Howe Farming: Bananas

Location and design

This trial is in collaboration with Howe Farming, on their banana farm between Cairns and Mareeba. The climate is sub-tropical, and the soils are Ferrosols supplied with irrigation water from the Mareeba-Dimbulah Scheme.

The trial was established in May-June 2025 and will run until at least March 2028.

The trial has three treatments:

• Control without basalt or lime
• Limestone (1 tonne per hectare in 2025)
• Basalt (40 tonnes per hectare in 2025)

each with 5 replicate plots. Each plot is 50m long and two rows (14m) wide.

Monitoring

• Fruit yield and quality will be measured throughout the year.
• Leaching of water and solutes will be measured during the wet season, using ‘drainage flux meters’ installed at 0.9 metre depth.
• Soil properties will be measured once per year, using soil cores, and soil moisture will be measured continuously.