Australia
15. Dr. Alan George stated that the production of temperate fruits in subtropical areas of Australia has expanded rapidly in the past 10 years with close to 30 000 ha planted. With the exception of apples, which are available all year round, most temperate fruits are seasonal fruits normally associated with the summer months filling a market niche between September to April, inclusive. Temperate fruits have good consumer acceptance. They can be grown in frosty areas of Australia where other subtropical and tropical fruits cannot be grown. Most temperate fruit industries have national associations, which engage in activities to increase the viability of their members. The two main temperate fruit Associations are the Australian Apple and Pear Growers Association and the Australian Fresh Stonefruit Growers Association (AFSG). These associations impose compulsory levies on the sale of their products. About 60% of the levy is used for market development activities coordinated by the Australian Horticultural Corporation (AHC), and about 40% is used for Research & Development activities, coordinated by the Horticultural Research & Development Corporation (HRDC). Both the AHC and HRDC are Australian Government funded agencies.
16. The major problems facing future industry development are inconsistent quality, poor eating quality of many early season varieties, lack of coordination and training of growers in marketing and market development, no outlets for second grade fresh fruit (some of which is sent to market), and few alternatives to fresh fruit marketing in Australia (canning, drying, juice, conserves).
17. Productivity of high-chill temperate fruits is high (35-50 tons per hectare). In contrast, yields of early season cultivars are much lower (20-35 tons per hectare). The trend is to plant trees at higher densities (1200 - 1800 trees/ha) and train them to a palmate system because of its ease of management. A small number of high-density orchards exist using trees propagated from softwood cuttings rather than the more conventional, grafted trees. With higher density plantings the use of the growth retardant paclobutrazol and/or sequential summer pruning, to control overall tree vigour, is essential to prevent excessive shading and subsequent loss of productivity. Management strategies for growing low-chill temperate fruits in subtropical climates are still being developed. Due to differences in phonology and physiology, management requirements used for high-chill cultivars grown in colder climates need to be modified for low-chill cultivars grown in subtropical climates.
18. Most temperate fruit producers pack and market their own fruit, either directly to retail chains, or through the wholesale domestic market system. The main markets that temperate fruits are sent to include Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Smaller quantities are sent to Tasmania, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Newcastle. Approximately 90% of all temperate fruits grown are marketed on the domestic market. Increasingly temperate fruit is being purchased through retail chains with their market share increasing from 34% in 1990 to 47% in 1994.
19. Less than 10% of Australian temperate fruit is exported with the major markets being Singapore and Hong Kong. However this proportion is likely to increase to 20-25% (conservative estimate) over the next 5 years. In 1994, Australia exported 39 000 tons of apple mainly to South East Asia and Japan. Australian stone fruit exports are primarily of plums, with a major component being from West Australia. Total Australian exports in 1995/96 were 6,331 tons, comprising 4,977 tons of plum, 592 tons of peach, 524 tons of nectarine, and 238 tons of apricot. Exports to Taiwan were given a boost in 1996/97 through a 1,000 tons quota for peach and plum to Taiwan. While plums account for 70% of all stonefruit exported to Asia the national Australian Fresh Stonefruit Growers Association has reported that there is also a definite market niche for peaches and nectarines from mid-September to December. This is a time when there are no peaches and nectarines available from the USA, which are the traditional suppliers of the Asian markets.
Bhutan
20. Mr. Pema Dorji presented an overview of the deciduous fruit sector in Bhutan by stating that deciduous fruit cultivation at subsistence level dates back to antiquity. The oldest existing orchards are found near monasteries and civil headquarters and estimated to be more than 100 years old. Commercial fruit growing took root with the beginning of the planned development activities, which started from the mid-1960s. Between 1960 and 1980 there was, however, no significant growth in this sector as there was no parallel growth in infrastructures like roads and marketing. The real impact of fruit cultivation was, however, felt only with the improvement of road networks and establishment of export market in the late eighties.
