RARE FRUIT COUNCIL ACTIVITIES

Transcription

1 WHITMAN AND WIRKUS: RARE FRUIT COUNCIL 307 show any symptoms of incompatability. In contrast, growth of all the acid Citrus has been much more vigorous than is obtained on any other stock, with the Tahiti lime showing outstanding development. Three months after grafting, these plants had de veloped to the same degree as had scions of the same variety grafted 1% years on sour stock, under comparable field conditions, and were producing fruit. The limes produced have been of good quality and normal size. Up to the present time, the acid Citrus fruits and especially Tahiti lime have con tinued to make rapid growth on this stock, so much so that we are beginning to be concerned that the scions may badly over grow the stock, thus resulting in an unde sirable plant for commercial planting, but this feature cannot be judged until the trials have continued for a longer time. At present we are so encouraged by the vigor the lime has displayed on this stock, which appears highly resistant or immune to the root diseases which have so plagued the Cuban lime industry, that it may prove practical to artificially support the trees should much overgrowth of the scion occur, as all other stocks so far tested for the lime have not been satisfactory under the climatic and soil conditions of Cuba. LITERATURE CITED 1. Swingle, W. T. "Swinglea glutinosa" The Citrus In dustry I: (Webber & Batchelor, Editors). Univ. Calif. Press, RARE FRUIT COUNCIL ACTIVITIES William F. Whitman, President 189 Bal Bay Drive Miami Beach 54, Florida Leonard V. Wirkus, Recording Secretary 8501 S.W. 53rd Ave. Miami 43, Florida The first meeting of the Rare Fruit Coun cil, following the presentation of its paper at the Florida State Horticultural So ciety annual meeting in Orlando, was held Friday evening, January 7, 1957 in the Botany Building of the University of Miamu Dr. Francis Lincoln of the Sub-Tropical Experi ment Station opened the meeting by giving a talk on avocado (Persea americana) varieties, illustrated with samples of the fruit. Among the varieties discussed were Cook, Major, MacDonald and Costa Rican Dwarf.' A potted miraculous fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum) was exhibited to the group. This three foot plant, bearing several dozen bright red fruit the size and shape of a jelly bean, had been grown from seed by Wm. Whit man. These he had gathered in 1952 during a tour of the Canal Zone Summit Gardens, Panama. Four years later the first fruit ap peared and the plant has since borne several crops annually. The fruit which has a pleas ing mild flavor, anesthetizes certain taste buds causing sour citrus, for example the Key lime (Citrus aurantifolia), to appear to become as non-acid as a good orange (Citrus sinensis). Those who sampled this unusual "taste-twister" were quite surprised to find that the effect from a single fruit can last for hours causing most foods to be sugarsweet, including beer! Fruits on display for the evening were avo cados, miraculous fruit, dovyalis hybrid (Dovyalis ahyssinica X Dovyalis hebecarpa) and a governor's plum relative, the paniala (Flacourtia cataphracta). At our February meeting Julia Morton gave an interesting talk on the baobab (Adansonia digitata). Holding up a pod from this tree, she explained another name used for the baobab is "cream of tartar tree," the taste of the fruit actually being similar to that of the spice. In Africa the foliage of the baobab is used to cause excessive perspiration as an aid in cooling one's self, and old trees which are hollow are used for storing water. Mrs. O. L. Churney spoke of living in the Philip pines prior to World War II. Here she found mangosteens (Garcinia mangostana) and the popular langsat (Lansium domesticum) to be top quality fruits in the local markets. During our March meeting a discussion was held on the use of plastics in horticul ture. In recent years clear plastic sheet has

