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Geography of Crop PlantsGeo 3315

Lecture NotesPart 1

Nigel J.H. SmithDepartment of Geography

University of FloridaGainesville, FL 32611-7315Tel. 392 0494

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The Plant Domestication Process

LocationFormer idea of origin of agriculture in fertile crescent of Tigris/Euphrates riverbasins some 10,000 years ago.This idea stems from a Temperate zone bias and the fact that the Middle East isbetter studied archeologically that most of the tropics.Also the Middle East (Southwest Asia) is mostly dry, thus preserving plantremains.

Agriculture is more likely to have occurred earlier in tropics.The geographer Carl Sauer suggested that fisherfolk living in coastal areas of thetropics with hills providing a gentle slope would have been a good setting for thefist agricultural peoples.

Hillsides that are lightly wooded can be more easily farmed than grasslands orfloodplains, at least until plows are developed and water control measures areenacted.Very large trees can be ringed to kill them. Smaller trees can be cut and burned,the resulting ash providing fertilizer.Forest soils are more friable that those in grasslands, and therefore more easilyworked.The greater biodiversity of tropics offers a greater range of plants forexperimenting with in terms of plant domestication.

Triggering ForcesCommon perception of population pressure triggering plant and animaldomestication is probably incorrect.The late Carl Sauer at Berkeley and Andrew Moore of Yale University suggest theprocess may have been more experimental, conducted at a leisurely pace, with anabundance of food and gathering resources to allow gradual domestication.

Types of Plants First DomesticatedEarliest domesticated plants were probably supernatural/medicinals, rather thanfood plants.

Earliest domesticated food plants may have been perennials, fruit and nut trees,such as peach palm, and root crops, rather than seed crops.

Seed crops less likely to be first domesticated because:It takes several generations to improve the yield of seed crops once wild formshave been selected for domesticationSeed crops are more vulnerable to storms and floods than root and tree crops

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Seed crops need to be harvested within a relatively narrow window of opportunity,whereas root crops can be harvested over many months or even years in somecases.

Habitats where domestication took place Refuse heaps Trails Temporary campsites Base camps (even today dooryards or home gardens in the tropics serves as

staging areas for new varieties and crops)

Timing of Domestication and Duration of Domestication ProcessDepends on definition.Agriculture, involving the planting of crops on a large scale in fields, did not firstoccur until some 10,000 years ago.

But plant domestication probably reaches back into the Paleolithic, 20,000 yearsor more, a gradual process of experimentation/enrichment.The late Dan Lathrap, an archaeologist, suggested that antecedents of the Neolithicagricultural revolution go back at least 40,000 years.

Taxonomy of DomesticationNot all plants go through the same "stages".Plant domestication is a non-linear event; some crops revert back to the wild whenabandoned.

It is helpful to envisage plant domestication in terms of the degree of modificationof habitat and reproduction of plant

Another way to look at plant domestication is the level of investment by peoplein terms of time and labor they devote to a plant.

Several definitions of agriculture and plant domestication can be found in theliterature, much of it based on archaeological work in temperate areas, especiallythe Middle East where seasonally dry conditions help preserve plant remains.

Two classifications, developed by scientists working in tropical America, are themost useful for the proposed research. In his studies of plants in Mexico, Bye(1993) considers three broad categories:gathering (plants or plant products are simply collected in the wild);incipient domestication (minor tending to plants that arise spontaneously as aresult of human activity) and

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agricultural domestication (farming that involves the creation of fields andselection of varieties).

Clement (1999), working out of the central Amazon, elaborates on Byes

classification thus:

wild;incidentally co-evolved(which encompasses weeds that exploit areas disturbed byhumans);incipiently domesticated(modest selection but phenotypes still within the rangefound in wild populations);semi-domesticated(significant modification by human selection throughintervention/management);domesticated(crop with reduced genetic variability which can only survive inhuman-created environments).

Weeds as a ResourceWeed is a cultural term.Ralph Waldo Emerson, an American philosopher/naturalist of the 19th century,wrote:

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet beendiscovered.

A weed to one culture may be an important resource to another.Example: Teosinte and maize in Mexico.

Some crops started out as weeds in fields of another crop, and eventually theywere domesticated in their own right. Examples of this process include:Rye was initially a weed in wheat and barley fields, possibly tolerated and thendomesticatedRice may have started as a weed in taro fields

Weeds have long been a preoccupation of farmers. Take for example the NewTestament parable about weeds in a wheat field. The parable is spoken to illustratethe destiny of individuals after death:

The kingdom of heaven may be comparedto a man who sowed good seed in his field;but while men were sleepinghis enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat,and went away.So when the plants came up and bore grain,then the weeds appeared alsoAnd the servants of the householder

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came and said to him,Sir did you not sow good seed in your field?

How then has it weeds?He said to them,An enemy has done this.

The servants said to him,Then do you want us to go and gather them?But he said,No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them.Let both grow together until the harvest,and at the harvest time I will tell the reapers,Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned;

but gather the wheat into my barn(Matthew 13:24-30).

AgrobiodiversityAgrobiodiversity is that subset of biodiversity that is concerned with agriculturalproduction: crop species and associated varieties (as well as livestock species andassociated breeds).

Three main types of crop varieties are grown by farmers: open-pollinated varieties,hybrids, and clones.

