Annona Species Monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

Chapter 13. Conclusions
However, the expansion of the cultivated areas of annonas is still limited,
except for cherimoya in China, Taiwan, Spain and Chile, soursop in Brazil
and Mexico, and sugar apple in India. This is due partially to ecological, but
principally to political and social factors. Field labour qualified to use new
technologies, reduction of input costs and better fruit prices are the most
important factors limiting cultivation and marketing today. Lack of
government support for financial credit, research and extension services,
roads and tax structures are policies that negatively influence the expansion
of cultivation.
This review has highlighted intensive research on cherimoya in Spain. This
has been wide-ranging and has covered studies on germplasm, agronomy and
processing. Other research has focused on soursop in Mexico, Brazil and
Colombia, which has had positive impacts on increasing commercialisation
and demand. The research on soursop has been more fragmented than that on
cherimoya, and there has been less successful dissemination and adoption of
research findings. The application of new technologies by growers in Latin
America is still limited, due mainly to poor education levels and low
technical qualification. Additionally, few farmers have the appropriate
implements and orchard management is still manual, with consequent
impacts on fruit quality limiting commercialisation.
There has been other significant research, summarized in the body of the text.
The basic research in India on sugar apple has been noteworthy, and basic
and applied research in Australia, the Philippines, China and Taiwan on
several species likewise.
Two important conclusions emerge from this review. First, all too often the
adoption of modern agronomic practices is slow. This is a complex issue and
requires targeted down-streaming of technologies and support from extension
services. Second, too little attention has been given to the better exploitation
of the Annona gene pool; current use of germplasm collections is woefully
inadequate in all countries holding them. This means that selection of new
cultivars has been almost a random process, when there is the urgent need to
have a range of cultivars readily available for the agro-ecological niches
where growers live and produce.
There are also socio-economic factors relevant to the production of annonas.
For instance, most Latin American banks charge high interest rates for the
financial credit they offer to small growers - a strong barrier against
introduction and use of new technologies. Also, governments have given
poor support to the construction and maintenance of paved roads, resulting in
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