News (Page 203)

by Charlie McKillop, ABC Rural   March 3, 2015 was the day banana growers in far north Queensland hoped would never come.   Biosecurity authorities revealed the deadly soil disease, Panama Tropical Race 4, or TR4, had been found in the Tully Valley.   Growers were warned the world as theyContinue Reading

by Craig Zonca, ABC Rural     Queensland biosecurity authorities remain on high alert for the devastating banana disease Panama Tropical Race 4 (TR4), 12 months after it was first detected in the state’s north.   “It’s been a massive year,” said Queensland’s chief biosecurity officer Jim Thompson.   “One of theContinue Reading

  The Citrus Growers Association of Peru (Procitrus) stated that Peruvian mandarin exports in 2015 amounted to 100,800 metric tons, which account for 88 percent of the country’s total citrus shipments.   “The satsuma, clementine, Murcott, and Minneola tangelo mandarins have become the stars of Peruvian citrus exports,” they said.Continue Reading

by Kallee Buchanan and Trudie Leigo, ABC Rural   In Queensland, researchers are dwarfing mangos, macadamias and avocados in an attempt to increase productivity of these tree crops.   The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is three years into a 20-year trial and has begun sharing its experience to date withContinue Reading

by Anouk Sijmonsma, Fresh Plaza   “The price of import bananas has been steadily going up in these last weeks. Currently, prices are as high as RMB110.00 (USD 17.01) per carton at the port of Dalian, coming from RMB60.00 (USD 9.28) per carton three months ago. Prices are increasing because both domestic bananaContinue Reading

  Just over five years ago the National Agricultural Research Laboratories (NARL) Kawanda released the M-9 banana variety; since then it has seen an unprecedented rate of adoption, due to its popularity among farmers and consumers. M-9 or Kabana 6H, is resistant to Black Sigatoka (BS) disease and tolerant to nematodesContinue Reading

  Every March, a large volume of mangos swarm to the market, and they can be seen everywhere on the fruit stands. The main mango varieties include Little Taiwan Mango, Big Gold Mango etc, and the most popular one, also the cheapest one is little Taiwan Mango, which is soldContinue Reading

by Joel Pitarch Diago, Fresh Plaza     The impact of the weather phenomenon El Niño and the market growth of Central American countries led to uncertainty in Ecuador’s banana sector, but “to the surprise of the export market, the situation has been much better than expected and the demand forContinue Reading

  According to ASSOBACAM, exportations of dessert bananas from Cameroon have plummeted by 341 tons in January 2016, compared to the same period the year before (when they reached 26,366 tons).   The decrease is expected to continue throughout the year as the Cameroon Development Cooperation (CDC), one of theContinue Reading

  According to the forecast of the National Weather Service, it might rain in Colima this week; something that the leader of the National Peasant Confederation (CNC) in Colima, Jorge Armando Gaytan Sanchez, deems could affect plantain producers the most.   “Hopefully it won’t rain so the flowers set well.Continue Reading

  Almost one year to the day since Panama disease Tropical Race 4 was first detected at the Tully Valley farm, the farm has again tested positive for the fourth time.   About 12ha of banana plants on Mr Bevan Robson’s 160ha Dingo Pocket property have been destroyed and fenced off inContinue Reading