2 308 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1957 been found helpful in grafting and in air layering. PJant material transported in sealed plastic bags usually retains its moisture con tent over long periods of time and the pos sible reduction in shipping weight can result, in lower transportation charges. Packed bare root in this manner, nineteen grafted tropi cal fruit trees were forwarded from Bangkok, Thailand, to Miami, Florida, at an average air freight cost of less than $1.00 per tree. Plants received in a weakened condition after prolonged shipment often make a more rapid recovery when they are enveloped in clear plastic bags after being potted (Fig. 1). Three or four equally spaced sticks thrust into the potting soil help to support the bag and keep it from collapsing over the plants. The bags are tied around the tops of the plant containers, after which the plastic covered plant is placed in semi-shade to avoid ex cessive heating. Root sprouts of the bread fruit (Artocarpus altilis) have been propa gated by using this method. When bread fruit sprouts are broken off with no visible root usually several months are required before the plant will have formed enough roots for the plastic bag to be gradually re moved. ed. He also saw very large lychee trees (Litchi chinensis) that have yet to bear their first fruit. Continuing into South America Mr. Younghans observed Haden mangos (Mangifera indica) growing next to apples (Pijrus malus) at the Experiment Station of La Molina, Lima, Peru. In Sao Paulo Sr. Heitor Montenegro, with the Brazilian Dept. of Agriculture, spoke of two-inch jaboticaba (Myciaria sp.) and at Belem, Brazil, ripe abiu (Pouteria caimito) were sampled. A su perior fruited seedless abiu variety was re ported to exist here. An excellent drink made A high point of the evening was the sampling of South Florida grown northern red raspberries (Rubus sp.) variety Indian Sum mer (Fig. 2). This type of red raspberry was grown adjacent to breadfruit trees and ap pears to do fairly well under warm climatic conditions. Clusters of large fruit are pro duced with a flavor superior to that of the locally more common Indian Mysore black raspberry. Kelthane has been found to give good control for red spider (Paratetranychus sp.) without causing foliar damage. In April Seymour Younghans gave our meeting a most interesting report on his re cent month of travels in Central America, South America and the West Indies. At the Canal Zone, his first stop, he found Summit Gardens in a neglected state due to economy measures. During a tour of the grounds with Director W. R. Lindsay numerous volunteer seedling mangosteens 12" to 18" high were observed under mature parent trees. Leafcutting ants and beetle-girdled guava (Psidium guajava) branches were frequently encounter Fig. 1. Plants received in a weakened condition prolonged shipment often make a more rapid recovery when they are enveloped in clear plastic bags and placed in semi-shade. Photo by Wm. Whitman.

3 WHITMAN AND WIRKUS: RARE FRUIT COUNCIL 309 Fig. 2. South Florida grown northern red raspberries (Rubus sp.) variety Indian Summer. Photo by Julian Morton. from the juice of the passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) was thoroughly enjoyed. Also visited were British Guiana, Dutch Guiana, Trinidad and Puerto Rico, after which Mr. Younghans returned to South Florida with several in teresting pomological introductions. Dr. Ledin brought two fruits from the Sub- Tropical Experiment Station, Homestead. One was a superior flavored Surinam cherry (Eugenia uniflora) which was well received by the group. The other fruit was a dew berry (Rubus sp.), under observation trials to determine their adaptability to a warm climate. Seedling plants of the wampie (Clausena lansium), jujube (Zizyphus mauritiana), and Malay apple (Syzygium malaccensis) were offered for distribution. The May meeting took place in the Dade County Extension Service Building, Miami. Dr. Ledin, recently returned from the an nual meeting of the Caribbean Section of the American Society of Horticultural Science which was held in Mexico, gave a resume of his trip. During an afternoon tour a seven thousand foot high plateau was visited near Mexico City. Observed here were both the red and golden Delicious apple, peaches (Prunus persica) and other tempeiate zone