Open-pollinated varieties: Varieties that self-pollinate, or receive pollen from

neighboring plants of the same species, without human intervention. Manytraditional varieties of cereal crops are grown in this manner. In the case of open-pollinated maize varieties, traditional farmers maintain the integrity of theirdistinct varieties by separating them in space (i.e. with a sizable barrier of othervegetation or higher up on a mountain) or in time (i.e. by pacing the planting timesof each variety so that they produce pollen in different months and thus do notcontaminate each other). An example of open-pollinated maize where such

precautions are not taken is Indian corn often sold in stores in the Fall for

decorative purposes. Indian corn usually contains kernels of many colors, each

the result of pollen from distinct maize varieties.

Hybrids: Hybrid varieties are developed by crossing two inbred lines. Theresulting increased yield potential is referred to as hybrid vigor or heterosis.Hybrid varieties are therefore generally higher yielding than traditional, open-pollinated varieties. However, the farmers must purchase hybrid seed eachplanting season from a seed company or state seed production facility. Only the F1(first generation) hybrid seed produces a uniform, high yield. If you plant seed

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produced by F1 hybrids, the progeny will be highly variable and yields will belower. Hybrids were first developed commercially with maize in the 1930s, andare now found among a variety of crops, especially vegetables and ornamentalplants that are grown from seed.

Clones: clones are cultivars that are propagated vegetatively. Most root crops areplanted in this way. For example, potatoes are planted with small seed tubers,

manioc is propagated by sticking stem cuttings in the ground, while sweet potatoesare planted with sections of the vine. Bananas are propagated by root shoots. Aclone is an exact genetic copy of its parent and thus is highly uniform.Commercial fruit and nut tree varieties are also propagated vegetatively bygrafting. The same applies to many ornamental bushes, such as roses and azaleas.

Plant BreedingYields of most of the major crops have increased several fold in this century. In

previous centuries, the rate of yield increase was much slower.About half of the yield increase of major cereal crops in the 20th century isattributed to plant breeding, i.e. the genetic manipulation of plants.The other half of the yield increase is due to changes in agronomic practices, suchas increased use of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.

Some of the objectives of plant breeders include:

Higher yield potential (e.g. exceptional response to fertilization; shorter stemsso that more photosynthetic effort is put into seed production, known as theharvest index. A 50% harvest index means that half of the weight of the plant

is the harvested portion, usually the seeds, fruit, or tubers) Disease resistance (genetic protection against certain bacteria, viruses, and

fungi)

Pest resistance (genetic protection against insects and other arthropods, such asmites)

Daylength insensitivity (equatorial regions have consistent daylength andvarieties developed for the long summer days of temperate areas may notdevelop seeds or fruits in the tropics)

Tolerance to poor soils (e.g. saline, alkaline, acid, toxic levels of al) Tolerance to drought Tolerance to flooding (e.g. rice breeders are interested in traditional rice

varieties of floodplain areas in Thailand because they grow very long stems toavoid submergence)

Frost resistance Wind resistance (stronger branches, trunks, and/or root systems; of interest to

growers of carambola or starfruit, among others)

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Improved nutritional qualities (e.g. less saturated fats, higher levels ofvitamins, protein). Example: peanut breeders at the University of Floridadeveloped a new variety, called SunOleic 95R, in 1995 that has a healthierkind of oil than regular peanuts; it helps lower cholesterol levels in somewomen. Furthermore, it has a longer shelf-life than other peanut varieties.

Higher sugar content: Breeders of certain fruits, such as orange, cantaloupe,blackberry, and apple are developing new varieties that are sweeter in order tocompete better with snack foods and candy. For example, Sunkist launchedCara Cara in 2004, a variety sweeter than regular oranges. New, sweetervarieties of apple developed recently include Jazz, Pink Lady, and PacificRose.

Improved agronomic characteristics (e.g. shorter, bushier kidney beans tofacilitate mechanical harvesting in places such as Michigan)

Improved post-harvest characteristics (e.g. longer shelf life, less damage duringtransportation)

Efforts to render agriculture more "environment-friendly" as pushing the breedingagenda (i.e. greater emphasis on genetic resistance to pests, rather than reliance onpesticides) as well as the growing consumer demand for "organic" or "natural"products.Sales of "natural" products reached $12 billion in the U.S. market by 1998 and aregrowing by 20% annually.

Hard to maximize all qualities at once, e.g. push to higher yield can mean lessresistance to diseases, lower nutritional qualities.

Dipping into Plant GenepoolsThree main genepools are recognized by plant breeders: the primary, secondary,and tertiary genepools (See Figure 1.2 on page 16 of the textbook).

Theprimary genepool refers to plant material belonging to the same species. The secondary genepool is composed of plants in the same genus, i.e. near

relatives.

The tertiary genepool is unrelated species, such as an oak and a moss.Plant breeders dip first into the primary genepool when looking for traits.

If they do not find want they want there, then they turn to the secondary genepool.Breeders are reluctant to do this, because of breeding barriers between species.The barriers to be overcome by breeders are even more difficult in the tertiarygenepool, but advances in biotechnology are likely to facilitate widecrossing in

the secondary and tertiary genepools.

Primary Genepool

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The primary genepool can be divided into several categories:

Breeders' collections Traditional varieties Wild populations of the crop plantEach category can be envisaged as a line of defense. Thus within the primarygenepool, the fist place to look for desirable traits is the breeders collections.

PowerPoint #1: Traditional Varieties of Crops

Widecrossing using Genetic EngineeringAdvances in genetic engineering are allowing more foreign genes to beincorporated into crops. In other words, conventional barriers to breeding arecoming down. While this raises some legitimate concerns about impacts on humanhealth and the environment, it does provides more tools for the plant breeders

toolbox and underscores the importance of conserving as much biodiversity aspossible.

