Training Available in Florida in Tropical and Subtropical

WOLFE: HORTICULTURAL TRAINING 301

Quality of Raw Products Is Most Important 1. A long range program in planning, or ganizing, and directing a sound agricul An adequate and dependable supply of raw tural policy by the management with a products is required for successful vegetable or sympathetic attitude toward farmers fruit canning operation. The quality of the problems. raw product as delivered to the cannery is 2. A definite production schedule, based the most important factor in determining qual upon the canning factory capacity, ity after canning. Careful planning by the equipment and sales outlets. canner and his field department is required 3. A fair contract for both the canner and for production, harvesting, and handling opera the grower—legally correct but in easily tions in relation to the quality, cost, and sale understood language. of the finished product. 4. Location of a production area where the While some canning companies own or soils, climatic conditions, and type of lease land and produce their own crops, the farming are suitable for the particular general practice is to contract with farmers crop. in the vicinity of the cannery to produce raw 5. Selection and education of growers to materials for them. Usually seed or plants of produce the quantities and quality of varieties adapted to the local area are supplied the crops desired. by the canning company to insure uniform raw 6. Special services to the grower in arrang product. The application of pesticides is ar ing for unusual facilities or special equip ranged as needed for crop protection without ment may be required in growing or harmful residues. It is customary to purchase handling the crop. on the basis of quality and maturity standards. 7. Intelligent and careful field service at Consideration must be given to harvesting, harvest time. containers, harvesting labor, or special harvest 8. Carefully kept records of individual ing equipment. growers field operations are the basis Good grower-canner relations are necessary for developing a crop improvement pro to any successful vegetable or fruit canning gram. operation. The grower looks to the canner as 9. Close cooperation with the local and his market, while the canner is dependent upon state agricultural agencies. the growers forhis entire supply of raw prod 10. Favorable local publicity and continuing ucts. A well organized plan is required for contacts with growers and local agricul a good agricultural program as follows: tural problems during the year.

TRAINING AVAILABLE IN FLORIDA IN TROPICAL AND

SUBTROPICAL HORTICULTURE

H. S. Wolfe the coolest sections of the state. The most important subtropical fruit crops of the state University of Florida are oranges, mandarins (including tangerines), Gainesville and grapefruit — the kinds included in the term "commercial citrus". While lemons are All of Florida, except the Lower Keys, has a subtropical climate, but some tropical fruits also included in this term, the Jime is ex are grown commercially in the warmest areas, cluded, both in common usage and in the and conversely some temperate zone fruits in legal code governing shipping of "citrus" fruits. 302 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1959

The Krome Memorial Institute has from in addition to their training in fruit produc its inception been devoted to tropical and tion, handling, and selling. subtropical fruits other than "commercial Lectures and library reading are not in citrus*' as above defined, since a section of themselves adequate for genuine understand the society devoted to this area had been in ing of and acquaintance with these crops. It existence as long as any sections had been is not possible to carry on commercial pro recognized. In accordance, therefore, with duction at Gainesville of any of these fruits, the prevailing usage, I shall consider in this but the student does gain first hand acquaint paper only facilities for training in culture of ance with them. Fresh or frozen specimens of the non-citrus fruits, except for that step practically all species are presented for stu child, the lime. In passing, however, I wish dents to see and taste, and potted plants of to note that both the University of Florida all of them are growing in the greenhouse to and Florida Southern College have offered permit acquaintance with vegetative charac undergraduate training in citrus culture for ters. The cooperation of the Sub-tropical Ex many years, and the University has conferred periment Station in supplying fruit for use in several Ph.D. degrees in this field as well as class is gratefully recognized. Sometimes after a large number of M.S.A. degrees. a mild winter we can harvest several kinds Training in tropical and subtropical horti of fruit from field specimens (guava, Indian culture other than commercial citrus is avail jujabe, Cattley guava, pitanga), and green able in Florida — or in the United States, for house plants of pitanga, jaboticaba, and grumi- that matter — only at the University of Florida, chama sometimes bear fruit. Papaya and ba although much excellent research is carried nana plants are almost invariably killed each on in California also. There is no curriculum winter, so that fruit is very rarely available offered in this area at Los Angeles, however. in spring when these crops are being studied, At the University of Florida this program is although live sprouts are always present then. offered at both undergraduate and graduate There is also a collection of tinted plaster levels, leading ultimately to the doctorate. models of avocados, mangos, and miscellan While there are never more than a very few eous tropical fruits, obtained through the kind students at any one time interested in this ness of S. J. Lynch for the avocados and the field, there are always one or two undergrad Dade County Agricultural Agent for the others. uates and an occasional graduate student. In Avocado, lime, mango and pineapple are the past 20 years, 1 student has earned the studied in the fall semester, as the more im M.S.A. and 2 students the Ph.D. in tropical portant commercial crops among the tropical and subtropical horticulture as here defined. and subtropical fruits. I am aware that lychee Undergraduate training is all carried out culture is making greater progress than pine at the main campus in Gainesville. Here are apple culture, and that someday these crops available strong departments with excellent may have to be switched. Also in this fall laboratory facilities for teaching such funda semester, with stress on the crops of com mental subjects as botany, chemistry, soils, mercial importance in Florida, attention is entomology, plant pathology, and marketing. given to four of the important tropical tree Besides the basic course in horticulture and crops which are handled like fruits in their the specialized course in the physiology of culture — coffee, cacao, rubber, and coconut. fruit production which are taken by all majors Students of tropical horticulture ought to in Fruit Crops, there is a full year course know something about these important crops, devoted to the tropical and subtropical fruit even if they are not suitable for commercial crops, in which all aspects of their culture are culture in Florida. They are sometimes listed considered. Majors in this field also take a as agronomic crops, but have nothing in their one-semester survey course in citrus culture, culture which resembles the handling of field and another in citrus maturity and packing crops, and are really orchard trees. A field house operations. In recent years there has trip to Avon Park and Lake Placid enables been increasing emphasis on training men for students to see how avocados, limes, and pine managerial responsibilities rather than simply apples are grown and packed commercially. for the tasks of production. All of our majors In the spring semester all other tropical take courses in accounting and business law fruits which can be grown in Florida are KROME: TOPWORKING AVOCADOS 303

