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
parmarch_...@dataone.in 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
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