The Issue of Intellectual Property Rights, Seed Companies andCompensationThe interdependence of nations on genetic resources has recently brought the issueof Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to the forefront of debate in internationalrelations.

The part of IPR that relates to genetic resources is Plant Breeders Rights (PBR).

The placing of value on genetic resources is a double-edged sword.On the one hand anything of value is likely to be saved. But on the other hand,nations are now less willing to share genetic resources without some form ofcompensation.

The issue of how to compensate nations, and farmers, for genetic resources is acomplex issue that is still being debated. Compensation would be difficult formany modern varieties of cereal crops that trace their genes to dozens of countries.

The issue of value and compensation for genetic resources of crops is beingexplored by the Undertaking on Genetic Resources under the aegis of the UnitedNations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

One idea emerging from the on-going discussions about compensation for geneticresources is to find market-based incentives for maintaining traditional varieties ofcrops rather than government subsidies.

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At the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the issue of plant genetic resources was discussedand the Convention on Biodiversity was an outgrowth of that meeting, which wasalso known as the Earth Summit. The United States has not signed that convention

in part because of concern for the proprietary rights of seed companies withrespect to parental lines for hybrids.

Although multinational seed companies, such as Pioneer Hi-Bred International andDeKalb, are sometimes cast as the villains in the debate over compensation forcrop genetic resources, international seed sales account for a tiny fraction of theirbusiness. In most cases, seed companies simply do not sell seed in countries thatdo not enforce Plant Breeders Rights. More and more countries are signing

legislation that recognizes Plant Breeders Rights, in part because of the decreasedrole of government in many of these economies and the emergence of privately-

owned seed companies in developing countries.

Tropical Forests and Indigenous Knowledge: ThreatenedResources

Tropical forests are the most biologically diverse environments in the world and itis not surprising that they have been the source of so many crop plants.Over 200 perennial species, excluding medicinals and ornamentals, have beendomesticated from tropical forest plants.

The forested area of temperate and cold climates, particularly in northern Asia, islarger than the forest zones of the tropics, but they contain far fewer species andonly a handful of crops, such as pear, apple, cherry, mulberry, and some timberspecies, are derived from them.

Tropical forests of theAmericas have given us such crops as: avocado, cacao,guava, papaya, passionfruit, peach palm, rubber, soursop, vanilla.

Tropical forests ofAfrica have given us such crops as: arabica coffee, robustacoffee, oil palm.

Tropical forests ofAsia have given us such crops as: breadfruit, jackfruit,carambola (star fruit), clove, citrus, mango, and nutmeg.

Forests throughout the tropics are under threat for a variety of proximate causessuch as clearing for crops, pasture, timber, and construction of reservoirs forgenerating hydroelectricity.

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PowerPoint #2: Tropical Forests, forces of destruction, and indigenousknowledge

Concomitant with the loss of tropical forests is the loss of indigenous or local

knowledge as cultural groups become extinct or their lifeways change as theybecome increasingly integrated with markets.Unusual crops or varieties are often lost as a group succumbs to disease or otherexternal pressures, or farmers adopt cash crops.

Implications:Interdependence of nations on genetic resources.The fate of wild populations of arabica coffee in dwindling tracts of forest insouthwest Ethiopia is of major concern to the economies of dozens of countries inLatin America and Asia.

In situ conservation needs to be emphasized as a strategy for conservingagrobiodiversity and its associated indigenous knowledge.

Conserving Plants in Their Natural and Cultural EnvironmentsCrop genetic resources are conserved by two main means: ex situ and in situ.Off site in ex situ collections, using frozen seed or whole plants growing in fieldgenebanks (sometimes referred to as clonal repositories).Ex situ collections do not work well for many tropical perennials that do notproduce orthodox seed (i.e., seeds that can be dried and frozen, and still remain

viable.In such cases, accessions are kept in live field genebanks, but such operations arecostly and can only capture a small range of the genetic variation of mostperennials crops.

In situ conservation in natural habitats (both on farm and in the wild) is thereforeessential.

The United States maintains large collections of crop (and animal) Germplasm atvarious locations in the country (see http://www.ars-grin.gov/)

In situ Conservation:In situ conservation can be used for wild populations and near relatives of crops,and for traditional varieties.

Advantages ofin situ conservation:Allows plants to continue evolving in their natural settings.Is usually less costly than genebanks

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In situ conservation of wild populations and near relatives includes:

National parks Biological or nature reserves Specialized gene parks National forests Indian reserves Extractive reservesProblems ofin situ conservation of wild populations and near relatives:

Parks and reserves are often not adequately protected from illegal activities Some reserves/parks are too small to maintain the integrity of ecosystems.

Many tropical forest species depend on insects, birds, and bats for pollinationand mammals and birds for seed dispersal. Removal of some trees from thedelicate ecological web characteristic of tropical forests may destroy elaboratemechanisms for fertilization and dispersal.

Many habitats and environments are not represented in parks/reserves Extractive reserves and national forests may suffer from over-exploitation of

natural resources even though they are supposed to have management plans.

In situ conservation of traditional varieties and crops of local importance:Idea is for farmers to maintain varieties that they would otherwise abandon in theirfields or home gardens.This can be accomplished through:1. Market-based incentives, i.e. finding specialty markets for varieties that

would otherwise go out of production, such as heirloom tomato varieties indemand from upscale restaurants and consumers interested in different flavorsand textures who are willing to pay more for them.

