Management Strategies to Improve Subtropical/tropical Fruit Crop Production
Tropical Crops and Germplasm Research
Project Number: 6090-21000-055-00
Start Date: Dec 19, 2013
End Date: Dec 18, 2018
1. Devise optimum production practices for tropical and subtropical fruit crops that help expand local and export markets.
1.A. Evaluate, across various agroenvironments, the performance of cultivars of cacao, breadfruit, dragon fruit, mandarin orange, and papaya for yield, fruit quality traits and abiotic stress tolerance.
1.B. Determine nutrient requirements of rambutan and dragon fruit so as to optimize nutrient applications.
1.C. Evaluate trap-and-kill technology as a tool to suppress fruit fly populations in and around orchards.
1.D. Determine host status of dragon fruit to the fruit flies Anastrepha suspensa and A. obliqua.
2. Evaluate the performance of selected cultivars of tropical/subtropical fruit crops for tolerance to economically-limiting diseases, including, but not limited to black Sigatoka, and the Puerto Rican strain of Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV).
2.A. Evaluate plantain and banana cultivars for productivity under pressure of black Sigatoka disease.
2.B. Evaluate avocado rootstocks for productivity and tolerance to Phytophthora root rot.
2.C. Evaluate the performance of suitable papaya varieties and assess their response to PRSV for optimized productivity in Puerto Rico and surrounding ecosystems.
2.D. Identify potential intercrop candidates for papaya that reduce the propensity for the aphid vector to transmit PRSV in orchards.
3: Evaluate and develop new means for reducing or eliminating the threat and impact of key insect pests and the ability of insect vectors to transmit specific diseases.
3.A. Determine effect of altitude gradients on Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) populations and citrus greening incidence.
3.B. Survey ACP populations in Puerto Rico to identify parasitoids and predators for potential use in biocontrol.
4. Develop means of increasing the effectiveness of pollinators that maximize crop productivity.
4.A. Determine differences in biotic and abiotic factors associated with colony collapse disorder of Apis mellifera in Puerto Rico and mainland U.S.
4.B. Assess the efficacy of nitidulid pheromones or other pollinator attractants in increasing pollination, fruit set, and yield in atemoya.
Field evaluations for yield and fruit quality traits of selected tropical fruit crop scion and/or rootstock germplasm will be conducted in various agro-environments. Nutrient requirements and utilization efficiency studies will be conducted to optimize nutrient applications. Rootstocks will be field-evaluated for tolerance to acid soil conditions or root diseases. Sustainable management strategies, including biological control and orchard layout, will be developed for plant pathogens of tropical and subtropical fruit crops and their arthropod vectors. Strategies to increase pollinator visits to Annonaceae, thus increasing fruit set and fruit quality, will be developed. Pollinator health will be examined, including identifying important factors contributing to the decline in honey bee population.