Chronica - Acta Horticulturae

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Figure 8. Hydro-cooling cherries before packing. Figure 9. Cherries being packed in bulk boxes (left) and consumer bag filling system (right). The export market has become very important for the sweet cherry growers in British Columbia. The value of exports was below $500,000 (CDN) for most of the 1990s (Fig. 10) (Industry Canada, 2006). It topped $1 million in 1999 then grew rapidly, increasing almost 15- fold by 2005. The top five export markets for BC sweet cherries are Taiwan, United Kingdom, Netherlands, United States, and Germany. O’Rourke (2005) indicates that the trend for global trade of sweet cherries has been strongly upwards in the last 20 years. He further states that exporters are heavily dependent on a few traditional markets and that there is a need to expand the export efforts. The sweet cherry revolution in BC is an example of success derived from innovative research and quick adoption by skilled growers. However, there are concerns for the future success of the BC sweet cherry industry due to increased planting of sweet cherries in the region and the increasing cost of fuel. The continual increase in sweet cherry plantings in British Columbia accompanied by increased plantings in Washington State raises fears of overproduction. Anecdotal reports suggest that local nurseries are taking orders for cherry trees for 2009 as trees are already sold for the 2007 and 2008 planting years. Worry about fuel prices may force the local industry to explore alternative shipping options such as by sea. Many other producing regions already use sea transport. This is a new and unfamiliar technique for many BC growers. There are a number of favourable trends, which help the industry maintain an optimistic outlook. These include increasing consumption of fresh produce (Cook, 2002) and cherries specifically (O’Rourke, 2005). There are information programs in many countries to increase consumption of fruit and vegetables and these should have positive effects on the cherry industry. Further, the perception in the market is that British Columbia producers provide a very high quality product. Maintaining the high quality standards will be extremely important to preserve British Columbia’s place in the market. O’Rourke (2005) suggests that there still are opportunities to increase sales by lengthening the Northern Hemisphere season and BC growers are still keenly interested in any late ripening cherries from the program at PARC-Summerland. Research investigating postharvest techniques to maintain quality and withstand short term gluts in the market place will become increasingly important. Expanding export efforts to exploit all possible markets may also provide new opportunities for the BC industry. In 2005 five countries accounted for over 80% of the exports. Even with these challenges there is still optimism in the industry. REFERENCES Cook, R.L. 2002. The U.S. fresh produce industry: an industry in transition. p.5-30, Chapter 2. In: Adel A. Kader (ed.), Postharvest Technology of Horticultural Crops, Univ. California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Publ. 3311. Industry Canada. 2006. Trade Date Online. Trade BY Product. http://www.strategis.ic.gc.ca/ sc_mrkti/tdst/tdo/tdo.php Kappel, F. and Lay, B. 1997. Sweet cherry breeding in Canada from the early 1900s to 1994. Fruit Var. J. 51:233-238. Lang, J. 2003. Lost orchards: vanishing fruit farms of the West Kootenay. Ward Creek Press, Nelson, British Columbia. p.76. O’Rourke, D. 2005. World sweet cherry review: 2005 Edition. Belrose Inc., Pullman, Washington. Winslow, R.M. 1913. Information for fruit-growers with list of varieties for commercial and home planting. Bul. 51, British Columbia Dept. of Agriculture. Value of exports (thousand CDN $) Figure 10. Value of sweet cherry exports from 1990 to 2005 ($1 CDN = $0.856 US). 16000 15000 14000 13000 12000 11000 10000 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Frank Kappel Dr. Frank Kappel is Research Scientist, Breeding and Pomology at the Agriculture and Agri- Food Canada, Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, Summerland, British Columbia, Canada, email: KappelF@agr.gc.ca Year ISHS • 20
HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE NEWS Underutilized Plant Species Hannah Jaenicke and Irmgard Hoeschle-Zeledon It is estimated that there are over a quarter of a million plant species in the world. Of these, we use and commercialise only a tiny proportion, 150 species, on a global scale. Over 95% of our protein and calories come from only 30 crop species. These include cereals: rice, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, oat, millet, rye; oilseed and legumes: soybean, cottonseed, coconut, rapeseed/canola, peanut; vegetables: sunflower, tomato, cabbage, watermelon, onion, bean; fruits: banana/plantain, orange, grape, apple, mango; roots and tubers: potato, cassava, sweet potato, yam; and sugar crops: sugarcane and sugar beet. However, for thousands of years, people have gathered and used materials from another 7,000 species, for food, medicine, fodder, ceremonial purposes, construction materials, etc. Many of these species grow in areas where conditions for farming are unfavourable - wetlands, arid regions, tropical forests - and opportunities for inhabitants to improve their incomes are few. Many of these underutilized species (Table 1) have either lost their importance, or have never made it out of the shadows of what have become the major world crops. Baobab (Adansonia digitata). A.E. Assogbadjo, LEA-FSA-UAC, Benin. DEFINITION OF “UNDERUTILIZED SPECIES” It is difficult to define just what qualifies as an ‘underutilized species’. Terms such as ‘underutilized’, ‘neglected’, ‘orphan’, ‘minor’, ‘promising’, ‘niche’ and ‘traditional’ are often used interchangeably. We define underutilized species as those plant species with under-exploited potential for contributing to food security, health (nutritional/medicinal), income generation, and environmental services. These species: ❚ Are strongly linked to the cultural heritage of their places of origin ❚ Are mainly local and traditional crops (with their ecotypes and landraces) or wild species whose distribution, biology, cultivation and uses are poorly documented ❚ Tend to be adapted to specific agro-ecological niches and marginal land ❚ Have weak or no formal seed supply systems ❚ Are collected from the wild or produced in traditional production systems with little or no external inputs ❚ Receive little attention from research, extension services, farmers, policy and decision makers, donors, technology providers and consumers ❚ May be highly nutritious and/or have medicinal properties or other multiple uses. Bael (Aegle marmelos). B. Hillmann, ICUC. Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.). J. Cherfas, IPGRI. Table 1. Some examples of underutilized plant species. This list is not a priority list, or an indication of the species’ global importance, but most underutilized species are of high importance locally. Species Common name Primary (local) use Adansonia digitata Baobab Fruit, leafy vegetable Aegle marmelos Bael Fruit Amaranthus spp. Amaranth Vegetable Annona squamosa Sugar (custard) apple Fruit Artocarpus heterophyllus Jackfruit Fruit Bactris gasipaes Peach palm Fruit Chenopodium quinoa Quinoa Cereal Choerospondias axillaris Lapsi Fruit Digitaria exilis Fonio Cereal Emblica officinalis Indian gooseberry Fruit Garcinia mangostana Mangosteen Fruit Hippophae rhamnoides Sea Buckthorn Medicinal, fruit Irvingia gabonensis Dika nut Fruit, nut Plectranthus esculentus Livingstone (coffee) potato Tuber Smallanthus sonchifolius Yacón Tuber Tamarindus indica Tamarind Fruit CHRONICA HORTICULTURAE •VOL 46 • NUMBER 4 • 2006 • 21
Page 1 and 2: Chronica HORTICULTURAE Volume 46 -
Page 3 and 4: NEWS FROM THE BOARD Engaging with S
Page 5 and 6: theme! Promotions included: constru
Page 7 and 8: Suwon. The dinners were sponsored b
Page 9 and 10: Dr. Avanzato is a Horticultural Eng
Page 11 and 12: the review committee for many Facul
Page 13 and 14: Dr. Castilla was Vice-Chair of this
Page 15 and 16: A serious problem in urban areas is
Page 17 and 18: REFERENCES Alami, M. 2003. Des astu
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Page 23 and 24: REFERENCES Jaenicke, H. and Hoeschl
Page 25 and 26: The African Market Garden delivers
Page 27 and 28: Table 2. Vegetable cultivars select
Page 29 and 30: Awards Extended by the New Zealand
Page 31 and 32: Angela Clarke Receives ISHS Medal A
Page 33 and 34: Courses and Meetings The following
Page 35 and 36: Organizing Committee. From left to
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Page 41 and 42: Field visit near Kairouan. hope to
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Page 53 and 54: NEW NEW YEAR 2008 ■ January 6-9,
Page 55 and 56: Author Index Argerich, Cosme A., 46

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