NSW DPI and Valerie Shrubb from AGRIC for undertaking the research.

This research has been funded as part of the Subtropical Banana Development and Extension Program (BA16007), which is funded by Hort Innovation, using the banana research and development levy and co-investment from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

Results for Cavendish rejects

Posted on 2020-05-24 by Better Bananas

Results for Cavendish fruit rejects

Subtropical banana reject analysis

The following are the results for reject Cavendish fruit, assessed as part of the Subtropical Banana Reject Analysis. The figure below shows the proportion of reject Cavendish fruit that fell into each of the three defect categories. As you can see 62% of all reject Cavendish fruit was due to pre-harvest physical defects. This was a far greater percentage than either post-harvest defects (27%) or pest and disease defects (11%). This gives us a good indication where the majority of the damage is occurring and highlights an opportunity for growers to greatly reduce rejects by addressing pre-harvest physical defects.

Although this chart provides us with a start, it does not give us the most complete picture. It does not tell us which specific defect types are causing the most rejects or where best to focus efforts to reduce the number of reject fruit. Taking a closer look, the graph below shows the 15 most common defect types in descending order from left to right across all three defect categories, which accounted for 90% of all reject Cavendish fruit in the study.

It must be noted that the high proportion of rejects resulting from misshapen fruit is believed to be associated with the dry conditions experienced across the NSW growing regions during the study. Further reject analyses under ‘normal’ growing conditions or over a longer period would need to be undertaken to confirm this result.

Within this list there are some defect types that can be relatively easily improved with changes to pre or post-harvest practices, such as bruising and de-handing damage. Some other defects such as misshapen fruit, fused fruit and November dumps are caused or attributed to factors that we have limited control over (e.g. environmental conditions). This list provides us with the information we need to be able to prioritise the development of research, development and extension activities aimed at reducing Cavendish rejects in the subtropics.

More information…

NSW DPI would like to acknowledge all growers who agreed to participate in the study, Matt Weinert, Leanne Davis from NSW DPI and Valerie Shrubb from AGRIC for undertaking the research.

This research has been funded as part of the Subtropical Banana Development and Extension Program (BA16007), which is funded by Hort Innovation, using the banana research and development levy and co-investment from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

Subtropical banana reject analysis

Posted on 2020-05-22 by Better Bananas

What causes fruit to be rejected?

Subtropical banana reject analysis

Having less reject fruit, and consequently more marketable fruit, is a priority for many subtropical banana growers. To achieve this, the first step is to understand the causes of rejects before fruit leaves the farm gate. By identifying the main reasons for fruit rejection, we can focus our efforts on addressing the most common and impactful quality issues faced by growers.

About the study

In a study carried out in the subtropical growing regions of NSW and WA, reject fruit was collected from 16 NSW packing sheds and 6 WA growers. Fruit was assessed to determine why the grower had thrown them into the reject pile. Growers included in the study were located from Coffs Harbour in the south through to Tweed Heads in northern NSW and in Carnarvon in WA. Varieties assessed in the study included Cavendish, Lady Finger, Ducasse and Little Gem. This article will focus on the results for Cavendish and Lady Finger due to their dominance in the industry. A total of 3469 Cavendish and 1189 Lady Finger fruit that did not make the grade were evaluated over the course of the study between June 2018 and May 2019.

Reject fruit were assessed and separated into three general defect categories; Pre-harvest physical defects, pest and disease related defects and post-harvest physical defects. These three defect categories were further broken into 36 different defect types which are listed in the table below.

The results of this study, in addition to discussion with growers, will assist the industry in prioritising research, development and extension activities most beneficial for increasing fruit quality and profitability in subtropical growing regions.

Let's take a look at the results...

To begin with, let’s look at which defect categories the reject fruit fell into for both Cavendish and Lady Finger bananas. This will help us determine whether most of the fruit damage is occurring pre-harvest, post-harvest or as a result of pest and disease damage.

