Organic Fruit and Vegetables from theTropics Market, Certification and Production Information for Producers and International Trading Companies United Nations UnitedNations Conference on Trade & Development Organic Fruit and Vegetables from the Tropics Market, Certification and Production Information for Producers and International Trading Companies United Nations New York and Geneva, 2003 Note Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters with figures. Mention of such a symbol indicates a reference to a United Nations document. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but full acknowledgement is requested. A copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat at: Palais des Nations, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland. Copyright © United Nations, 2003 UNCTAD/DITC/COM/2003/2 Contents Acknowledgements Forewords Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS FOREWORDS Part A: Production and Basic Principles of Organic Agriculture I. General Aspects of Organic Farming in the Tropics and Subtropics 1.1. Philosophy and principles of organic agriculture Page 2 1.1.1. Definition and principles 1.1.2. Distinction from other farming systems 1.1.3. Why organic agriculture? 1.1.4. Development of organic agriculture 1.2. Soil management and soil nutrition Page 8 1.2.1. The soil – A living organism 1.2.2. Soil cultivation and tillage 1.2.3. Green manures and cover crops 1.2.4. Mulching 1.2.5. Associating crops and crop rotation 1.2.6. Soil and plant nutrition 1.2.7. Nutrient recycling on the farm 1.2.8. Composting 1.3. Pest and disease management Page 23 1.3.1. Plant health and natural defense 1.3.2. Preventive measures 1.3.3. Curative crop protection methods 1.4. Weed management Page 28 1.5. Seeds and planting material Page 30 1.5.1. Conservation varieties and on-farm propagation 1.5.2. What do the standards say ? 1.5.3. www.organicXseeds.com – more than 3500 products online 1.5.4. Organic plant breeding techniques Contents iv 1.6. Management of semi-natural habitats Page 32 1.7. Livestock husbandry Page 34 1.7.1. Keeping animals 1.7.2. Feeding animals 1.7.3. Animal health 1.7.4. Breeding in organic animal husbandry 1.8. Water conservation and irrigation Page 39 1.9. Agroforestry Page 41 1.10. Conversion to organic farming Page 45 1.10.1. The conversion process 1.10.2. Ready for conversion ? 1.10.3. Conversion planning 1.11. The Economic performance of organic farms Page 48 1.11.1. Costs and returns 1.11.2. Reducing expenses 1.11.3. Ways to increase returns Part B: Organic Cultivation of Fruits and Vegetables II. Organic fruits 2.1. Citrus Page 54 2.1.1 Agro-Ecological requirements and site selection 2.1.2 Establishing an organic citrus orchard 2.1.3 Soil management 2.1.4 Tree Nutrition and fertilization 2.1.5 Weed control 2.1.6 Water management and irrigation 2.1.7 Freeze protection 2.1.8 Pruning 2.1.9 Pest and disease management 2.1.10 Harvesting and post harvest handling Contents v 2.2. Guava Page 68 2.2.1. Agro-Ecological requirement and site selection 2.2.2. Establishing an organic guava orchard 2.2.3. Soil and weed management 2.2.4. Tree nutrition and fertilization 2.2.5. Water management and irrigation 2.2.6. Freeze protection 2.2.7. Pruning and fruit thinning 2.2.8. Pest and disease management 2.2.9. Harvesting and post harvest handling 2.3. Lychee Page 75 2.3.1. Ecological requirements 2.3.2. Establishing an organic lychee orchard 2.3.3. Soil and weed management 2.3.4. Soil nutrition and fertilization 2.3.5. Pruning 2.3.6. Water management and irrigation 2.3.7. Pest and disease management 2.3.8. Harvesting and post harvest handling 2.4. Avocado Page 84 2.4.1. Agro-Ecological requirements and site selection 2.4.2. Establishing an organic avocado orchard 2.4.3. Soil and weed management 2.4.4. Tree nutrition and fertilization 2.4.5. Water management and irrigation 2.4.6. Freeze protection 2.4.7. Pruning 2.4.8. Pest and disease management 2.4.9. Harvesting and post harvest handling 2.5. Coconut Page 93 2.5.1. Ecological requirements 2.5.2. Soil and weed management 2.5.3. Organic Coconut Palm Production Systems 2.5.4. Soil nutrition and organic fertilization 2.5.5. Pest and disease management 2.5.6. Harvesting and post harvest handling