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Australian scientists in Queensland have been experimenting with this fruit over the last few years to save the world’s banana industry. Well, this genetically modified species has just been approved by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).
The banana, called ‘QCAV-4‘, has been genetically improved from the Cavendish variation, modified with a single gene (RGA2) from a wild banana species native to Southeast Asia, which makes it resistant to tropical race 4 (TR4) of Panama disease.
PanamaTR4 is a serious banana disease caused by a soil-dwelling fungus, which has a devastating impact on Cavendish and Lady Finger banana plantations with universal impact.
The approval of QCAV-4 in Australia is thus seen as a breakthrough for the country’s banana industry as a key pillar of its economy in Queensland, where 95% of Australia’s bananas are grown, with the Cavendish banana accounting for 97% of production, as Research Professor Dale points out.
At present, the banana is about to be grown and sold in Australia, and, with luck, will expand globally.