From the graph below we can see that for both Cavendish and Lady Finger most defects are associated with pre-harvest physical defects (68%), with post-harvest physical defects (22%) and pest and diseases defects (10%) following in that order. Based on this we can conclude that pre-harvest physical defects accounted for the majority of rejections and that concentrating resources on addressing these defects could result in the greatest gains.

The table below combines the reject data for both Cavendish and Lady Finger and ranks the 15 most prevalent defect types. Rows are colour coded to indicate which category the defect types fall under.

It must be noted that the high proportion of rejects resulting from misshapen fruit for both Cavendish and Lady Finger bananas is believed to be associated with the dry conditions experienced across the NSW growing regions during the study. Further reject analyses under ‘normal’ growing conditions or over a longer period would need to be undertaken to confirm this result.

Now let’s take a closer look at which defect types were most common for both Cavendish and Lady Finger bananas. By examining the results in more detail, we will be able to determine which of the defect types are responsible for the largest proportion of reject fruit. Growers are then able to use this list to focus their efforts on specific causes of defects that could offer the greatest reduction in rejects for the smallest effort or cost.

More information...

NSW DPI would like to acknowledge all growers who agreed to participate in the study, Matt Weinert, Leanne Davis from NSW DPI and Valerie Shrubb, Anastasia Van Blommestein and Brett Renton from WA DPIRD for undertaking the research.

This research has been funded as part of the Subtropical Banana Development and Extension Program (BA16007), which is funded by Hort Innovation, using the banana research and development levy and co-investment from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

Shanara Veivers

Posted on 2020-04-15 by Better Bananas

Shanara Veivers

Diversity and hard work paves the path for a rewarding career in horticulture.

It’s not every day you find a job that sees you out and about doing field work, running lab experiments, organising and facilitating events, and visiting banana growers on farm. This is all in a day’s work for Research Horticulturist Shanara Veivers, who has gained a diverse range of experience since starting with the Department approximately four years ago.

As an integral member of the banana extension team, Shanara has been responsible for managing an innovation trial based at the South Johnstone Research Facility. This has involved investigating a number of ‘out of the box’ concepts focused on increasing agronomic and environmental performance of banana farming systems. Some of her research areas have included the effects of different de-suckering methods, ground covers, ‘softer’ chemical options, and more recently the use of entomopathogenic nematodes for the control of banana weevil borer and bunch pests.

Shanara Veivers
Research Horticulturist
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Ecosciences Precinct
Brisbane

When she isn’t working in the trial, Shanara’s time is spent undertaking farm visits, conducting small demonstration trials as well as planning and organising extension events for industry, including the National Banana Roadshows.

Growing up in Queensland’s beautiful Far North, Shanara has always felt an affinity with the environment and agriculture. It’s not surprising that this interest led her to complete a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Environmental Science, at James Cook University in Townsville. Shanara says, ‘Growing up in the local region, where agriculture, particularly banana production is so important for our community, the most exciting part of my role is being a part of the banana farming community. Working with leading scientists and industry stakeholders and being able to provide growers with the latest R&D as well as practical solutions for their farming operations gives me the greatest satisfaction.’

In recognition of Shanara’s contribution to banana research, development and extension activities, the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has nominated her for the 2020 Queensland Women in STEM Prize.
Away from work, Shanara enjoys being outdoors and keeping active. She said without a doubt bananas are a staple fruit at home, with banana pancakes topping the list as her favourite banana recipe.

Kathy Grice

Posted on 2020-04-15 by Better Bananas

Kathy Grice

Horticulture's jewel in the north!

For horticultural producers, plant diseases can be the bane of your existence. That’s why many turn to Kathy Grice for assistance. Working in plant pathology for the past 33 years, Kathy offers a wealth of knowledge and experience to help diagnose plant diseases as well as providing management options. With her career based in Far North Queensland a large portion of Kathy’s time has been working on solutions for Australian banana growers.

