“Much of our success can be found in a meticulous attention to detail,” says general manager, Suné Wiltshire who has been with Du Roi Laboratory (Letsitele Limpopo Province, South Africa) for nearly 10 years. Du Roi Laboratory is a global forerunner in the production and distribution of premium-quality disease-free tissue culture banana plants. Over six million tissue-cultured plants annually leave this facility, currently destined for more than 35 countries.
“Supplying top-quality disease-free plants, on time, backed by professional staff offering technical support to clients is the backbone of our existence. However, we’ve worked hard to earn the continued trust of growers worldwide by also offering complete traceability from foundation block to grower, the thorough indexing of all material for a wide variety of diseases, as well as providing access to disease resistant varieties holding their own against such debilitating threats as Panama disease.” As an added measure to ensure disease-free plants, the foundation block is situated in an insect-proof tunnel.
Some production and distribution figures in perspective:
- 2008 – 2024 contribution to the global banana industry: Total plants supplied = 90 576 696
- Total plants exported (last decade): 37 936 430
- Total plants for SA (last decade): 20 640 539
- Total countries supplied: 42
World-class facilities
All initiation material is sourced from either its own foundation block or bio-secure greenhouse, depending on the phytosanitary regulations of the destination country. Through a process called soma-clonal variation, elite single clone selections have been identified, with the distinctive characteristics of shorter plant height, shorter cycle, cylindrical bunches and higher yields. These selections have been internationally evaluated and are commercially distributed with excellent results. Du Roi Lab offers fully automated weaning facilities, onsite nurseries, 28 Laminar flow benches and 10 growth rooms.
The Du Roi Laboratory management system for the production of banana tissue culture plants is ISO 9001 certified and they have been certified since 2011. This management system certification (which they have successfully renewed five times) sets them apart as a responsible, reliable, and highly qualified producer of tissue culture banana plants.
Our people is our super power
The company permanently employs 145 people, 87% of whom have been at the company for more than 10 years. “Our business requires a keen attention to detail, and, especially for the 80+ women in the laboratory, mental endurance,” says Wiltshire.
Why women? Eighty-six percent of its workforce consists of women. “We’ve found that women are especially suited to the crucial tasks in the lab to ensure the successful growth and maintenance of plant tissues in a sterile environment. Because of the intense concentration required to do this work, we work in 4.5-hour shifts for 9 hours of the day. This has the potential to interfere with family life, especially when women have babies or small children. To enable mothers to come to work with a clear conscience regarding the safekeeping and development of their little ones, a special crèche facility was established in the staff village on site where children receive two nutritious meals a day, and breastfeeding mothers can attend to their babies in addition to the hour lunchtime they can spend with their babies. Children are not only looked after and well cared for but are also educated (up to grade RR) by qualified teachers.
Celebration awards honours industry stalwarts
One of the company’s people who greatly impacted the wider industry, is internationally renowned banana expert, Dr John Robinson, who joined Du Roi in 1998 as technical manager and continued to act as a consultant following his retirement at the age of 73. Dr John, a former director at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) Institute for Tropical Crops in Nelspruit, welcomed the challenge of applying his academic and scientific knowledge to a commercial situation.
A great deal of Dr John’s time was spent on developing new banana selections for Du Roi Laboratory. Using the natural process of somaclonal variation, a few new selections such as Asdia, Nandi, Grand Negra, and Apollo were released. “None of these selections were ‘silver bullets’ but each of them had one or more benefit over the standard varieties,” Dr John remembers.
Dr. John received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his pioneering advancements in the global banana industry.
Other highlights in serving the global banana industry
In 2020 Du Roi Laboratory acquired the rights for the commercialisation of the Formosana variety, a highly tolerant variety against FOC TR4 Panama disease. This strain of Panama disease (FOC TR4) is devastating to banana growers across the world and severely impacts on their profitability and the success of the global banana industry. Du Roi Laboratory has entered into an agreement with the owners of the variety, the Taiwan Banana Research Institute (TBRI). It serves as a significant breakthrough for the global banana industry as the Formosana variety is commercially proven to be highly tolerant to Fusarium Oxysporum Cubense Tropical Race 4 (FOC TR4) Panama disease caused by the soil-inhabiting fungus.
The way forward
“Our focus remains on acquiring new elite plant varieties, whether through our own selection process or by partnering with entities dedicated to developing pest and disease resistant strains,” says Wiltshire. “We are closely monitoring developments in Genome Editing and the promising new varieties on the horizon. We’ll continue to improve the quality of our plants by trialing new products and techniques as part of our production process. We understand the financial impact that new developments can have on growers, so we work hard to negotiate the lowest possible prices for transport and airfreight.”
For more information, contact tam@duiroilab.co.za