2. Eco-tourism with a focus on agrobiodiversity (tours of farms growingheirloom varieties).

3. Provision of credit for farmers to grow traditional varieties as well as modernvarieties, such as hybrids.

The idea that farmers should be paid or subsidized to grow varieties that they areno longer interested in is fraught with problems of how to administer effectivelysuch programs.

In practice, some farmers who adopt modern varieties also maintain at least someof their traditional varieties, even if the area devoted to the latter is reduced,because traditional varieties are appreciated for:1. Better taste2. Their use in ritual

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3. Superior stalks or other material for building purposes (e.g. traditional wheatshave superior stems for thatching buildings)

BASIC STAPLESBananas, plantains, and breadfruit

Bananas and PlantainsIntroductionBananas are considered a dessert fruit in industrial nations, but in many parts ofthe humid tropics bananas and plantains are an important source of calories.In equatorial Africa, for example, bananas and plantains are a major staple.

Bananas are the No.1 selling fruit in the U.S., surpassing apples at No. 2.Americans spend $3.4 billion a year on bananas; bananas is clearly big business.

Per capita consumption of bananas in the United States has jumped 43 percentsince 1970.Banana is now the No. 1 fruit consumed in the U.S., beating out apples at thenumber 2 spot.In the mid-1990s, people in the U.S. were spending about $3.4 billion/year onbananas.

Origins and DiffusionEdibility in Musa acuminataevolved several thousand years ago.

Parthenocarpy, the ability to set fruit without pollination, arose withM. acuminatasomewhere in its broad range stretching from the Malaysian archipelago to NewGuinea.Seedless bananas were spotted by farmers and suckers were eventually removedfor planting.The seedless trait was relatively easy to preserve since the crop is propagatedvegetatively.

Prior to the evolution of parthenocarpy, wild bananas were probably collected forsnacks, but their ball-bearing sized seeds and small fruits evidently did not warrant

domestication efforts.Only when seedless fruits arose spontaneously did farmers take up bananaplanting.Parthenocarpy may have developed at several places inM. acuminata's extensiverange, and various cultural groups may have seized the opportunity to domesticatethe sun-loving plant.

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As domesticated forms ofMusa acuminata spread north into the range ofM.balbisiana, opportunities for spontaneous widecrossing were created.The distributions of both species overlap slightly along the interface betweenmonsoonal and equatorial climates, but contact zones betweenM. acuminata andM. balbisiana increased dramatically as the former species penetrated drier areas

as a result of human agency.Spontaneous crossing between the two species thus began, or at least accelerated,several thousand years ago.The resulting hybrids were more vigorous and higher yielding than domesticatedM. acuminata, so the latter soon began losing ground.

Plantains probably originated in southern India and are eaten boiled, steamed, orfried and are a basic staple in many parts of Africa and Latin America, such as inVenezuela.

The Fei bananas: A separate evolutionary historyAnother line of banana domestication has led to the Fe'i group.Fe'i bananas developed parthenocarpy and sterility independently ofMusamaclayi.A distinguishing characteristic of Fe'i bananas is that the fruit stalks generallyprotrude upwards, rather than hanging down.Starchy Fe'i bananas are boiled or baked before eating.Fe'i bananas originated in New Guinea and spread to the Philippines and thePacific as those islands were colonized in prehistoric times.Fe'i bananas may have been a basic staple in New Guinea 9,000 years ago.

Fe'i bananas are an essential component of feasts and other special occasions inthe Society Islands where they are considered a prestige food.The rich orange colors of Fe'i bananas attracted the attention of Paul Gauguin, aFrench impressionist painter who visited Tahiti and the Marquesas (both part ofthe Society Islands in French Polynesia), in the late 19th century.

The diffusion of bananas and plantainsEuropeans brought bananas to the New World.Portuguese voyagers brought banana from West Africa to the Canary Islandsaround 1500.The subtropical Canary Islands served as a staging ground for exchanging severalcrops between the Old and New Worlds.Bananas were taken from the Canary Islands on Spanish galleons to SantoDomingo in 1516.Once in the Caribbean, banana cultivation soon spread to other islands.Also, a few further introductions were made by colonial powers directly to Centraland South America.

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CuisineBananas are used for food in various ways in different regions:In parts of Southeast Asia, the terminal male flower is eaten as a delicacy.

In the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, unripe plantains are fried to

make tostones.In Puerto Rico, some upscale restaurants are featuring nueva cocina criolla

which emphasizes traditional, home cooking with some modern touches. Forexample, one dish called serenata includes various tropical tubers and greenbananas.Also in Dominican Republic, very green (unripe) plantains are boiled, mashed,mixed with onions and eaten. This dish is called mangu.Mofongo is prepared in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba by boilinggreen plantains, mashing them, adding garlic and meat, and then frying them.Fried ripe plantains (platanos fritos) are popular in Venezuela.

In Cuba and Puerto Rico, fried ripe plantains are diced and fried (maduros)

Plantains are home-cooking items in many parts of tropical Latin America, butare also found in some upscale restaurants, especially those featuring nuevocubano cuisine.

For example, the Yuca Restaurant on south Miami Beach, Florida, offers thefollowing dishes that contain plantain:

Pltanomaduro Marina(Marinas sweet plantain): Plantain stuffed with dried,cured beef, dressed in sour cream and salsa verde ($9).

Pastel de Pltano y Yuca (plantain and manioc pastry): Stuffed with pork andpiquant cachucha peppers ($10).