21. Also, the real impetus to fruit cultivation came with the change in the government’s policy in agricultural production, with the beginning of the seventh five-year plan (1992-97). Prior to that emphasis was on the production of grains to make the country self-sufficient in basic food grains. However, this objective proved to be difficult to achieve due to limited arable land resources, and as the annual food grains requirement went on rising. It was from the seventh plan that the government switched its policy and increasing priority was placed on production of horticultural crops with emphasis on high value cash crops. The major goal, therefore, from the seventh plan was to increase the production of horticultural crops, both for export and domestic markets, leading to higher farm incomes, greater economic growth and export revenues.
22. Apples dominate deciduous fruit cultivation at the moment, covering about 2000 hectares. From the survey carried out by the Integrated Horticulture Development Project Phase-I in 1994, about 88% of the apple trees are found in the three western Dzongkhags (districts) of Thimphu, Paro and Haa and about 4% in the central district of Bumthang. The total annual production of apple has seen gradual increase over the last five years, rising from 6600MT in 1992 to 15000MT in 1997, which is due to the fact that a large number of trees planted in the plantation-boom-years of late 1980s are now coming into bearing. The estimated average yield per bearing tree is around 45kg/tree, although a wide range of yield is found. By 1998 production could be more than 20,000MT.
23. The main varieties of apple grown and exported in bulk are those of the delicious group, although there are other Japanese improved varieties, which made their entries in the late ’80s. Cultivation of other deciduous fruits is still not significant; this is mainly due to the fact that horticultural marketing could not be streamlined and instituted till now. Nonetheless, cultivation of other deciduous fruits like peach, apricot and plum is slowly picking up because of the establishment of the Agro-Industries factories around the country, and with the increase in the urban population. Marketing has been the driving force behind commercial fruit cultivation, and if in the coming years marketing could be strengthened, then the production of other deciduous fruits will also increase.
24. The production of planting material of deciduous fruits has undergone rapid changes over the years as a result of the increase in plantations. Initially, the total requirement of planting material was met by imports from India, but now there are registered nurseries within the country to supply all the required planting material.
25. The level of orchard management is still poor owing to the fact that the extension agents and the farmers are not adequately educated in this subject. Nonetheless, the basic orchard management practices are increasingly being followed with the intervention of the few qualified personnel in the horticulture sector of the government.
26. Presently the deciduous fruit cultivation is faced with numerous constraints. A major constraint is in the field of marketing. Owing to the favourable agro-climatic conditions the growers are capable of producing all types of deciduous fruits if there could be markets to absorb them. The priority thus lies in gathering market information and developing markets and market infrastructures. The other constraints are in the field of research, extension and post-harvest to improve the production management and the quality of the produce.
27. To address the problems and constraints faced by the horticulture sectors in general and by the fruit sector in particular, the government received assistance from different Organizations like UNDP and FAO. In particular, the UNDP/FAO supported Integrated Horticulture Development Project - Phase I (1990-92), assisted in establishing a basic structure and programme for horticulture research and development, studying production and market prospects, and strengthening the national capacity to carry out horticulture programmes.
28. The Integrated Horticulture Development Programme Phase II (1997-2002), that started implementation in July 1997 is a continuation of the previous project, but with broader objectives and bigger budget. This programme is expected not only to ease the main present constraint of marketing but it is also expected to establish a strong research to cater to future development. It is also expected to build a strong extension system to cater to the needs of the technologically handicapped growers and thereby improve the production management systems, ensuring better quality products. It is also expected to put into place a system to handle the post-harvest practices, which are resulting in big losses and low prices for horticultural produce at the moment.
29. Owing to the timely intervention by the Royal Government and timely support from the ever-generous donor agents especially UNDP and FAO, fruit cultivation in Bhutan is poised to embark on a new scene never experienced before. Assuming that everything goes as smoothly as set in the programme document, Bhutanese farmers can look forward to a vibrant horticulture industry in the next century.
China
30. Professor Li Zai Long said that China was one of the earliest and most important origin centers of cultivated plants in the world. Among them many deciduous fruits such as peach, Asian pear, apricot, plum etc. grown today are native to China. A great number of valuable varieties were developed in the country; some of those are still important in deciduous fruit cultivation. In 1977 the total production of deciduous fruits in China was 50.89 million tons, of which 17.22 million tons were apple and 6.42 million tons were pears.