Contents vi 2.6. Bananas Page 98 2.6.1. Botany 2.6.2. Varieties and countries of origin 2.6.3. Uses and contents 2.6.4. Site requirements 2.6.5. Seeds and seedlings 2.6.6. Methods of planting 2.6.7. Diversification strategies 2.6.8. Nutrients and organic fertilization management 2.6.9. Biological methods of plant protection 2.6.10. Monitoring and maintenance 2.6.11. Harvesting and post-harvest treatment 2.6.12. Product specifications and quality standards 2.7. Mango Page 109 2.7.1. Botany 2.7.2. Varieties and countries of origin 2.7.3. Uses and contents 2.7.4. Aspects of plant cultivation 2.7.5. Planting methods 2.7.6. Diversification strategies 2.7.7. Nutrients and organic fertilization management 2.7.8. Biological methods of plant protection 2.7.9. Crop cultivation and maintenance 2.7.10. Harvesting and post-harvest treatment 2.7.11. Product specifications and quality standards 2.8. Pineapple Page 119 2.8.1. Botany 2.8.2. Varieties and countries of origin 2.8.3. Uses and contents 2.8.4. Aspects of plant cultivation 2.8.5. Planting methods and cultivation systems 2.8.6. Nutrients and organic fertilization management 2.8.7. Biological methods of plant protection 2.8.8. Crop cultivation and maintenance 2.8.9. Harvesting and post-harvest treatment 2.8.10. Product specifications and quality standards Contents vii 2.9. Dates Page 128 2.9.1. Botany 2.9.2. Varieties and countries of origin 2.9.3. Uses and contents 2.9.4. Aspects of plant cultivation 2.9.5. Methods of planting 2.9.6. Diversification strategies 2.9.7. Nutrients and organic fertilization management 2.9.8. Biological methods of plant protection 2.9.9. Crop monitoring and maintenance 2.9.10. Harvesting and post-harvest treatment 2.9.11. Product specifications and quality standards 2.10. Pepper Page 139 2.10.1. Botany 2.10.2. Varieties and countries of origin 2.10.3. Uses and contents 2.10.4. Aspects of plant cultivation 2.10.5. Planting methods 2.10.6. Diversification strategies 2.10.7. Nutrients and organic fertilization management 2.10.8. Biological methods of plant protection 2.10.9. Crop monitoring and maintenance 2.10.10. Harvesting and post-harvest treatment 2.10.11. Product specifications and quality standards 2.11. Different possible Processing Methods for Fruits Page 147 2.11.1. Dried Fruits 2.11.2. Fruit Marmalade 2.11.3. Canned Fruits 2.11.4. Fruit pulp 2.11.5. Transport Packaging III. Organic Vegetables 3.1. Beans Page 165 3.1.1. Ecological requirements 3.1.2. Planting systems and soil management 3.1.3. Pest and disease management 3.1.4. Weed management 3.1.5. Harvesting and Post Harvest Handling Contents viii 3.2. Tomato Page 170 3.2.1. Ecological requirements 3.2.2. Organic tomato production systems 3.2.3. Soil Nutrition and organic fertilization 3.2.4. Irrigation 3.2.5. Pest and disease management 3.2.6. Weed management 3.2.7. Harvesting and post harvest handling 3.3. Cabbage Page 176 3.3.1. Ecological requirements 3.3.2. Organic Cabbage production systems 3.3.3. Soil Nutrition and organic fertilization 3.3.4. Pest and disease management 3.3.5. Harvesting and post harvest handling 3.4. Asparagus Page 180 3.4.1. Ecological requirements 3.4.2. Organic asparagus production systems 3.4.3. Soil Nutrition and organic fertilization 3.4.4. Irrigation 3.4.5. Pest and disease management 3.4.6. Weed management 3.4.7. Harvesting and post harvest handling 3.5. Carrot Page 185 3.5.1. Ecological requirements 3.5.2. Organic carrot production systems 3.5.3. Soil Nutrition and irrigation 3.5.4. Pest and disease management 3.5.5. Weed management 3.5.6. Harvesting and post harvest handling 3.6. Cucumber Page 189 3.6.1. Ecological requirements 3.6.2. Organic cucumber Production Systems 3.6.3. Soil nutrition and irrigation 3.6.4. Pest and disease management 3.6.5. Weed management 3.6.6. Harvesting and post harvest handling Contents ix 3.7. Aubergine Page 192 3.7.1. Ecological requirements 3.7.2. Organic aubergine production systems 3.7.3. Soil Nutrition and irrigation 3.7.4. Pest and disease management 3.7.5. Weed management 3.7.6. Harvesting and post harvest handling 3.8. Lettuce Page 196 3.8.1. Ecological requirements 3.8.2. Organic lettuce production systems 3.8.3. Soil Nutrition and irrigation 3.8.4. Pest and disease management 3.8.5.