4 310 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1957 fruit. The Spanish peaches seemed superior to the red Ceylon peach, but unequal to the best U. S. commercial varieties. A three day field trip to Vera Cruz enabled seeing numer ous groves of tropical fruits. Among these were commercial plantings of the mango, coffee (Coffea arabica), pineapple (Ananas comosus), papaya (Carica papaya), avocado and Mexican lime (Citrus aurantifolia). Mexi co has 17,500 acres planted to mangos, of these 60% are in Vera Cruz. The predomi nating Manila Variety, a Mexican favorite, makes a beautiful, dome shaped tree with dense foliage. Unfortunately the fruit was observed being picked immature to meet the early market. Returning to the subject of peaches, Dr. Ledin gave a brief history of the Ceylon peach in Florida. Back in 1880 a Bartow man received seeds from Ceylon. Pliny Reasoner and his brother, hearing of this, propagated the Ceylon peach which appeared in their Royal Palm Nursery catalogue of Dr. Ledin stated the tree fruits well under South Florida conditions where other varieties which require more cold usually fail to bear. A current project at Gainesville, Florida, is the testing of hybrid peaches made by cross ing commercial Georgia peach varieties with the red Ceylon peach. Fruits on display for the evening were Glenn mangos, frozen "bul lock's heart" (Annona reticulata), red Ceylon peaches, imbe (Garcinia livingstonei), wampi, rose apples (Syzygium jambos) and avocado varieties Arue and Capac, the latter brought by Dr. Lincoln. Our June meeting was again held in the Dade County Extension Service Building. Mr. Whitman reported on the Rare Fruit Coun cil's tropical fruit exhibit at the recent An nual Mango Forum Festival in Homestead. He stated his thanks to the Sub-Tropical Ex periment Station, the University of Miami Experimental Farm, the U. S. Plant Introduc tion Garden and the many individuals who had donated fruit and their time to make this an outstanding display. Mrs. Mary Heinlein, of the Redland Fruit and Spice Park, Fig. 3. Naranjilla (Solanum quitoense) as grown at the Sub-Tropical Experiment Station. This is a commercial fruit in Ecuador where its juice is extracted to make a delicious beverage. Photo by John Noonan.

5 WHITMAN AND WIRKUS: RARE FRUIT COUNCIL 311 artistically arranged the fruits which required seventy feet of table space. A cooked breadfruit from a large Key West tree was brought by the Roscoe Glenns. As Mrs. Glenn served this she described how it had been baked for forty minutes in aluminum foil at 450 F. Dr. Ledin stated that sweet puddings can be made from the fully ripe fruit. Wm. Whitman reported on a bread fruit tree growing at 1887 Brickell Avenue near Biscayne Bay. This tree, brought from Spanish Wells, Bahamas on April 15, 1951, is presently sixteen feet high and has not fruited. This is believed to be the largest known unprotected breadfruit tree growing on the mainland of Florida. A breadfruit grown by Wm. Whitman, across the bay from Miami, has borne fruit since Naranjilla (Solarium quitoense), also known as the "Golden Fruit of the Andes," were brought from the Sub-Tropical Experiment Station by Dr. Ledin (Fig. 3). This round, prickly-fuzzed, orange, two-inch fruit, which is related to the tomato, is grown commer cially in Ecuador for its juice. Although nearly a dozen fruit were required to fill a small glass with the tart greenish juice, Dr. Ledin and volunteers were able to extract enough for everyone to enjoy a sample of this delicious beverage. Mixed with sugar, the juice was first tried full strength and later mixed with equal parts of water. As the naranjilla is extremely susceptible to rootknot, it has been found to do better when grafted on other nematode resistant Solanums, such as the "Brazilian Potato Tree" (S. macranthum). In July a combination picnic and meeting was held on the extensive grounds of the Wirkus residence. A main course of charcoal broiled chicken was supplemented by mem ber donated spiced tropical fruits. This de lightful semi-informal gathering will be re membered as one of the highlights of our organization. During the meeting that fol lowed, Douglas Knapp, Assistant Dade Coun ty Agricultural Agent, spoke on the use of gibberellic acid for stimulating plant growth. Preliminary observations have shown a notice able increase in leaf size and stem length for most plants. Grafts that are dormant and have refused to spring have responded favor ably when treated with gibberellic acid. The full potentials of this remarkable new chem ical plant stimulant are yet to be explored. Wm. Whitman appointed Dr. Ledin and Rose mary Wirkus as a committee to compile a cross reference list of the plants and fruits that have been exhibited and/or distributed at the Rare Fruit Council meetings. A most striking fruit on display for the evening was the wax jambo (Syzygium javanica). This beautiful, shining, bell-shaped fruit appeared as if it had been molded from translucent rose tinted wax (Fig. 4). It was produced Fig. 4. These beautiful wax jambo fruits (Syzygium javanica) are believed to be the first grown in Florida. Photo by John Noonan. by a tree brought from Trinidad by Mr. Younghans in 1953 and is believed to be the first instance of the wax jambo fruiting in Florida. The Rare Fruit Council held its August meeting at the Simpson Park Garden Center. Mr. W. Ray Richardson was installed as the new corresponding secretary, relieving Sey mour Younghans who had done an excellent job in that capacity since the Council's in ception. Mr. Gerard Pitt brought a large jackfruit (Artocarpiis integrifoua) from the Hobbs