31. Today fruit cultivation (temperate, sub-tropical and tropical) in China occupies the third place after grains and vegetables, in terms of acreage. It has been the policy of the Government to encourage the development of deciduous fruits in the hill and mountainous areas, leaving the fertile lowlands for the production of grains and other annual crops. This policy accelerated economic development in the rural highland areas.
32. Among the deciduous fruit crops cultivated in China apple is far ahead in terms of acreage and production, followed by pear and peach. Apricot, plum, mume and persimmon are cultivated on a medium scale, while cherry is grown to a limited extent. Apple covers 32.66% of the total deciduous fruit area and contributes 33.8% to the total production; presently, over 70% of the plantings comprise of the Red Fuji, Starkrimson, Jonagold, Golden Delicious and Gala varieties. Pear occupies 924,000 hectares with a production of 6,415 million tons.
33. Due to the rapid expansion of the area under deciduous fruits, the use of unselected planting material became unavoidable in many cases. This, coupled with the low level of education of the growers in improved crop management practices resulted in the production of huge quantities of low quality fruit and low yields. Also, most of the fruit is produced in a short period. It is estimated that only about 30% of the produced fruit is of high quality. In addition, processing and storage facilities are limited. The present storage facilities can accommodate only 15% of the production, while the remaining 85% have to be disposed off within a short period.
34. The priorities now are to improve the fruit quality, the yield per unit area and regulate the production. However, the total acreage will remain at the same level. About 1.6 million hectares of old orchards will be renewed and planted with improved varieties using high quality planting material. In addition, the trees of another 3 million hectares will be rejuvenated through top working to new and improved varieties. About 10% of the varieties to be used will be of early maturity, 30% of mid maturity and 60% of late maturity. In apples Anna will be grown for early season, Tsugaru, Gala, Starkrimson and Golden Delicious for mid season, and Red Fuji and Jonagold for late season.
India
35. Dr. S.P. Ghosh indicated that deciduous fruits like apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot and cherry are well adapted in the temperate hills of North Western and North Eastern India. Apple introduced in the country as far back as in 1865 dominated the scene, covering an area of about 0.22 million ha with an annual production of over 1.2 million tons of fruits.
36. Three North West Indian states, namely Himachal Pradesh (H.P.), Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) produce more than 99 per cent of apple in the country. Varieties of the Delicious group predominate occupying 83% of the area under apple in H.P., 45% in J&K and 30% in U.P. hills. In recent years improved spur-types and standard colour mutants with 20-50% higher yield potentials are being favoured and are slowly replacing old varieties. Also through intensive research early, mid and late season varieties, pollinizer varieties, low chilling varieties, juice-making varieties and scab resistant varieties have been identified. A few promising hybrids have been developed. The spur type varieties with 50 to 80% standard size trees when grafted on clonal dwarfing and semi-dwarfing rootstocks fit quite well for high density orcharding. Similarly, colour mutants are well suited for low altitude situations where colour development is normally poor. In the U.P. hills early maturing varieties with market arrivals about 3 weeks before the apples of H.P. and J&K are commercially cultivated, thus enabling capturing of early markets. In the North Eastern Hills (NEH) apple is commercially successful in the rain-shadow areas.
37. Apple Scab is the major disease in apple for control of which a disease forecasting system has been developed and is in place. Chemical control schedules have been developed which are being followed both in H.P. and J&K. Uttar Pradesh hills are generally free from scab disease. Modern processing plants have been established for deciduous fruits and primary products like fruit pulp, single strength juices and juice concentrates are manufactured in considerable quantity. India has started exporting apple to neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and apple covers about 6% of the total fresh fruit export from India.