Kathy’s work is primarily in diagnostics. Banana samples sent to her lab in Mareeba vary from leaf and fruit disorders to corm and root diseases. The primary objective of Kathy’s work in diagnostics is to ensure exotic plant pathogens are not present in our local banana industry. The importance of her diagnostic work is best exemplified by her key role in the black Sigatoka response that resulted in the successful eradication of the disease in Far North Queensland in the early-mid 2000s.

More recently, Kathy and colleague Peter Trevorrow have focussed their research on the post-harvest quality issue of Crown end rot. As part of this work they have looked into ‘softer’ control options as an alternative to registered fungicides, with some biological products showing promising results.

Kathy Grice
Senior Experimentalist (Plant Pathology)
Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
Mareeba Research Station, Mareeba, Qld

Recently Kathy was awarded the prestigious ‘Lester Burgess Diagnostics and Extension Award’ for her contribution to her field of plant pathology and service to horticultural industries.

When asked what she enjoyed most about her work, Kathy responded, ‘The most exciting or rewarding part of any research is being able to provide a grower/s or an industry with a solution to a particular problem or issue. I think I enjoy the variety in the work (a mix of laboratory and field work) and learning new ways of tackling research.’

Kathy is a Mareeba resident and an amateur twitcher, so you may find her bird watching in her free time. She also enjoys yoga and travelling overseas to experience different cultures and food.

Panama disease TR4 variety screening trial

Posted on 2020-02-26 by Better Bananas

Contributions by:
Sharl Mintoff¹, Samantha Cullen¹, Chris Kelly¹, Maxine Piggott¹ and Jeff Daniells²¹Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Darwin, NT
²Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, South Johnstone, QLD

Latest update...

Main trial
Eight varieties have demonstrated better resistance to TR4 than Formosana, which include two Cavendish selections being considered for the next phase of pre-commercialisation trials. Three of the hybrids from the CIRAD breeding program in the French West Indies displayed better resistance than Goldfinger. Click here for results!

Sub-trial
Four parents with stellar TR4 resistance have been identified. This will assist international banana breeding programs to incorporate TR4 resistance into new varieties. Click here for results!

Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4) continues to be a major threat to the Australian banana industry. Finding varieties that are resistant to Panama disease TR4 is a key component for continuing to produce bananas in the presence of the disease.

Over recent years variety screening trials have been running in the Northern Territory where the disease was declared endemic after its detection in the late 1990s.

About the trial

Conducted at the Coastal Plains Research Farm the trial was established on a site infested with Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4). This trial is part of the project ‘Improved plant protection for the banana industry’ (BA16001). The overall trial screened 31 varieties (including three reference varieties) and assessed their resistance to Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4). In summary the trial includes:

Main trial

• 17 varieties, planted in December 2018

• plants artificially inoculated with Panama disease TR4

• 24 plants of each variety (6 plants per replicate over 4 replicates)

• randomised complete block design

• three varieties with known response to Panama disease TR4 are included in the trial; Goldfinger
(resistant), Formosana/GCTCV218 (intermediate) and Williams Cavendish (susceptible)

• fortnightly assessments.

List of varieties

Sub-trial

The sub-trial consists mainly of parental lines from the CIRAD breeding program. This is a smaller trial in number due to difficulty replicating the lines using tissue culture. Results from this trial will provide useful information back to the breeding program on the level of resistance that parent material and hybrids have to Panama disease TR4. The trial includes:

• 17 varieties, planted in December 2018

• plants artificially inoculated with Panama disease TR4

• 10 plants of each variety (1 plant per replicate over 10 replicates)

• randomised complete block design

• fortnightly assessments.

List of varieties

Trial progress

Williams Cavendish was the first variety to show disease symptoms in April 2019, approximately five months after planting. Disease assessments were carried out fortnightly once external symptoms became apparent in a susceptible variety. Assessments included noting the appearance of external disease symptoms and internal symptoms at plant death or harvest. The trial ran for 20 months with most of the surviving varieties completing their first ratoon crop cycle. The final disease assessments were completed in August 2020. Click here for the plant and first ratoon results for the main trial.

