A new dwarf variety of banana could revolutionise the production of Ladyfinger bananas in Queensland, Australia.
NSW department of primary industries horticulturist, Peter Newley, told the North Queensland Register (NQR) that a chance discovery of a dwarf plant by grower Gerry Rossi has led industry and researchers to investigate how effectively tissue culture can be used to propagate new dwarf plants.
"Traditional propagation from suckers can produce just a handful of plants but tissue culture will allow us to produce thousands," Newley said.
"Typical Ladyfinger plants grow to more than three metres high and if we can deliver plants which are much shorter it will not only make plantation management easier it could also cut production costs.
"Dwarf Ladyfingers will make it much easier and safer for growers to grow good-sized Ladyfinger bananas.
"Putting the bag on the bunch, pruning, de-belling plants and harvesting will be easier with plants which growers can manage from ground-level."
Bananas NSW funded the propagation of hundreds of dwarf plants which are currently being grown at Yarrahapinni Nursery prior to planting, which the NQR reports begins this week as the final part of the trial.
"We will have the results by harvest time next year - if these plants stay short and grow good-sized bananas it will prove tissue culture can be used to speed up the propagation process to produce true-to-type dwarf Ladyfingers," Newley said.
"That means the local industry will be able to quickly adopt this new shorter and much easier to manage Ladyfinger variety because we will be able to produce thousands of dwarf plants in a little less than two years from now."
