Outlines of perennial crop breeding in the tropics » MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS 4 (1969) LANDBOUWHOGESCHOOL WAGENINGEN - THE NETHERLANDS 631. MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS 4 (1969) LANDBOUWHOGESCHOOL WAGENINGEN THE NETHERLANDS OUTLINES OF PERENNIAL CROP BREEDING IN THE TROPICS BY NUMEROUS AUTHORS EDITED BY F. P. FERWERDA INSTITUTE OF PLANT BREEDING, LANDBOUWHOGESCHOOL, WAGENINGEN AND F. WIT FOUNDATION FOR AGRICULTURAL PLANT BREEDING WAGENIN GEN BIBLIOTHEEK DER LANDBOUWHOGESCBOW' WAGENIN€£#, H. VEENMAN & ZONEN N.V. WAGENINGEN 1969 «llU*»»1" Dedicated to the memory of DR. H. J. TOXOPEUS one of the main initiators of this book who did not live to see it completed Foreword Plant breeding may be regarded as a driving force towards a higher standard of living. This is particularly true of the tropics where rich sources of germ plasm provide numerous possibilities of bringing together desirable characters. Equipped with a summary of the existing knowledge and experience in this field students and resear­ chers might be stimulated to exploit these possibilities more intensively. In the autumn of 1963 a small group of scientists considered practical ways of reviewing the work already done. It soon became apparent that, especially in the sphere of the perennial tropical crops a summary of the existing knowledge would fill a gap in literature. Because of their long breeding cycles, genetic improvement of this category of plants entails long term projects. During the execution of breeding pro­ grammes there are inevitable changes in staff so that published results may be frag­ mentary and dispersed throughout various journals which are often difficult of access. In 1963 two of the staff of the Wageningen Agricultural University's Institute of Plant Breeding, Dr. H. J. Toxopeus and Dr. F. P. Ferwerda, both having had wide experience in tropical plant breeding, volunteered as joint editors of such a review. Unfortunately Dr. Toxopeus died suddenly in February 1964 while collecting photo­ graphic material for this book. One of his former colleagues in Indonesia, Dr. F. Wit now of the Foundation for Agricultural Plant Breeding at Wageningen was invited to succeed him as joint editor. This work has been dedicated to the memory of Dr. H. J. Toxopeus. Before the editorial work could even begin, the editorial board spared no effort to enlist those most qualified to write about the different crops. We thank them all for their assistance. When all the copy had been received the editors had the difficult task of welding the great diversity of material into a united whole. Publication of the book was financed by the Agricultural University and the Foun­ dation for the advancement of the breeding of field crops, both situated at Wagenin­ gen. Their help ensured a wide circulation for these 'Outlines of perennial crop bree­ ding in the tropics'. At last this book, the result of much effort, has been launched on its career in the scientific world and I wish it every success in its stated aim, which is to inspire renewed efforts in plant breeding and thus to contribute to the world's prosperity and to human welfare. J. Sneep. Editors' preface In predominantly agricultural tropical countries the need to raise the production of good-quality foodstuffs and raw material is today greater than ever. The rise in pro­ duction efficiency, so essential for our very existence, can be obtained only partly by improved cultural practices, increased use of fertilizers and better plant protection. It is now generally recognized that local varieties adapted to traditional cultural methods often fail to respond favourably to improved growing conditions. Therefore plant breeders have a most important part to play in the total effort. The greatest challenges and opportunities await them in the tropics. There the developments in agriculture and horticulture could be dramatic, provided that the planting material which is made available to the grower consists of genotypes giving the best results under the new conditions. In tropical agriculture and horticulture perennial crops occupy an important place. In several of them, especially in plantation crops, much effort has been given to im­ prove the plants by careful selection and breeding. Some breeding programmes have been going on for many years and have considerably increased the yield and improved the quality of the product. Only a few are in the picture of what has already been achieved. The information available to others is often scattered over reports from experimental stations and various scientific journals some of which are virtually inaccessible. In recent years several excellent monographs have been published about the chief tropical crops. Most of them have dealt, however, with mainly agricultural, technical or economic aspects, whereas only