ISSUE 52: NOVEMBER 2019
 
   
   
     
  TFNet signs memorandum of understanding with MARDI  
     
 

The International Tropical Fruits Network (TFNet) and the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on October 31, 2019 during MARDI’s 50th Anniversary celebration.

  
     
   
           
       
         
  TFNet releases MD2 seminar report     FEATURE: Large scale dragonfruit production in China’s Guangxi Province  
       
  The report on the TFNet-led seminar on Current Development and Challenges in Improving Production, Productivity, and Market Demand for the MD2 Pineapple Variety is now available in Bahasa Malaysia.     China is fast becoming a leading producer of dragonfruit, expanding from 3,400 ha in 2011 to 50,000 ha in 2019. They are set to outpace Vietnam, the world's leading dragonfruit producer that has 55,000 ha.  
           
 
UPCOMING TFNET ACTIVITES
   

FAO’s 2019 Food Outlook highlights Banana Fusarium wilt TR4

The November 2019 issue of the Food Outlook published by FAO features “Banana Fusarium Wilt Tropical Race 4: A mounting threat to global banana markets?” by Sabine Altendorf.

  
       
         
 

Workshop on Banana Fusarium Wilt 
Venue: Guangzhou, China
Date: April 2020  

Workshop on Potential Minor Tropical Fruits
Venue: Malaysia
Date: June/July 2020

2020 International Symposium on Tropical Fruits
Venue: TBA
Date: September/October 2020

      
           
 
TROPICAL FRUIT NEWS FROM TFNET COUNTRY MEMBERS
 
   
           
  AUSTRALIA: Packaging made from banana plants an a-peeling alternative     VIETNAM: Longan exports to Australia has begun  
       
  Biodegradable ‘plastic’ bags made out of banana plants sounds a bit bananas but a couple of UNSW researchers have found a way to do it, and it could solve two industrial waste problems in one.     Longan has become the fourth Vietnamese fruit to be exported to Australia after litchi, mango, and dragon fruit. However, experts say there is still a lot of work needed for Vietnam to secure a firm foothold in the market.  
               
  MALAYSIA: 770 hectares under pineapple in inter-cropping project     CHINA: Asian giant is the new market for Malaysia’s pineapple  
       
  A total of 770 hectares of land have been cultivated with pineapple since the implementation in 2016 of the integrated pineapple project where pineapple is inter-cropped with oil palm and rubber.     China has become Malaysia’s new international market for the premium pineapple variety, MD2, following durian’s success in penetrating the country last May.  
               
  INDIA: Fresh Alphonso mangoes from Malawi make their way to markets     CHINA: How the love of durian is reshaping the Thai countryside  
           
  Malawi mangoes, grown in their namesake African country by a European-African firm, Malawi Mangoes Ltd, are being marketed as “99 per cent similar” to the Ratnagiri Hapus.     China’s growing middle class has developed a taste for exotic fruits like durian: between 2009 and 2017, fresh durian imports grew fourfold, from USD 124 million to USD 552 million.  
               
  BANGLADESH: Fortune favors organic mandarin growers     AUSTRALIA: Lychee ‘super varieties’ to bring new flavours of popular summer fruit  
       
  Things turned around for Murshed Mia and his wife Swapna Begum ten years ago when they tried their luck in organic farming of mandarin in Moulvibazar’s Juri upazila.     Six varieties of “standout” Taiwanese lychee trees have been planted on a Yeppoon farm after a long journey from Taiwan, a year in quarantine in Melbourne, a flight to Brisbane, and a road trip to Yeppoon.  
               
  VIETNAM: Binh Thuan grows more dragon fruit under GAP standards     PHILIPPINES: Durian from Mindanao penetrates US market  
       
  The south-central province of Binh Thuan, the country’s largest dragon fruit producer, is expanding cultivation of dragon fruit under Vietnamese and global Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP and GlobalGAP) standards.     Durian from Mindanao has started penetrating the US market, Davao Durian Council president Larry Miculob said. The first batch, consisting of around 300 kilos of Arancillo, Puyat, Duyaya, and Durio graveolens varieties were shipped.  
             
 
TROPICAL FRUIT NEWS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES
 
   
               
  ETHIOPIA: Enset, a potential life saver for the warming world     ECUADOR AND COLOMBIA: Fairtrade progress in increasing banana wages  
       
  Described as “a banana on steroids”, enset may be the superfood you’ve never heard of, let alone tasted, but scientists say it could be a lifesaver for a warming world.     Fairtrade International notes that the banana sectors in Ecuador and Colombia have made strides continue to support smallholder farmers by compensating them with decent wages.  
               
  SPAIN: Starfruit production starts in Spain’s Andalusian tropical coast     USA: Avocado imports jump from all LatAm origins through Q3  
       
  The Institute of Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture La Mayora has a collection of fifteen varieties of star fruits from different parts of the world, which it uses to assess their behavior and cultivation conditions on the coast of Malaga.     Over the nine-month period, total imports from USA rose by 20% year-on-year from USD 1.7 billion to USD 2 billion. The growth came amid the lowest California avocado crop in a decade, which created a supply gap for overseas producers.  
               
  SOUTH AFRICA: Company strikes deal to grow Taiwanese TR4-resistant banana variety     MEXICO: Avocado growers increasingly face cartel violence  
       
  South African research facility Du Roi Laboratory has struck a deal with a Taiwanese institute to grow and market a banana variety resistant to Fusarium wilt Tropical Race IV (TR4).     In Mexico, the meteoric rise of the avocado industry has attracted unwanted attention and an increase in violence toward growers and their workers.  
               
  SOUTH AFRICA: New sweeter dragonfruit cultivars     KENYA: Watch out for these two mango diseases  
       
 

Despite its exotic appearance, dragon fruit has struggled to take off in South Africa due to its generally bland taste. A nursery has released six new cultivars with Brix levels between 14-19.5.

    Diseases such as bacterial black spot and powdery mildew often lead to lower quantity and quality of fruits, resulting in low profits.  
           
  NEW ZEALAND: Avocado prices the lowest in almost three years     USA: Rediscovering breadfruit  
       
 

According to Stats NZ information, avocado prices are at their lowest average price since February 2017 costing NZD 7.54 (USD 4.82) per kg.

     In the Hawaiian town of Hana on the island of Maui, bread grows on trees, in a manner of speaking: the breadfruit.  
           
 
LATEST TROPICAL FRUIT RESEARCH
 
   
           
  A Simple Method for Pineapple Seedling Propagation  
  Rulin Zhan and Shenghe Chang, et. al. (6 Dec 2019)  
  Agriculture Sciences  
  DOI  
           
  The association between banana consumption and the depressive symptoms in Chinese general adult population: A cross-sectional study  
  Yeqing Gu, et. al. (5 Dec 2019)  
  Journal of Affective Disorders  
  DOI  
       
  Field performance of hermaphrodite papaya plants obtained through molecular selection and micropropagation  
  Emanuel Araya-Valverde, et. al. (5 Dec 2019)  
  Crop Breeding and Applied Biotechnology  
  DOI  
       
  The effect of waxing options on shelf life and postharvest quality of “Ngowe” mango fruits under different storage conditions  
  Benson Maina, et. al. (4 Dec 2019)  
  Advances in Agriculture  
  DOI  
       
  Dominant yeasts associated to mango (Mangifera indica) and rose apple (Syzygium malaccense) fruit pulps investigated by culture-based methods  
  Mauricio Ramirez-Castrillon, et. al. (2 Dec 2019)  
  Academia Brasileira de Ciências  
  DOI