6-8 August, 2025
RACV Royal Pines Resort

00Days
00Hrs
00Mins
00Secs

Program

Banana Congress 2025 will see the return of Congress favourites including the Banana Ball and Awards of Honour and our much-loved Women’s Luncheon will also be back and better than ever. Building on the success of previous years, the Science Symposium will be held the day prior to Congress. This is a huge drawcard for researchers, as well as science-minded growers and industry stakeholders. While we’re bringing back the favourites, rest assured Congress 2025 will also offer new experiences, a fresh layout and tackle some key industry issues.

The Congress program is subject to change.

Wednesday, 6 August
Thursday, 7 August
Friday, 8 August


0730-0900	VENUE: ROYAL POINCIANA ROOM
0730-0900	REGISTRATION


0900-0945	TEA/COFFEE NETWORKING
0945-1630	Science Symposium	Program to be finalised – submit your abstract here!


0900-0945	TEA/COFFEE NETWORKING
0945-1630	Science Symposium	Program to be finalised – submit your abstract here!
	0845-1015	SESSION 1
	0845-1015	Welcome and introduction 0845-0900
	1015-1040	MORNING TEA
	1040-1135	SESSION 2
	1135-1225	SESSION 3
	1225-1325	LUNCH
	1325-1420	SESSION 4
	1420-1505	SESSION 5
	1505-1520	AFTERNOON TEA
	1520-1630	SESSION 6


1700-1730	VENUE: ABGC LOUNGE	VENUE: PODIUM LAWNS
1700-1730	ABGC Member Meet-Up starts 1700	Insider’s guide to Congress starts 1730


1730-1930	VENUE: PODIUM LAWNS
	Welcome Reception
	Sponsored by: Australian Produce Partners


0700	REGISTRATION


0730	VENUE: EXHIBITION HALL – ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
	TEA AND COFFEE OPEN
		VENUE: TBC
		Grower Breakfast Session *Registration required 0715-0815
		Sponsored by: Mackays Marketing


0830-1015	SESSION 1A: WELCOME (WE DON’T BITE!) Snake Bite first aid and awareness with a milking demonstration Billy Collett, Australian Reptile Park / Bondi Vet
	OFFICIAL OPENING Introduction from Banana Congress MC Pip Courtney, Landline host
	STATE OF THE INDUSTRY Leanne Erakovic, ABGC CEO
	SESSION 1B: INTERNATIONAL INSIGHT TR4 Global Update Altus Vijoen, Stellenbosch University
1015-1045	VENUE: EXHIBITION HALL – ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
1015-1045	MORNING TEA


1045-1215	VENUE: ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
	SESSION 2: MAKING YOUR MARK(ET)
	TBC TITLE Naomi Abbott, NQ Banana Research
	Panel discussion: What does it take to get a new variety onto the shelf and into homes? Panel members: Naomi Abbott, NQ Banana Research Altus Vijoen, Stellenbosch University
1215-1415	VENUE: EXHIBITION HALL – ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
	LUNCH
		VENUE: RACV ROYAL PINES, VIDERE RESTAURANT
		Banana Women’s Luncheon
		Sponsored by: Pakall Pty Ltd
1415-1500	VENUE: ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
1415-1500	SESSION 3: RIPE IDEAS Sustainability and agtech in action


1530-1610	VENUE: EXHIBITION HALL – ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
1530-1610	AFTERNOON TEA & SCIENCE POSTER SESSION
1610-1700	VENUE: ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
	SESSION 4: SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS John Moor


1730-1930	VENUE: EXHIBITION HALL – ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
1730-1930	Tradeshow Exhibition Evening


0630	GET ACTIVE (More to come!)
0700	REGISTRATION


0730	VENUE: EXHIBITION HALL – ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
	TEA AND COFFEE OPEN
		VENUE: TBC
		ABGC Members Only Grower Meeting *Registration required 0715-0815


0830-1000	VENUE: ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
	SESSION 5A: WHERE TO FOR WORKFORCE Workforce: Challenges, risks and opportunities Steve Burdette, Approved Employers Australia
	SESSION 5B
1000-1030	VENUE: EXHIBITION HALL – ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
1000-1030	MORNING TEA


1030-1200	VENUE: ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
1030-1200	SESSION 6: FUTURE-FOCUSSED FARMING Farming with reduced inputs Peter Wren-Hilton, Platform 10 and Wharf42
1200-1330	VENUE: EXHIBITION HALL – ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
1200-1330	LUNCH


1330-1520	VENUE: ROYAL BENOWA BALLROOM
	*SESSION 7: ON TRACK* FOR A BRIGHT FUTURE**
	TBC TITLE Jana Pittman
1520-1530	Closing address Paul Inderbitzin, Congress Chair


1900 – late	Banana Industry Ball & Awards of Honour
1900 – late	Sponsored by: Visy

