Krome Memorial Section

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 115:87-88. 2002. THE ACQUISITION AND INTRODUCTION OF ASIAN TROPICAL FRUIT WITH POTENTIAL FOR SOUTH FLORIDA

RICHARD J. CAMPBELL AND NORIS LEDESMA1 their use in large-scale production systems. These agricultural Fairchild Tropical Garden production systems have been on the decline in south Florida 11935 Old Cutler Road due to urbanization, foreign competition and land usage de- Coral Gables, FL 33156 cisions. However, the ornamental and estate agriculture in- dustries continue to develop, offering new opportunities for Additional index words. Garcinia prainiana, Garcinia hombroniana, the commercial use of tropical fruit; albeit, in a manner not Garcinia parvifolia, Artocarpus odoratissimus, Mangifera griffithii, previously considered as commercially viable. Following a se- Mangifera odorata, Mangifera pajang ries of expeditions to tropical Asia, we identified a select group of Asian tropical fruit that could have an economic im- Abstract. Asian tropical fruit, such as the durian (Durio zibethi- pact within this industry. In the Clusiaceae, three species, Gar- nus Murray), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.) and ram- cinia hombroniana Pierre, G. prainiana King and G. parvifolia butan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) have long been identified as (Miq.) Miq. have been identified for their potential as dual potential tree fruit for the Western Hemisphere. Yet, for these purpose ornamental and estate agriculture plants. In the Mo- and other lesser-known fruit of Asian origin, acceptance and raceae, Artocarpus odoratissimus Blanco was selected as a poten- commercial development in this hemisphere has been limited. The majority of these fruit are poorly adapted to South Flori- tial fresh fruit crop. Among the Anacardiaceae, Mangifera da’s climatic and edaphic conditions, making them ill-suited griffithii Hook. f., M. odorata Griffith, and M. pajang Koster- for conventional orchard production. However, with the con- mans have been selected as potential products for ethnic mar- tinuing development of the ornamental and estate agriculture kets and for their use in breeding. in South Florida, there are many species that can be intro- duced and horticulturally managed to fill this niche. We have Acquisition of Material identified, acquired, introduced and begun investigation on several Garcinia, Artocarpus and Mangifera species at Fair- The past development of these crops in tropical America child Tropical Garden. With the superior genetic resources has been hampered by a limited genetic base. Even though and the application of novel horticultural techniques, we hope many of these fruit were introduced nearly a century ago, of- to adapt these species for use in estate agriculture and as or- ten a single accession or only a handful of accessions have namentals in South Florida. been the basis for evaluation of potential and development of planting stock. Further, seeds were the most common form of The durian (Durio zibethinus Murray), langsat (Lansium do- introduction of a crop due to the difficulty in the acquisition mesticum Corr. Serr.) and mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana and horticultural manipulation of clonal material and superi- L.) are a few examples of tropical fruit crops native to South- or selections. With many of the lesser-known species, al- east Asia which have found wide-spread commercial success though they have considerable potential, they can be locally in their native region; however, they have not had similar suc- rare and extremely difficult to locate and acquire. The result cess in this hemisphere. These and other Asian fruit have has been a superficial or incomplete evaluation of the poten- been common in seasonal local markets for centuries, and tial of many Asian crops. have now entered into large grocery stores, where they are With regard to the current project at Fairchild Tropical marketed in considerable volumes both domestically and for Garden, it was determined that clearly identified, clonal ma- export. In this hemisphere, Asian fruit remain predominantly terial of superior quality would be acquired. Over the past sev- as oddities, lacking in genetic resources, information on eral years, contacts have been strengthened and expeditions adaptability to local conditions, and basic production practic- conducted in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and es. The objective of this paper is to describe the ongoing Fair- Thailand, initially to collect seed for rootstock, and later bud- child Tropical Garden program of improvement in Asian wood, air-layers and grafted trees of superior, identified tropical fruit with commercial potential in tropical America, clones. All selections were collected from state, federal or pri- specifically south Florida. vate experiment stations, commercial growers, nurseries or home gardens. Post-entry quarantine periods of 2 or 3 yr have Identification of Suitable Fruit Crops been imposed on much of the material. All plants have been Various authors (Martin et al., 1987; Popenoe, 1920; Ting- maintained at Fairchild Tropical Garden Research Center, gal, 1992; Verheij and Coronel, 1992) over the last century Coral Gables, Fla., USA. have offered opinion in regard to Asian fruit with potential in the Western Hemisphere. Most consideration was given to Conservation of Material Initial establishment of these plants has been challenging. 1Corresponding author. Many of the species are poorly adapted to the climatic and Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 115: 2002. 87