a few have concerned themselves more than super­ ficially with breeding. As yet there has been no book summarizing the attainments of breeding with the main perennial tropical crops, describing how it is done and indica­ ting what remains to be done for the near future. The present book is a modest joint effort to make good this deficiency. Almost all the crops are discussed by scientists knowing them from personal expe­ rience. Some variation in style and presentation has been inevitable, especially in view of the diverging peculiarities of each crop. Consequently the book tends to be a collec­ tion of essays, each dealing with the breeding of one particular crop rather than an integrated textbook. The editors, however, consider this an advantage. To keep the book's size within reasonable bounds, particular crops and particular aspects of selec­ tion and breeding have been chosen for treatment. The approach adopted has been to provide a wide view and a clear background without an exhaustive description of methods and techniques. Readers interested in particular aspects should consult the literature references at the end of each chapter. The book is intended as a guide to the student and as a source of reference to the scientist in the tropics who wants to acquaint himself with the progress and the results of breeding in a particular crop. This book could not have been completed without the assistance of many experts with experience of different crops in various tropical or subtropical countries. To all these contributors we are deeply indebted for their clear and concise surveys. Last but not least we thank Prof. Dr. J. Sneep, Director of the Institute of Plant Breeding, for his initiative and encouragement and Dr. H. de Haan and Dr. A. C. Zeven, whose valuable editorial experience contributed in no small part to the production of this book. One of its initiators, Dr. H. J. Toxopeus, did not live to see its completion. We dedicate the book to his memory. The Editors List of contributors BERGH, B. O. Dr., University of California, Department of Horticultural Science, Riverside, Cali­ fornia, U.S.A. CAMERON, J. W. Prof. Dr., University of California, Department of Horticultural Science, Riverside, California, U.S.A. CARVALHO, A. Dr., Instituto Agronomico do Estado Säo Paulo, Seçào de Genetica, Campinas, Brazil. CoNDiT, I. J. Prof. Dr., University of California, Department of Horticultural Science, Citrus Re­ search Centre, Riverside, California, U.S.A. CRUICKSHANK, A. M., Mount Home Experimental Station, St. Andrews, Grenada, W.I. EYNATTEN, C. L. M. VAN, Dr. Ir., Foundation for the Execution of the Home Garden Projects, c/o Royal Institute for the Tropics, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Formerly: Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, Nigeria. FERWERDA, F. P. Dr., Institute of Plant Breeding, University of Agriculture, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Formerly: Research Department, Government Agricultural Enterprises, Djakarta, Indonesia. FLACH, M. Dr. Ir., Department of Tropical Crop Husbandry, University of Agriculture, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Formerly: Department of Agriculture, Fak Fak, West New Guinea. FRAHM-LELIVELD, J. A. Dr., Department of Tropical Crop Husbandry, University of Agriculture, Wageningen, The Netherlands (rtd). Formerly: Central- and Eastern Java Experiment Station, Malang, Indonesia. HARTEN, A. M. VAN, Ir., Institute of Plant Breeding, University of Agriculture, Wageningen, The Netherlands. LANGHE, E. DE, Dr., Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Tropical Agriculture, Ghent, Belgium. Formerly: I.N.E.A.C., Yangambi, Congo Kinshasa. MEDINA, D. M., Instituto Agronomico do Estado Säo Paulo, Seçào de Genetica, Campinas, Brazil. MENDES, A. J. T., Instituto Agronomico do Estado Säo Paulo, Seçào de Genetica, Campinas, Brazil. MONACO, L. C. Dr., Instituto Agronomico do Estado Säo Paulo, Seçào de Genetica, Campinas, Brazil. OUDEJANS, J. H. M. Ir., Ciba (Pakistan) Limited, Dacca, East Pakistan. SINGH, L. B. Dr., National Botanic Gardens, Lucknow, U.P., India. SNEEP, J. Prof. Dr. Ir., Institute of Plant Breeding, University of Agriculture, Wageningen, The Netherlands. SOOST, R. K. Prof. Dr., University of California, Department of Horticultural Science, Riverside, California, U.S.A. SPARNAAIJ, L. D. Dr., Institute of Horticultural Plant Breeding, P.O.Box 16, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Formerly: West-African (now: Nigerian) Institute for Oil Palm Research, Benin- City, Nigeria. STOREY, W. B. Prof. Dr., University of California, Department of Horticultural Science, Citrus Research Centre, Riverside, California, U.S.A. TAMMES, P. M. L. Dr., Laboratory for Research on Insecticides, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Formerly: Coconut Research Station, Manado, Celebes,