Keep me updated

Organisers

MCI Australia

Australian Banana Growers' Council

Designed and built by MCI Australia

Science Poster Panel

Paper #	Presenter	Abstract Submission Title	Presenting at Science Poster Panel
1	Elizabeth Aitken	Identifying Sources of Resistance to Fusarium Wilt	✅
2	Delwar Akbar	Banana action plan: How to minimise food waste?	✅
3	Molly Blake	Understanding inter-row ground cover in the Wet Tropics Banana farming region	✅
4	Shannon Byrnes	Banana Yield Mapping	✅
5	Lilia Carvalhais	Novel assay to detect Ralstonia solanacearum causing Moko disease in banana	✅
6	Tegan Cavallaro	Extension – The value of putting grower collaboration at the heart of project design and delivery.	✅
7	Ingrid Jenkins	Bunch pest management, investigating practices to maximise efficacy and stewardship of registered chemistries	✅
8	John Thomas	A lateral flow immunoassay for the in-field detection of banana bunchy top virus	✅
9	Kathy Crew	BBTV-infected plants are infectious earlier than previously thought!	✅
10	Andre Drenth	Keeping bananas healthy	✅
11	David East	Chemical control of yellow Sigatoka	✅
12	Paul Edwards	Cavendish Banana production management using plant growth regulators	✅
13	Daniel Farrell	Insect sanctuaries for Beneficial Predators and Parasites in Bananas	✅
14	Daniel Farrell	Using Beneficial Mites to Control Banana Spider Mites	✅
15	Kathy Grice	Is deleafing critical in the management of yellow Sigatoka?	✅
16	Alex Lindsay	The banana nutrient rates trial project	✅
17	Andrew Macnish	Banana supply chain monitoring and simulation identifies critical control points	✅
18	Thu Ha Ngo	Diagnosis of Panama TR4 in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025 for NATA accreditation	✅
19	Vu Nguyen	EFS – suppression of TR4 is now possible	✅
20	Cecilia O’Dwyer	Development and validation of diagnostic assays for detection of phytoplasmas infecting banana	⨯
21	Tony Pattison	Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help with Panama disease decision making	✅
22	Richard Piper	Entomopathogens for banana bunch pest control.	✅
23	Emily Rames	Diverse banana germplasm to support industry development	✅
24	Janet Roberts	Pathology and Ecology of Fusarium Wilt Subtropical Race 4	⨯
25	Katelyn Robertson	Are we approaching Goldfinger’s golden era?	✅
26	Visnja Steele	Virus diagnostics support movement of clean planting material	⨯

Science Poster Panel

Paper #	Presenter	Abstract Submission Title	Presenting at Science Poster Panel
1	Elizabeth Aitken	Identifying Sources of Resistance to Fusarium Wilt	✅
2	Delwar Akbar	Banana action plan: How to minimise food waste?	✅
3	Molly Blake	Understanding inter-row ground cover in the Wet Tropics Banana farming region	✅
4	Shannon Byrnes	Banana Yield Mapping	✅
5	Lilia Carvalhais	Novel assay to detect Ralstonia solanacearum causing Moko disease in banana	✅
6	Tegan Cavallaro	Extension – The value of putting grower collaboration at the heart of project design and delivery.	✅
7	Ingrid Jenkins	Bunch pest management, investigating practices to maximise efficacy and stewardship of registered chemistries	✅
8	John Thomas	A lateral flow immunoassay for the in-field detection of banana bunchy top virus	✅
9	Kathy Crew	BBTV-infected plants are infectious earlier than previously thought!	✅
10	Andre Drenth	Keeping bananas healthy	✅
11	David East	Chemical control of yellow Sigatoka	✅
12	Paul Edwards	Cavendish Banana production management using plant growth regulators	✅
13	Daniel Farrell	Insect sanctuaries for Beneficial Predators and Parasites in Bananas	✅
14	Daniel Farrell	Using Beneficial Mites to Control Banana Spider Mites	✅
15	Kathy Grice	Is deleafing critical in the management of yellow Sigatoka?	✅
16	Alex Lindsay	The banana nutrient rates trial project	✅
17	Andrew Macnish	Banana supply chain monitoring and simulation identifies critical control points	✅
18	Thu Ha Ngo	Diagnosis of Panama TR4 in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025 for NATA accreditation	✅
19	Vu Nguyen	EFS – suppression of TR4 is now possible	✅
20	Cecilia O’Dwyer	Development and validation of diagnostic assays for detection of phytoplasmas infecting banana	⨯
21	Tony Pattison	Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help with Panama disease decision making	✅
22	Richard Piper	Entomopathogens for banana bunch pest control.	✅
23	Emily Rames	Diverse banana germplasm to support industry development	✅
24	Janet Roberts	Pathology and Ecology of Fusarium Wilt Subtropical Race 4	⨯
25	Katelyn Robertson	Are we approaching Goldfinger’s golden era?	✅
26	Visnja Steele	Virus diagnostics support movement of clean planting material	⨯

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	1 year	Set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Advertisement" category .
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
elementor	never	This cookie is used by the website's WordPress theme. It allows the website owner to implement or change the website's content in real-time.
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
_ga	2 years	The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
_ga_EY3JV9J4EB	2 years	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics.
_gat_gtag_UA_178923432_1	1 minute	Set by Google to distinguish users.
_gid	1 day	Installed by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.

Program

RECONNECT + RECHARGE

RECONNECT

RECHARGE

REGENERATE

RECONNECT + REGENERATE

REGENERATE

REGENERATE

RECONNECT + REGENERATE

Keep me updated

Organisers

MCI Australia

Australian Banana Growers' Council

Keep me updated

Science Poster Panel

Science Poster Panel