James Dale of QUT has grown Cavendish bananas variously immune or resistant to Panama Disease in a trial.

This is more important than smoothies – bananas are a staple in the Congo, Rawanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Panama Disease can stay in soils for decades. What is worse chemicals can’t control it.

Professor Dale has researched an answer to Panama Disease for a decade or so, with funding at the start of the decade from the Gates Foundation. Bill and Melinda Gates always recognised the importance of his work and went to Cairns to visit his research project in 2011.