El Dorado original cubierto con Platanitos triturados con Fuf de Pltano(Plantain-coated dolphin fish): Served with tartar and tamarind sauce ($23).

Embutido dePltanoMaduro y Pato a la Parilla (Grilled sweet plantain andduck sausage): Served with penne pasta in Aejo Rum sauce with sun-driedtomatoes and Ricotta cheese ($16).

Fried plantain chips and sweeter fried banana chips are sold in supermarkets in theU.S.

Nutritional and Medicinal ValueIn addition to providing significant amounts of carbohydrate, bananas andplantains are also rich in potassium, a nutrient important for the proper functioningof the heart.In Central Africa, bananas are used extensively to make home-brewed beer, whichcontains vitamin B.

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Recently, scientists have identified the active ingredient in plantain that stimulatescell growth in the stomach lining, a discovery that may help heal stomach ulcers.This discovery underscores the importance of ethnobotany for identifying newmedicines and other valuable traits.

Non-Food UsesBanana fibers in some areas are used to make a "natural" looking paper for notepads, envelopes, and writing paper.Banana Rainforest Note Pad, for example, is made by the Costa Rica NaturalPaper Company. "A percentage of each sale goes towards a scholarship fund tosupport young leaders from Latin America to study sustainable agriculturaldevelopment at Earth College" in Costa Rica.

Farming SystemsBananas are ideal for small or large-scale agroforestry schemes. Indeed, over 90

percent of global banana production comes from small holdings.

Bananas are also well suited to large, uniform plantations. Most of the exportbananas are produced on large plantations.

Banana trees in Calypso music:Dayo and Yellow Birdby Tyrone & The Clouds

Extensive commercial plantings of banana are found in:Central America: particularly Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Honduras

The Caribbean: especially the Windward IslandsSouth America: especially Ecuador and Colombia

PowerPoint #3:Bananas & Plantains

PowerPoint #4:Fe'i bananas

Trade and Foreign Exchange EarningsBananas are an important source of foreign exchange for several exportingcountries. For example, the Philippines, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St.Vincent, Martinique, and Guadeloupe derive close to half their export earningsfrom bananas.

Three multinational corporations, all headquartered in the U.S.A., account forabout 2/3 of the world trade in bananas: Chiquita (formerly United Fruit), Dole(formerly Standard Fruit), and Del Monte.

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Two points are worth emphasizing respect to the banana export trade and rural andurban poor in developing countries:

The export trade provides substantial employment opportunities. Bananaproduction and processing are labor intensive, requiring at least 1 person forevery 2 ha of planting.

Pests and diseases that attack commercial plantings also damage manytraditional banana and plantain varieties, so resistance breeding can benefitsmallholders as well as company and cooperative plantations.

Export bananas have been at the center of trade disputes between the U.S. andEurope in the last decade or so.In 1993, the European Union began protecting banana growers in former colonies,particularly in the Caribbean, parts of Africa, and the Canary Islands by imposingquotas on imports of bananas from Latin America.

This measure has severely impacted U.S. corporations involved in the productionand marketing of bananas, especially Chiquita.Chiquita alone suffered an estimated $1.3 billion in lost sales in the Europeanmarket from 1993-2000.In 1997, the WTO (World Trade Organization) ruled in favor of the U.S., and in1999 the WTO gave the green light for the U.S. to retaliate by imposingrestrictions on the importation of certain European foodstuffs, especially cheese.

Traditional CultivarsAs bananas diffused across various soil and climatic zones, different cultures

selected some of the new forms arising from spontaneous mutations.About 500 recognized varieties of banana and plantain are grown worldwide.

The greatest diversity of traditional banana cultivars is found in tropical Asia,where the crop has the longest history.Filipinos relish over 75 banana cultivars tended on thousands of widely scatteredislands.Some traditional varieties contain traits of potential interest to breeders; inMalaysia, one banana variety has a stalk over two meters long that contains anaverage of 2,000 fruits, more than five times the number of fruits typically found

on export varieties.

Genetic erosion of traditional varieties:Decline of aboriginal populations has led to the loss of unique varieties of bananaand other crops.In Polynesia, for example, introduced diseases triggered a rapid decline of thehuman population on Tahiti from an estimated 140,000 at time of contact withEuropeans to fewer than 5,000 within three generations.

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Population thinning also occurred in some other parts of the Society Islands, suchas Moorea, where forest-covered temple sites, known locally as maraes, attest toformerly dense farming communities in the interior valleys and along the coasts.

History of the Export Banana Business

Carl B. Frank started the first business dedicated to importing bananas to the U.S.in 1866. Before that time, bananas were rarely encountered in U.S. markets andwere mostly a curiosity item.Mr. Frank's business was located in New York and he imported bananas fromPanama.By 1899, however, over 100 firms in the U.S. were importing bananas.One of the main "players" in the banana business has been the United FruitCompany (now Chiquita brands), which was founded in 1899.The United Fruit Company acquired land for banana production in the DominicanRepublic, Cuba, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Jamaica, and Colombia. The

company also operated a fleet of ships to take the bananas to the U.S. and Europe.

In certain Central American countries, especially Guatemala, Honduras, andNicaragua, banana corporations, particularly United Fruit, often dominatednational politics in those countries.Such countries have been referred to as Banana Republics.Woody Allen starred in a film,Bananas, which pokes fun at such governments.

From the 1860s to 1900, bananas traveled as deck cargo on sail ships, or by the1870s as deck cargo on steamships.

Around 1900, steamships with refrigerator holds were introduced, therebyreducing spoilage.