6 312 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1957 Estate tree on the corner of Main Highway and Battersea Road, Coconut Grove. This is one of three trees originally planted in South Florida, the other two being on the Malcom Matheson Estate and the Fairchild Kampong. The fruit was opened and sampled by Council members who claimed it the best they had ever tasted in Florida. Plans are already underway to vegetatively propagate this out standing Artocarpus for future distribution. Mr. Newcomb presented some beautiful speci mens of Hylocereus. H. undatus, the common night-blooming cereus has a red skin and white flesh, filled with many tiny black seeds. Its flavor is sweet and refreshing. Hylocereus guatemalensis has a darker red skin, very showy, and dark red flesh, but it is less tasty than the white-fleshed species. This vine is smaller and more manageable than H. undatus, otherwise it is quite similar. Mr. Whitman demonstrated a Cuban orange-peeling ma chine, which in a few seconds peels off a thin, continuous strip of skin, leaving a white rindless, oil-less orange for juicing or eating out of hand. Fig. 6. Duku (Lansium domesticum). Through the coopera tion of R. Soeparma Satiadiredja and Harsono Hard ohutomo nine different Atje Soleiman plant portraits were ob tained by Wm. F. Whitman from Indonesia. Photo by Wm. Whitman. Fig. 5. This champedak (Artocarpus champeden) is an other illustration of the exquisite detailing in the paintings of Atje Soleiman. Photo by Wm. Whitman. The September meeting was held at the Bal Harbour residence of Wm. Whitman. Beautiful Indonesian water color paintings of the tropical fruits of the Far East added a unique touch to the Whitman home. These fruit portraits were the recent work of the celebrated Sudanese artist, Atje Soleiman, who twenty six years ago made the color illustrations for Dr. J. J. Ochse's book "Fruits and Fruitculture in the Dutch East Indies" (G. Kolff & Co., Batavia, 1931). The eight exquisitely detailed paintings consisted of one water color on each of the following fruits: rambi (Baccaurea racemosa), breadfruit, gandaria (Bouea macrophylla), champedak (Arto carpus champeden) (Fig. 5), rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), duku (Lansium do mesticum) (Fig. 6), mangosteen (Fig. 7), and durian (Durio zibethinus) (Fig. 8). These were obtained through the kind co operation of R. Soeparma Satiadiredja and Harsono Hardjohutomo, both of whom are with the Bureau of Horticulture, Republic

7 WHITMAN AND WTRKUS: RARE FRUIT COUNCIL 313 or Indonesia. During the past four years Wm. Whitman has concentrated on pomological in troductions from Thailand, Indonesia and the Fig. 7. Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) color drawing by Atje Soleiman, who did similar work twenty-six years ago for Dr. Ochse's book "Fruits and Fruitculture in the Dutch East indies." Photo by Wm. Whitman. Philippines. His collection of Far Eastern fruits enabled a comparison of the living plants with the flawless perfection of Soleiman's work. Fruits on display for the eve ning were a fine flavored banana (Musa $p.) by Sam Mauro, variety unknown, a Bradley cherimoya (Annona cherimola?) by Robert Newcomb and preserved lychees by Fred Stone. Red northern raspberry plants, variety Indian Summer, were distributed. It is hoped those who received this worthwhile berry will keep the Council posted on its performance. The October meeting took place in the Education Building of the South Miami Meth odist Church. Considerable interest was shown by those present in the approaching annual meeting of the Florida State Horticultural Society, which is being held in the Miami area for the first time since the inception of the Rare Fruit Council. Dr. Ledin read the program of the Krome Memorial Sec tion, dealing at length on the many interest ing papers to be delivered. What is believed to be the first Florida grown fruit of the Cuban seedless sugar apple (Annona squamosa) was brought by Wm, Whitman from his grafted tree in Bal Harbour (Fig. 9). Prior to this introduction of both graft wood and grafted plants had failed to survive in spite of Cuba's proximity to Florida. The flavor was found to be slightly inferior to seeded varieties, probably due to the presence of abortive seeds, appearing like thin, minute Fig. 8. Durian (Durio zibethinus) water color by In donesian artist Atje Soleiman is a good example of his excellent work. Photo by Wm. Whitman. Fig. 9. Cuban "seedless" sugar apple (Annona squamosa). Photo by Wm. Whitman.