38. In comparison to apple, other deciduous crops are of much lesser significance for the country. Pear is grown in about 38.5 thousand ha while the stone fruits as a group occupied an area of 0.11 m ha. Due to availability of low chilling cultivars, the cultivation of these crops has been extended both in the hills and in the sub-tropical plains of the north India. Improved varieties of these crops have been identified for different agro-climatic situations. The productivity of the crops is quite low. In the hills the pear variety Bartlett and the plum variety Santa Rosa are commonly grown. For the sub-tropical areas low chilling peach cultivars like Flordasun, Florared and Shan-e-Punjab have become quite popular. In apricot two indigenous varieties, namely Halman and Rakhaikarpo, are grown successfully. In sweet cherry exotic cultivars are doing well in J&K State. Both pear and peach are in demand in the processing industry. Improved production technology for all these crops has already been developed by the research system and there is no serious threat from diseases and pests.
39. Massive replanting activities including high density orcharding with new improved varieties, integrated plant nutrient management, water management including in-situ water harvesting, drip and fertigation and integrated pest and disease management without much use of chemicals are some of the priority areas needing immediate developmental attention. Biological control of apple scab, combating problems of premature leaf fall in apple, storage of fruits of different crops and new value added product development are important researchable issues. Virus cleaning for supply of certified budwood and pilot scale testing of tissue culture protocols for rapid multiplication of clonal rootstocks will ensure supply of quality planting material for future plantations.
Myanmar
40. Dr. Sein Hla Bo informed the participants that deciduous fruits have been grown in Myanmar since the early 1930s. Major crops grown are apple, Asian pear, plum, Japanese Apricot and persimmon. The areas of cultivation are located in the Chin State, Shan State and Mandalay Division. The total area under apple cultivation is 3,267 ha and the production 2,305 tons; the Asian pear area is 1,854 ha with a production of 2,851 tons; and, the total area under plum is 977 ha with a production of 804 tons.
41. Most of the deciduous fruits are grown in home gardens. There are no organized commercial plantations. After planting very little care is taken for the trees. With the exception of apple, pear and persimmon, all the other deciduous fruit crops are grown from seedlings raised by the farmers themselves. The varieties used for planting are local varieties with inferior quality fruit. In general, yields and fruit quality is poor. A number of improved varieties have been introduced during recent years and they are under evaluation. Fruit production at present is limited and some quantities are imported annually from China to meet the local demand.
42. There is potential for deciduous fruit development in the hill and mountainous areas of the country. However, this development is hampered by a number of constraints. These are: a) the lack of suitable and improved varieties, b) lack of suitable rootstocks, c) unavailability of quality planting material, d) lack of trained manpower, e) low level of technical knowledge of the farmers, f) poor research facilities, and g) poor infrastructure such as roads, transport and irrigation facilities.
Nepal
43. Mr. L.N. Devkota mentioned that Nepal is a small (147 thousand sq. km), landlocked mountainous country. It has a wide range of climatic conditions, from hot humid tropical to arid alpine; also varied altitudes (100 - 8,840 m.) and extremely variable topography. Within the complex topography various micro-climatic conditions exist; one can find suitable to very suitable pockets for each individual fruit and variety. About 80% of the country's total land area come under hills and mountains. Therefore, climatically there is a tremendous potential to produce a wide range of deciduous fruits through out Nepal.
44. Some suitable areas in the western region have already been identified and top quality apple, apricot and nuts are already being produced. The warm temperate fruits like peach, plum, persimmon, nectarine, Asian pear etc. can be commercially grown in the rest of the hilly regions of the country.
45. Numerous important varieties of these deciduous fruits were introduced and distributed to the different localities of the country, 90% of which are planted in home gardens. Areas under these fruits are increasing every year; this indicates the awareness of farmers for fruit cultivation because they get more cash from fruits than the cereal crops. The fruit farming plays a vital role in the conservation of the environment in general and in the reduction of soil erosion in particular. Every year more and more areas are becoming accessible to motorable road and irrigation facilities are progressing. Now, Nepal is in a position of producing enough planting material for its requirements. Market demand for fruits is increasing rapidly due the fast rate of urbanization, changing food habit of the people, increasing population and in-coming tourists. Several temperate horticulture stations have already been established to carry out research and development activities. HMG/N is also fully committed to the development of horticulture in the country. HMG/N has already initiated implementation of a 20-year long Agriculture Perspective Plan (APP) which has accorded high priority for the development of horticultural crops in the hills. The APP has prioritized "apple" as a "high value" commodity in the inner Himalayan zone of Nepal. Priority has been given to the development of commercial orchards through "Pocket Package” strategy. Inspite of all these efforts and potentialities, Nepal is not yet able to demonstrate to farmers that fruit cultivation is an economic enterprise. This is because fruit production development is hindered by a number of constraints such as:
46. If these problems are addressed, one can be quite optimistic for the development of commercial deciduous fruit production in the economically very weak regions of Nepal. Horticultural enterprises can be risky; therefore, the policies for the sector will have to deal with risk-minimizing measures through research, infrastructure, strong support services, credit and private sector development initiatives.