studied. For some of them, such as papaya, degree, is carried out under the direction of lychee, guava, macadamia, and banana, there a research scientist on the staff of the Sub- are many research data available from other Tropical Experiment Station. There the stu countries on their culture. For most of the dent can utilize bearing trees of tropical others, little is known of special cultural needs species, as well as enjoy the laboratory facili other than temperature. Students are required ties of that station if they are more convenient to become familiar with foliage characters as to his research than those at Gainesville. well as fruit characters of these species. Most of them are tasted as well as seen. A field The number of students seeking tropical trip to Bradenton and Laurel gives the chance fruits as a major field is very small in com to see bearing trees of many species known parison with those majoring in citrus culture, only as small plant in pots or tubs. Students though probably the disparity is no greater majoring in Ornamental Horticulture or En than that in the value of tropical fruit crops tomology often elect this course in order in Florida as compared to citrus fruits. Most to become familiar with species often used of the students in the special courses are in home gardens of southern Florida. foreign ones, who have some limited famil iarity with these fruits at home. The Florida Graduate training is carried out at the student is more concerned with a job on Gainesville campus so far as required courses graduation, and requests for men trained in are concerned, with heavy emphasis on Plant Physiology, Biochemistry, Analytical Chemis tropical fruits are very few. Until there is try, and Statistics as research tools. Thesis more demand, we cannot look for increase in research, however, especially for the Ph.D. their number.

THE CASE FOR TOPWORKING AVOCADOS TO

STANDARD VARIETIES

Wm. H. Krome if most of them were eliminated. If this meant destroying the trees, with complete loss to Homestead the owners, there wouldn't be much point in In the 1957-58 season, which was our last even discussing the problem. But it doesn't. good year, Florida shippers reported a total of On the contrary, while the industry as a whole 587,571 bushels of avocados. 49% of them would benefit from the elimination of the were Lulas and Booth 8's. But 45 different host of seedlings and undesirable varieties, named varieties were reported altogether, not the ones who would benefit the most, and to mention 18,000 bushels of seedlings and the quickest, are the owners of these trees. unclassified varieties. And while the two most All that is necessary is to topwork them to popular varieties accounted for 49% of the standard varieties. total, the 30 bottom ranking varieties ac counted for only 5.3% — excluding the multi Let me give you an illustration. Many tude of stray dogs and cats called "Seedling years ago I bought a ten acre grove which and Unclassified." No wonder shippers tear was about half Waldins and half Taylors, their hair! And no wonder housewives can't Tafts and Lindas. The first thing we did was tell a good avocado from a bad one. topwork all except the Waldins to Booth 8. The following season the grafts bloomed, Nevertheless, these minor varieties account producing an average of slightly over a bushel ed for over 30,000 bushels of fruit, and the apiece. Within three years the crops of Booth outlaws—"Seedlings and Unclassified"—bring 8's alone had returned more than the cost the total to about 50,000. How many trees of the grove. Another instance: after the does this represent? I'm afraid it represents freeze of Feb. 6, 1958, we topworked 300 at least 50,000 trees. Some of these produce frostbitten Fuchs to Booth 8, leaving about fine fruit and might be kept, but unquestion the same number of Fuchs as they were. ably our industry would be much better off Now, as this is written in October, 1959,