8 314 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1957 piece of bran flakes. In spite of this, the novelty of a sugar apple with no seed re moval problems appealed to all. Mrs. Newcomb brought samples of a delicious frozen puree made by putting carambolas (Averrhoa carambola) through a Waring blender. Dr. Biebel served canned Cuban guana bana (Annona muricata) nectar and guava nectar, both of which are refreshing drinks. Eight green sapote plants (Calocarpum viride) were distributed. The Council thanks John Stermer of Hawaii who furnished the seed! During the past year a number of plant introductions have been received from the Far East, Formosa, the Philippines, Hawaii, Central America and South America. Anchern Chompoophot, Kasetsart University professor and former University of Florida student, shipped from his native Thailand many vegetatively propagated fruits including their commercial mango variety "Oakrong," rambai (Baccaurea racemosa) variety "Namtansai" meaning "white sugar," langsat variety "Uttaradit" and Malay apple variety "Mameau." R. Soeparma Satiadiredja, previously men tioned, forwarded Indonesian plants. Among these were grafted rambutan varieties "Simatjan" and "Lebakbulus," both of which are illustrated in Dr. Ochse's book of Each year some of our tropical introduc tions come into bearing, probably for the first time in Florida. For these we are indebted to our plant exchange friends in the far cor ners of the globe. May the South Florida fruits received by them bring equally as much enthusiasm and interest as their's have for us! NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN LYCHEE MARKETING Gordon Palmer, President Florida Lychee Growers Association Palmer Nurseries, Osprey The lychee, the ancient and favorite fruit of the Far East with origins dating back 3500 years in Chinese prehistory, was intro duced into Florida in the 1880's. It was not however until the late 1940's that it began being grown here as a commercial crop. In 1951, the Florida Lychee Growers Associa tion was organized as a marketing coopera tive and today it represents some 90 growers who control all but a small fraction of the lychees being produced in the state. The variety of the lychee now being grown commercially in Florida is known as the Brewster. Of the many varieties which have been planted experimentally here, to date it seems to be the one best adapted to our climate and soil conditions. Orlando marks about the northern limit of its cold tolerance and from there south to Homestead, lychee groves are spotted here and there across the state the greatest concentration of plantings being in Sarasota County. The south-central Florida area is the only place on the North American continent where the lychee is now being grown on a commercial scale. Lychee fruit grows in clusters on large and magnificent evergreen trees reaching 50 feet tall and as much across. The Brewster fruits reach the size of large strawberries dark red in color. This variety blooms in the winter and the fruit ripens over a four to six week period beginning early in June. The harvest starts slowly for a week or ten days, then rapidly increases to a peak for another week or ten days during which peak period as much as % of the whole annual crop ripens for marketing. After the peak, production drops rapidly and gradually tapers off. The fruit cannot be picked early to ripen off the trees, and once ripened on the tree, it must be immediately picked or it will be subject to rapid spoilage. Ripe fruit will ordinarily keep 7-14 days so that there can be no delay in its marketing. In fact, shipments to northern points are made by air freight, ordinarily the same day that the fruit is picked. The Association has been marketing lychees for the past 5 seasons, the smallest crop hav ing been 7500 pounds in 1954 and the largest 25,000 pounds in The 1957 crop amounted to 14,500 pounds. Prices have ranged from a few sales at a low of 50c per pound to $1.00 per pound, f.o.b. airport of delivery in Florida. For the past two seasons the price has held consistently at 75c per pound, f.o.b. Shipments are made direct on