Thailand
47. Professor Suranant Subhadrabandhu explained that growing deciduous fruit trees in tropical countries like Thailand is limited by the lack of winter chilling for rest completion of the buds in the first place. Although various means do exist to solve this problem, good quality fruits of high chilling requirement cultivars do pose a problem not easily solved. Apart from that, natural calamities like heavy rains, heavy storms or a dry spell of heat wave may cause severe damage to fruit crops with very little to do to prevent the losses. The reason for that is the complete exposure of the tree to such conditions in the orchard. Protecting the crop, although technically feasible, nevertheless is very frequently too costly to be employed commercially in the conventional orchard. Another type of problems often affecting fruit crops is soil-related ones. Soil is the cheapest medium, but generally not the best for growing plants. Physical, chemical and biological problems related to various soil types plague many of the crops we grow. The means that we have to improve the tree performance in many cases are far from adequate for correcting the situation, resulting in a poor orchard performance.
48. In northern Thailand, deciduous fruit trees such as peach, nectarine, plum, Japanese apricot, persimmon, Asian pear and to a certain extent apple are being tried commercially as a substitute crop for the opium poppy. These fruit crops face difficulties in gaining commercial acceptability due to the lack of winter chilling. Attempts have been made to cope with this problem of insufficient chilling by a) introducing cultivars of low chilling requirement to grow in the area, b) adopting the existing cultural techniques of defoliation, branch bending etc., and c) using rest breaking chemicals and rest avoidance techniques. Some of these attempts have been researched and experimented with in the highland areas of northern Thailand. Although the results obtained are slow, nevertheless they are promising in relation to the growing conditions of warm tropical areas like Thailand. The conditions are not suitable for rest breaking of deciduous fruit trees.
Vietnam
49. Dr. Nguyen Minh Chau presented an overview of deciduous fruit cultivation in Vietnam. He mentioned that ethnic minorities who live in the highlands of North Vietnam mostly produce deciduous fruits. However, some of those fruits are cultivated also in the Dalat area (Lam Dong province) in the South, but to a very small extent. The total area under cultivation in 1995 was 32,443 ha. Japanese plum, Japanese apricot, Asian pear, persimmon, peach and apple are the major deciduous fruit species grown.
50. Most of the existing orchards have been planted using unselected planting material (mostly seedlings). The management of the orchards consists mainly of control of weeds and of some fertilizer application. Other cultural practices are unknown to the farmers. The fruits produced are of poor quality, and yields are low.
51. The demand for deciduous fruits in the domestic market is good, and substantial quantities are imported yearly from China, the USA, Australia and New Zealand to satisfy local needs. There is a good potential for production development and the Government’s target is to extend the area under cultivation to 100,000 ha by the year 2,010. The emphasis will be on persimmon, plum, apricot, pear, apple and peach. A Temperate Fruit Research Station has been established 2 years ago in Sapa (Lao Cai province) to carry out research and development work. In addition, the Government has requested financial assistance from the World Bank for a project on Deciduous Fruit Development in the Northern Regions of Vietnam.
52. Major limiting factors in deciduous fruit production development are: a) the unavailability of improved varieties and suitable rootstocks, b) the lack of quality planting material, c) very poor knowledge of the farmers in appropriate cultivation techniques, d) very inadequate knowledge of the research and extension personnel in deciduous fruit culture, e) poor road network, f) poor transport facilities, g) lack of storage facilities, h) lack of processing facilities.
