Dr. Parmar: Apples are cultivated in many tropical locations such as Honduras, Nicaragua, Uganda, and the Philippines. The branches are trained horizontally and dormancy is triggered and broken most often by stripping the leaves off by hand to coincide with the onset of the dry season, when any irrigation is also shut off. Dormancy-breaking chemicals like Dormex have been tried, but in most of these rural locations it is too hazardous and expensive to be used effectively and hand-stripping works better anyway. Because day lenght is relatively the same year round, this process can be used to harvest two to three crops with supplimental fertilization.
I recall 10 years ago getting a report from missionaries from Wycliffe Bible Translators who were helping set up some Honduran indiginous group with a cider press for a home-based industry, and they were doing quite well. It was funny to see an old-fashioned cider press in the jungle. A Vermont-based group called Farmer to Farmer was also helping set up apple processing like jams and apple butter. In 2005 the fledgling apple industry in Uganda was the subject of an intensive studay you can download at www.icra-edu.org/objects/public_eng/ACFRUkhMi.pdf This report is the basis for my export of 200 apple trees to Rwanda the end of this week, with requests from Congo and Kenya pending. My small nursery is based on experimenting with varieties to find those suitable for high-heat, low-chill applications for warm climates, and the top varieties may raise some eyebrows. You are of course with Anna and Dorsett Golden, but we are also favoring those that color up well despite hot nights like Arkansas Black and Williams' Pride, which is disease-resistant as well, a plus in tropic conditioins. It has responded to leaf-stripping culture quite readily. There is definately a need for longer-keeping varieties for the tropics, as Anna only is good for a couple weeks after picking. I'm pleased with the high prices the Bantu apples are fetching, as one of the main problems facing rural farmers in Southeast Asia are competition from cheap Chinese imports, which even in rural markets can beat out local competition. The quality is of course poor and so good-tasting local produce would have an edge. I would like to see some photos if you have them. Thanks for posting your report. Kevin Hauser Kuffel Creek Apple Nursery Riverside, Southern California USA On Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:10:13 -0800, "Dr. Chiranjit Parmar" <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear all, > > I was in Indonesia for two weeks and also visited some places in Java > island of that country. I had a VERY BIG SURPRISE of my life there. In > Batu area of Java I saw apples being cultivated. This are is around 3000 > ft above the seaas level, at 6 degrees south of equator. The minimum > temperature of this area is above 45 F meaning that the trees do not > receive any chilling. Most farmers even take two crops a year by > regulating the flowering with pruning or hand defoliation. The fruit > quality is good and these fruits are bought by consumers at supermarkets > at a price higher than that for Fuji apples. > > I would not have believed it had I not seen these orchards personally. > > Could any of you explain how these apple trees are able to grow and bear > fruits even without meeting their chilling requirements? > > Dr. Chiranjit Parmar > www.fruitipedia.com -- Kevin Hauser -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 'Apple-Crop' LISTSERV is sponsored by the Virtual Orchard <http://www.virtualorchard.net> and managed by Win Cowgill and Jon Clements <[email protected]>. Apple-Crop is not moderated. Therefore, the statements do not represent "official" opinions and the Virtual Orchard takes no responsibility for the content.