Modern Cultivars and Disease VulnerabilityOnly a handful of cultivars dominate the banana export trade.There are many more commercial labels for bananas than there are commercialvarieties.

Export varieties are relatively thick-skinned, are cut when still green, and afterbeing dunked in a chemical bath to retard browning caused by fungi and bacteria,are placed in plastic-lined cardboard boxes.In the cargo hold of ships, the bananas are chilled and kept ventilated in order todispel ethylene gas that is given off by ripening fruits and promotes ripening. Thebananas arrive at their destination port still green.

Until the early 1960s, the Gros Michel variety dominated the banana exportindustry.

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Gros Michel, known by various names in different regions, originated in SoutheastAsia and was introduced to Martinique in the early 1800s and Jamaica around1835.Gros Michel is now grown in limited quantities, and then only for local use.The demise of `Gros Michel' in the 1960s was triggered by Panama disease,

caused by at least four races ofFusarium oxysporum f. cubense.Fungicide applications against this variable pathogen are ineffective.

The Cavendish group of bananas appeared to be the answer to Panama diseasebecause they are resistant.The Cavendish group also travels well and is high yielding.Cavendish bananas are a closely related group of cultivars all derived from a tallparent, Pisang masak hijau from Southeast Asia.The principal commercial cultivars of the Cavendish group are Dwarf Cavendishand Giant Cavendish.

The narrow genetic base of export bananas renders them particularly susceptible tocatastrophic outbreaks of disease.Commercial banana plantations are also especially vulnerable to the rapid spreadof diseases and pests because the plants are planted closely together, usuallybetween 1,600 to 2,000 banana plants per hectare, although densities reach as highas 4,400 plants/hectare.

Breeding Programs and ChallengesThe first banana breeding programs began in 1922 at the Imperial College of

Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad and at the Banana Research Station in Jamaica.

The United Fruit Company launched a banana breeding project at La Lima,Honduras, in 1959.Wisely, the company initiated the program by first sponsoring a germplasmcollecting trip to centers of banana diversity in Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

Today, the banana industry appears to be on the eve of another major varietalturnover at least as dramatic as the demise of Gros Michel as a commercial varietybecause of the rapid spread of Panama disease in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Black Sigatoka, a devastating leaf disease caused by another fungus(Mycosphaerella fijiensis), is the culprit this time.Black Sigatoka was first detected in the Sigatoka Valley of Fiji in 1963 andreached Zambia by 1973 and Gabon by 1979, and is now widespread in bananagrowing areas of Africa, including Uganda where bananas are one of the basicstaples.

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The virulent new pathogen began damaging banana plantations in Honduras in1972 and reached Costa Rica in 1980.By 1981, black Sigatoka had spread south to Colombia and Venezuela.

Gros Michel and the Cavendish group of bananas are highly susceptible to black

Sigatoka.Many traditional bananas and some plantains are also vulnerable to infestations ofblack Sigatoka.For example, black Sigatoka is drastically reducing the number of banana treesaround Kampala, Uganda, an area known for its diversity of cultivarsAs might be expected, the price of bananas is climbing in Uganda, a worrisometrend considering the importance of bananas in the regional diet.

Chemical control for black Sigatoka is expensive.In Central America and Colombia, fungicides need to be applied up to 45 times a

year to control the disease.The steep rise in banana prices in the 1990s in U.S. stores is partly a reflection ofthe increased spraying costs to control black Sigatoka.

To help combat the global threat of black Sigatoka, scientists are busy screeningMusa germplasm for resistance to the disease.Some resistance found in wild species and some cooking bananas, but they alsohave undesirable traits from an agronomic and marketing viewpoint.A prototype banana variety has been genetically engineered to resist blacksigatoka in a Belgian laboratory, but countries are reluctant to plant it because of

controversies surround GM foods (The Wall Street Journal, 26 December 2002, p.1)

One scientist, Dr. Philip Rowe, is trying to find a successor to the Cavendishbanana, and he feels he has at least a partial answer: Goldfinger.Goldfinger is a hybrid of bananas from Brazil and Southeast Asia (WSJ, 10 April1995, p. 1).Goldfinger took years to develop because of difficulty of obtaining viable seedfrom cross-pollinated bananas.Dr. Rowe used to work for the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita), but nowworks for a Honduran agricultural research foundation.Goldfinger is resistant to a number of diseases and pests, but has met withresistance by the two main banana corporations exporting to North America:Dole and ChiquitaReluctance to take on Goldfinger stems from the judgement that it is not anacceptable dessert banana (it is considered by the companies to be too acidic andtoo starchy)

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The Search for NoveltyConsumers are apparently willing to try new banana varieties and some farmersare responding to emerging market opportunities.For example, one family farm, called Seaside Banana Gardens, located 12 milesfrom Santa Barbara, California, has 50 varieties of banana planted on just 11 acres

(New York Times, 5 April 1995, p. B6).The varieties produced on this farm include such tempting selections as:

Cardaba with salmon-colored flesh Ladyfingerwith a hint of strawberry flavor Jamaican Red, gold-red color and complex flavor Blue Java, creamy texture, especially good for ice cream Ae Ae from Hawaii has green and white stripes Manzano has a crunchy texture and tastes like an apple when raw, and

pineapple when cooked

Harry and David, a mail-order catalogue company based in Medford, Oregon (tel.800 547 3033) offers Ruby Crme Bananas at $21.95 for 2 lbs. 12 oz. (net weight;Summer 1998 catalogue), considerably more than regular bananas in asupermarkets (about 10 times more expensive!). The Ruby Cremes look a bit likeFe'i bananas, and are described in Harry and David's Summer 1998 catalogue thus:

"Our Ruby Cremes have a complex character, a delicate flavor, ad acertainje ne sais quoi you must experience first-hand. We offer onlythe pick of the crop, tended by hand, then rushed, fresh andwonderful to anyone who appreciates the best life has to offer".

