ISSUE 37: FEBRUARY 2018
 
     
   
   
     
   
               
   
               
       
 

ISTF2017 Proceedings now available!

The Proceedings for the 2017 International Symposium on Tropical Fruits (ISTF2017) is now available to download. ISTF2017 was held in Tanoa International Hotel, Nadi, Fiji on 23-25 October 2017, organized by the Fijian Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet), and Fiji Institute of Agricultural Sciences (FIAS), with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

    

New book discusses how to achieve sustainable mango cultivation

Burleigh Dodds Science (BDS) Publishing, the newest Associate Member of TFNet, has released a book on “Achieving Sustainable Cultivation of Mangoes.” Check out our article to avail of the special discount for TFNet members.

 
               
 
NEWS FROM TFNet MEMBER COUNTRIES
 
   
               
INDIA: Festival celebrates more than 150 varieties of banana MALAYSIA: Durian tree is Sabah’s new attraction

The festival is the first attempt by the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action (CISSA) to boost banana cultivation.

 A wild durian tree in the central Tongod district of Sabah is set to become a tourist attraction. The tree, also known as ‘red durian tree’, has been recognised for being the oldest and tallest tree in Tongod.
AUSTRALIA: Harvesting lychees for Lunar New Year on NSW mid north coast farm BANGLADESH: Jhenidah village turns jujube heartland
People from Sydney’s Vietnamese community view picking lychees as a way for their urban-raised children to gain an understanding of farm life and food production. Thought to have been domesticated in South Asia by 9,000 BCE, jujube has been enjoyed across the region for a very long time. 
           
VIETNAM: Fruit, vegetable exports up 37% in January INDIA: Hot spell puts Alphonso mangoes at sunburn risk
Vietnam earned some US$321 million from fruit and vegetable exports in January 2018, a year-on-year increase of 36.9 per cent, says the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). The sudden rise in temperature over the last few days has exposed the much-loved Alphonso mangoes to the risk of sunburn and fruit dropping.
FIJI: The mango love story INDIA: Officials devise plan to promote guava cultivation
While many stories would always involve a magical element, the native legends of tropical fruits also offered lessons of morality and humanity, and for mango, it is always about love. The provincial agriculture department has chalked out a plan to promote guava fruit cultivation in selected districts of the province.
INDONESIA: Nutritionist debunks biggest myth about durian MALAYSIA: Cold spell to affect pomelo harvest
Many consider durian a high-cholesterol fruit hence choose to avoid it at all costs. But this opinion is only a myth, according to a nutritionist at Pondok Indah Hospital, Dr. Diana Suganda SpGK. With the current cold spell and the incessant rain destroying flowers on pomelo trees, farmers fear that this may affect this year’s harvest.
INDONESIA: Mangoes, dragon fruit to enter Australian market AUSTRALIA: Importing ‘mango madness’
Indonesia will soon export mangoes and dragon fruit to Australia, a decision made during the 21st meeting of the Working Group on Agriculture, Food and Forestry Cooperation (WGAFFC) between Australia and Indonesia, held in Melbourne from Feb. 14 to 15. Queensland mango farmers are “scratching their heads” over a trade deal that will see the first trays of mangoes arrive from Indonesia, putting them in direct competition with the local harvest.
   
 
OTHER TROPICAL FRUIT NEWS
 
   
               
COSTA RICA: Pineapple buyers can now guarantee they’re deforestation-free TRENDS: Chinese jujubes could give dates some competition
As consumers become increasingly concerned about the environmental impacts, companies buying pineapples from Costa Rica can now see if their suppliers are engaged in deforestation. London-based Abakus Foods is processing and exporting jujube fruit products to 10 countries and is bringing them to Casino supermarkets in France.
SOUTH AFRICA: Stricter oversight of mango loving pest TAIWAN: Taichung govt buys stink bug larvae to protect lychee, longan crop
The South African government is strengthening the regulatory framework to prevent and combat the spread of the Oriental fruit fly within the country. In an effort to ward off invading lychee stink bugs, the Taichung Agriculture Bureau announced an initiative to buy their larvae for NT$2 (US$ 0.07) each starting March 1.
RWANDA: New banana variety to enhance productivity STUDY: Citrus Genomics, Phylogenetics Traces Fruits’ Origins
A new variety of highly productive banana plants will be distributed to farmers starting next month in a bid to improve banana production and fight disease in one of the priority crops in the country.

A genomic analysis of some 60 citrus accessions has upended previously proposed taxonomic classifications.
CAMBODIA: First fruit processing facility built     USA: Vietnamese rambutan exports to resume  
South Korea’s Hyundai Corporation Group have broken ground on a three-hectare facility in Phnom Srouch district, Cambodia.  “Right now there is very little rambutan in the market since Vietnam is the main supplier this time of year and they have been on Lunar New Year holidays since Feb 15,” says Paul Armstrong of Los Angeles, Ca.-based RHA Group.
PAKISTAN: Mysterious blight mowing down date plantations     KENYA: Passion fruits open EU markets for Kitale farmer  

An unidentified virus has caused killing of date trees in Khairpur district, triggering a wave of panic among the date producers.


 Farmer Ephantus Mwangi in Kitale had not considered farming until he and his wife Pauline visited the Netherlands at the invitation of a Dutch couple with whom they worked on youth mentorship.