edaphic conditions of south Florida, requiring an acidic with considerable vigor. M. pajang had a low percentage of growing media, protection from cold and/or good quality success with veneer grafts. water. Initial investigations have centered on appropriate rootstocks and grafting techniques with target species. Propa- Horticultural Adaptations gation has been a challenge due to a lack of experience, and/ or written literature on a particular species. Various horticultural questions must be addressed to suc- Within the Garcinia species, only the mangosteen has a lit- cessfully manipulate these species into useful crops for south erature base by which to guide these efforts. Therefore, with G. Florida. The Garcinia species hold considerable promise as hombroniana, G. prainiana, and G. parvifolia there is little known ornamental/fruit trees for container and estate agriculture. about grafting techniques and less about appropriate root- G. hombroniana may be suitable for outdoor estate agriculture, stocks. Experimentation has been initiated for less than 1 year; and its tart, red fruit could serve as a marketable fruit crop; however, some observations have been made. Cleft, and mod- whereas, G. prainiana and G. parvifolia will require protection ified side-veneer grafts have been successful with all species, if from cold and an acid media. These two ornamental, preco- a portion of the leaves are retained. These grafts require an el- cious and small-size trees have good quality fruit, and may evated relative humidity following grafting, which has been serve well as containerized fruit trees for south Florida. Arto- provided by covering with plastic bags for 1 to 2 months. Thus carpus odoratissimus could provide a saleable fruit for ethnic far, all three species have been successfully grafted onto root- markets in south Florida, but issues of tree size, cold sensitiv- stocks of the same species. G. xanthochymus, another Asian spe- ity and acid soils must be addressed. For the Mangifera species, cies with edible fruit has shown potential as a general rootstock we hope they can be grown outside, as a part of estate agricul- for these species. Grafts with G. hombroniana and G. prainiana tural systems. The M. odorata could provide a highly disease- have been successful and growth has been satisfactory. It is pre- tolerant fruit of excellent quality, while the M. griffithii and mature to draw any further conclusions. M. pajang could provide alternative fresh greens and fruit for With Artocarpus odoratissimus, grafting has proven difficult, pickles and achars. We must confirm the proper rootstocks although low percentages of successful grafts were achieved and management methods with these species. on both A. odoratissimus and A. sarawakensis rootstocks. A Literature Cited modified veneer, with leaves retained and covered with a plas- tic bag has been the best method. Side-veneer, patch and chip Martin, F. W. C. W. Campbell, and R. M. Ruberté. 1987. Perennial Edible buds have thus far been unsuccessful. Fruits of the Tropics: An Inventory. USDA-ARS. Agr. Handbook no. 642. Among the Mangifera sp., all species were grafted on M. in- Popenoe, W. 1920. Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits. The Macmill- an Company, New York. dica ‘Turpentine’ rootstock. A high degree of success was at- Tinggal, H. S. D. S. H. 1992. Brunei Darussalam Fruits in Colour. 147 pp. tained with veneer and cleft grafts of M. odorata and with Verheij, E. W. M. and R. E. Coronel (eds.). 1992. Plant Resources of South- veneer grafts of M. griffithii. Trees of both species have grown East Asia. No. 2. Edible Fruits and Nuts. Prosea. Bogor, Indonesia.

Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 115:88-90. 2002. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING OF LYCHEE AND WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR FLORIDA GROWERS

A. RAY RAFIE1 AND CARLOS F. BALERDI whereas Florida produced only 1,500 t of lychees. Most of the University of Florida, IFAS lychees produced in Southeast Asia are consumed locally in Miami-Dade County Cooperative Extension Service fresh or processed forms. Demand for fresh lychees in the U.S. 18710 SW 288th Street market is increasing due to Asian and Hispanic population growth. There is sufficient evidence to believe that demand for Homestead, FL 33030 lychees from Florida is increasing and that lychees remain a vi- able crop. The highly perishable nature of the fruit makes it dif- Additional index words. Litchi chinensis, ‘Chen Purple’, ‘Brewster’, ficult for the Asian lychee to withstand the long distance ‘Mauritius’, ‘Sweet Cliff’, cultivar, fruit flies shipment via sea freight to the North American market. Lychee is a host of fruit flies and is not allowed to enter the U.S. terri- Abstract. Lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) is an exotic subtropi- tory from many countries that are considered fruit fly zones. In cal fruit crop and is considered economically important for recent years Mexican lychee acreage and volume have in- many of the Asian nations. China, India, Thailand and Mexico creased, resulting in more fruit being exported to the U.S., im- are considered the major players in the international com- pacting market prices. merce of lychees. In the year 2000, China produced 950,000 t Overview of the Lychee Industry in Florida This research was supported by the Florida Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion, and approved for publication as Journal Series No. N-02268. Lychee, a subtropical fruit, is native to southern China 1Corresponding author. where it has been cultivated for thousands of years (Zee et al.,

88 Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 115: 2002.