This farm is exploiting a niche market for novel bananas: they sell for $7-15 apound, much more than the standard issue Cavendish. The farm ships mail

orders and is located at: 6823 Santa Barbara Avenue, Ventura, CA 93001;telephone is (805) 643 4061.

Another company selling unusual varieties of banana is Going Bananas (going-bananas.com); based in Homestead, Florida, it has 75 varieties that can be orderonline.

To cater to growers supplying niche markets for novelty bananas, severalcompanies sell a diverse array of banana plants online, including:

Bananaplants.comThis company sells such varieties as Ice Cream Banana; Cardaba (from thePhilippines); Pisang Raja; Rajapuri; Red Iholena; African Rhinohorn (which

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produces 3 lb bananas); Apple Banana; Goldfinger; French Horn; Monkey Finger;and the Rose Banana.

Breadfruit

The starchy fruits usually weigh between 1-5 kilograms.The cannon ball-sized fruits are baked, roasted, boiled, steamed, or fried.Breadfruit is an important food in parts of the tropical Pacific.

Some Polynesians preserve surplus fruits by burying them in pits.Can be stored thus for a year, a food security measure.In pits, the breadfruit ferments and the paste is baked before eating.

Breadfruit chips are now a common snack food in the Pacific.

The carbohydrate-rich fruits are contain significant amounts of thiamine,riboflavin, nicotinamide, and vitamin C.

One indication of the importance of breadfruit to the robust inhabitants of theSociety Islands is the impressive number of times the tree or its fruit appear in thesensuous paintings of Paul Gauguin.

Breadfruit is also featured on French Polynesia's twenty-franc coin.

PowerPoint #5:Breadfruit

DiffusionOriginated in New Guinea.As people moved out from New Guinea and Southeast Asia to colonize the Pacificbetween 2000 BC and 800 AD, breadfruit went with them. Polynesian voyagerstook suckers from roots as well as seeds.Important crop to take, because only Pandanus (screwpine) and cocount availableas significant plant food sources in Polynesia before the arrival of people.Polynesians also took other vegetatively reproduced crops such as banana andtaro.

In Polynesia, perennial tree crops are the major sources of calories.

Breadfruit was the centerpiece in the infamous mutiny of theH.M.S. Bounty.In 1789, King George III dispatched Captain Bligh to Tahiti to secure breadfruittrees for British possessions in the Caribbean, where the trees would serve as anabundant and cheap source of food for slaves.

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But on the return voyage unrest grew among the deckhands in part becauseprecious freshwater on board was being used to keep a thousand young breadfruittrees alive.One of the first acts the rebellious crew performed after taking control of theBounty was to toss the breadfruit trees overboard.

The crew returned to Tahiti to pick up supplies and wives, and then spent theirexile in Pitcairn, a desolate island in the Pacific, where the ship was set fire andsunk.Bligh survived several weeks in a longboat after being cast adrift in the Pacific.He eventually returned to England.In 1997, 39 descendants of the mutineers were still living on Pitcairn Island, andthey were the subjects of a recent book: Serpent in Paradise by Dea Birkett(Anchor Books, New York, 1997).

Three Hollywood films made about this adventure:

1. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), in black and white starring Charles Laughton andClark Gable.2. Mutiny on the Bounty (1962), starring Marlon Brando as Fletcher, the mutining

first officer, Trevor Howard as Captain Bligh, and Richard Harris as one of thecrew members. Excellent film, with strong story line involving breadfruit.After filming, Marlon Brando marries the Tahitian Princess and has severalchildren by her. He buys an island in the Society Island chain near Tahiti.

3. The Bounty (1984), starring Anthony Hopkins as Captain Bligh. Depicts thetossing of breadfruit seedlings overboard, but does not otherwise mentionbreadfruit much, nor the water rationing on board that contributed to mutiny.

Blighs second attempt to bring breadfruit to the New World succeeded.

In 1792, young breadfruit trees were gathered on Tahiti and Timor and 333 ofthem planted in the St. Vincent Botanic Garden, the earliest botanic gardenestablished by colonial powers in the New World.A further 347 young breadfruit trees were unloaded at Port Royal, Jamaica.

Film #1:Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) with Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, andRichard Harris

Non-Food Uses of BreadfruitIn the Society Islands, breadfruit is used for a wide variety of medicinal purposes,including treatments for coughs, bronchitis, asthma, and ear problems.

In Polynesia and Micronesia, the latex is used for caulking boats, and in someparts of breadfruit's range, the white sap is used in the preparation of stickymixtures to trap birds.

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Breadfruit's Origin and Near RelativesThe origins of breadfruit are unclear, but it probably arose by spontaneoushybridization among two ormore wild species ofArtocarpus, possibly in NewGuinea.

Breadfruit is found wild in swamp forests bordering rivers of New Guinea.Wild breadfruit trees in the forests of New Guinea are often individually ownedand cared for by villagers.

Traditional Selections and VariationSome varieties produce fruit for up to five months, whereas others produce fruit allyear round.

Selection has been strong for seedless forms and these are propagated by plantingsuckers cut from the extensive surface roots.