More information...

This research has been funded as part of the project Improved Plant Protection for the Banana Industry (BA16001), which is funded by Hort Innovation, using the banana research and development levy, co-investment from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and the Northern Territory Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

Panama disease Race 1 variety screening trial (Duranbah, NSW)

Posted on 2020-02-26 by Better Bananas

Why screen for disease resistance to Panama disease race 1

If you are a non-Cavendish grower, then you are likely to already know the answer. Panama disease is caused by a soil borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense. The disease initially infects the banana plant through the roots, then moves through the plant into the vascular system inside the pseudostem. It eventually blocks the vascular tissue causing plant death. Different strains of the disease are known as races. Panama disease R1 is present in many production regions in Australia and infects varieties such as Lady Finger, Ducasse and some cooking bananas, but not Cavendish. Finding banana varieties with resistance to Panama disease R1 is the focus of the subtropical variety evaluations underway at Duranbah, NSW. Results from the Duranbah trial should be relevant to all subtropical growing areas with Panama disease R1.

History of the Duranbah trial site

Panama disease R1 wiped out a Lady Finger plantation on the current Duranbah site over 30 years ago. The land was then used to grow other crops, including avocados, and was fallow for several years before the trial began. Now the site is used for variety screening evaluations, with the initial trial planted in February 2012 as part of the Banana Plant Protection Project (BA10020).

The variety Lady Finger is very susceptible to Panama disease R1 and tissue cultured plants of this variety were grown on the site initially to confirm the continued presence of the disease. To guarantee the disease was evenly distributed when the trials were conducted, infected millet seed was incorporated into each planting hole, ensuring each plant in the trial is being assessed under the same disease pressure.

The initial trials included three phases:

Phase 1 – plants were grown with the sole purpose of determining if they survived Panama disease R1.

Phase 2 – varieties that showed Panama disease R1 resistance were grown to collect growth data including plant height, girth, cycling time and bunch data.

Phase 3 – standout varieties, called ‘best bets’, are being grown in semi-commercial plantings to determine ripening and handling conditions and to undertake consumer acceptance. Phase 3 is happening in the current project, the Improved Plant Protection Program for the Banana Industry BA16001.

Twenty-nine different varieties have been or are currently being screened for resistance to Panama disease R1. In BA10020, 13 varieties were tested and 16 are in the current trial which is part of BA16001.

Current trial

Sixteen local and imported varieties are currently being screened in the Panama disease R1 high pressure site. Varieties are rated according to their resistance or susceptibility to the disease by rating both the development of external and internal symptoms. External symptoms include yellowing of leaves and splitting of pseudostem, while vascular discolouration is rated internally at harvest or when plants die. Samples from plants suspected to be infected with Panama disease R1 are sent for laboratory diagnostics to confirm the presence of the disease.

The plants in this evaluation were deleafed and desuckered as per commercial practice and growth data, including cycle time, bunch weight, number of fingers and finger size are being collected.

Varieties that are showing good disease resistance at the plant crop stage in the latest screening trial include:

• Brier – a Dwarf Cavendish selection from the Canary Islands

• D5 – a Cavendish clone from South Africa

• JV 42.41 – a Lady Finger hybrid from Brazil.

The three ‘best bets’ varieties, PKZ, FHIA-17 and FHIA-25 were established in a semi-commercial planting in February 2018, in a separate block from the disease resistance evaluation trial. These varieties are managed in accordance with commercial practices to evaluate their agronomic performance under typical subtropical growing conditions. The first bunches were harvested in August 2019. Agronomic data is being collected from these plantings and the fruit is being used to develop growing, ripening and handling recommendations, and to undertake consumer acceptance testing. PKZ and FHIA-17 are dessert cultivars and FHIA-25 is a cooking banana.

And finally, due to interest from local markets the trial is also looking at some niche varieties such as Pacific Plantain and Santa Catarina Prata. Unfortunately, early observations indicate that these varieties are susceptible to Panama disease R1.