Miles Auwe

Has anybody recently imported TC bananas into Hawaii?
There's supposedly a list of approved vendors, or there was in 2012, but my emails to the HDoA have all gone unanswered.
Advice on vendors? Anybody particularly helpful at HDoA Hilo? FedEx vs. UPS?

Gabe15

I have from very particular research labs, but nothing commercial. HDOA makes it very difficult, and even will fumble the ball with their own rules at times, very frustrating. However, unless you are looking for a large quantity of commercial cultivars, most good common varieties can already be found here. What type and quantity of plants are you looking for?

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Miles Auwe

Pretty much anything without BBTV. I know of two vendors in Puna that have a great selection but both have had BBTV on site within the last two years. I was hoping to pull from a vendor like Dragon-Agro or Agri-Starts. (I believe A.S. won't even bother trying with HI anymore)
Nobody in my neighborhood has had BBTV (yet) and we've got forest one side and fresh lava on the other so I'm not too worried about it drifting in from outside of the 'hood. I figure it's more likely to come in through infected material.

I emailed HARC (HI AG Research Center) but never heard back. I'd've been willing to pay for more material than I need just to get something clean, but I'd prefer something more interesting than Williams or Cavendish. I figured I could just give the extra away.

cincinnana

This forum member is a half-hour from you along the coast.
He has a decent micro farm and a place to stay.
He has also done many detailed taste reports on the plants he grows
Here is a link to his webapage.
Good luck!

Hawai’i Island Bananas, leis, & Produce

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Gabe15

You'd be much better off to just train yourself how to ID BBTV infected plants, remove them promptly, and manage BBTV pressure by frequent replanting, this also helps take care of corm weevils and nematodes which are nearly as destructive for some varieties but not as obvious initially. Be careful about where you get plants from, see the mat they are collected from if can, and if you see any BBTV symptoms anywhere on the mat, or anywhere in the area, do not take any. You can further add a layer of protection by cleaning the plants and making sure they are free of ants and aphids, and then potting them up and letting them start to grow in an area away from your other plants, typically BBTV infected plants that didn't previously show symptoms will start to show within 2-4months after replanting. If they grow fine for a few months in a pot, then you can outplant and be very confident they didn't come with BBTV. These days in most parts of Hawaii, getting BBTV is almost inevitable eventually, so better to just learn how to manage it rather than thinking it can be avoided altogether.

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Growing bananas in Colorado, Washington, Hawaii since 2004. Commercial banana farmer, 200+ varieties.

Miles Auwe

My understanding is that only species of one genera is a known vector, and a second sp. of that genus is considered a potential but unlikely vector. I read somewhere that most naturally occurring new infections occur within 60 feet(+/-) of the prior host.
When I lived in Kailua (Oahu) I did see BBTV hopscotch down the block, but my lot on the Big I is very isolated and the nearest banana is at least 1,000 feet away. It's not imposiible that an aphid could blow in during a storm, but I think it is far more risky to start bringing material in.
I'd always assumed that TC growers would have their source material tested, but from what I've been reading lately it sounds like the process of culturing can have some unintended consequences.
This paper was a bit above my pay grade, but I'm pretty sure I caught the gist of it correctly.
https: //pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20078782/

Yug

Yeah, I've noticed that that is a very common sentiment among growers.