Seeded forms are propagated from seed or can be cloned by planting suckers. Theroasted seeds provide a nutritious snack.Several hundred varieties of breadfruit are grown throughout the humid tropics,with the greatest diversity occurring in the Pacific.

Competition from other crops and foodstuffs is prompting the decline of breadfruitin some parts of its range, especially the increasing habit of eating bread madefrom imported wheat flour.

Jackfruit

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is a near relative of breadfruit (Artocarpusaltilis)Whereas breadfruit originated in New Guinea, wild populations of jackfruit arefound in the tropical forests of the Western Ghats in southwestern India. Thesehighland forests are highly endangered and have largely been cleared foragriculture.

Jackfruit has been introduced in many tropical regions for its fruit , whichtypically is the size of a basketball. Jackfruit bears starchy fruits on the trunk and

large branches (cauliflory), rather than at the end of branches. Fruits varyconsiderably in shape and external color (brown to green) because they arebackyard trees grown from seeds rather than commercial clones and therefore aregenetically diverse

PowerPoint #6:Jackfruit

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Jackfruit is eaten in many forms:

Locally, as fresh fruit. The fruits do not travel well for long distances,although growers in southern Florida are sending some fresh fruit tomarkets in New York by truck.

As chips, e.g. Mt Say Kh Jack Fruit Chips from Vietnam, sold in ethnicfood stores in the U.S.A.

As a trail mix. Friedas in Los Angeles also sells dried slices of jackfruit forsnacks.

As canned fruit in syrup.

In the 1990s, some growers in Dade County in southern Florida started growingjackfruit for the U.S. market. Indian immigrants, particularly, have generated aniche market for this fruit in the U.S.

Commercial growers of jackfruit in southern Florida can places orders for plantingstock with:Garden of Delights in Davie, Florida, which sells jackfruit trees for commercialgrowers online (gardenofdelights.com).Fairchild Gardens, Miami, which stocks 20 jackfruit varieties.

BEVERAGES AND CANDY

Coffee

Several species of the genus Coffea have been domesticated.The two most important are: arabica coffee and robusta coffee.

Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica):Provides the best-tasting coffee.Occurs wild in highland parts of SW Ethiopia, Boma Plateau of SE Sudan, andextreme northern Kenya.It is found in forest in a relatively narrow altitudinal belt between 1,370-1,830 m.Only about 400,000 ha of forest containing wild coffee were left in Ethiopia inmid-1980s and the habitat for wild arabica coffee continues to shrink.

Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora):Robusta coffee is not as good as arabica coffee in terms of quality, but it isadapted to the lowland tropics and is used in blends.Robusta coffee is found in cheaper coffees, particularly instant freeze-dried orpowdered coffee.Occurs wild in Central Africa in the Congo River Basin.

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History of coffeeEthiopians have been roasting coffee beans and make hot coffee long before itbecame a popular global beverage.Arabs are credited with first roasting coffee beans to make a beverage around

1300 in Yemen, but Ethiopians discovered coffee making. However, plantingswere small and for domestic consumption.

Coffee was (and still is) esteemed for its ability to augment mental powers.

For thousands of years, arabica coffee was gathered in the wild and from homegardens in its area of origin.A few, small commercial plantings of coffee were established in Yemen in the 14thand 15th centuries (on terraces with irrigation), but it was not until the 18th and 19thcenturies that coffee was planted extensively.

Ironically, it was European settlers, especially from Britain, that established coffeeas a commercial crop in its home continent: Africa.In fact, the first commercial plantings of coffee in Africa were in central andsouthern Kenya, just south of the natural range of coffee.The drama of early pioneer life of European settlers who adopted coffee as theirmain cash crop has been captured in books and film.The trials and tribulations of English settlers planting coffee in Kenya in the earlypart of this century has been described in the bookFlame Trees of Thika, whichhas also been made into a film (carried by PBS television in the U.S. in the 1980s).

Film #2: Out of Africa (1985) with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford

Emergence of CafsVenetians brought coffee to Europe.Romans began drinking coffee around 1600; previously they drank tea from herbs,cider, and fruit juices.No caffee latte or espresso in Italy before 1625.

Coffee houses or cafs in Europe were initially the gathering place for upperclasses.France's first coffee house was established in the port of Marseilles in 1671, whichobtained its coffee bean shipments from Alexandria, Egypt.The first caf in Paris was established in 1672.The Caf Procope in Paris has been operating continuously on the Rue del'Ancienne Comdie since 1686.Customers ofCaf Procope have included:Benjamin Franklin

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VoltaireRobespierreMaratNapoleon BonaparteHugo

RousseauBalzac

In England, a Lebanese entrepreneur opened the first coffee house in the countryat the Angel Inn in Oxford in 1650, and others soon followed in Oxford.Tillyard's coffee house, Oxford, was instrumental in the formation of the RoyalSociety (equivalent to the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S.).London's first coffee house established in 1652Two coffee houses in Change Alley, Cornhill, London, gave birth to the StockExchange

A handbill printed in London in 1652 proclaimed that coffee:"Quickens the spirits and makes the heart litesome...is good againstsore eyes..excellent to prevent and cure the dropsy, gout, andscurvy.."

The term tipping originated in a coffee house:At the Turk's Head coffee house, Westminster, London, a box was marked T.I.P.(To Insure Promptness)

British coffee houses frequented by such luminaries as:Milton (author ofParadise Lost)Sir Joshua ReynoldsAdam Smith (political economist)

Religious communities in some regions were opposed to the emergence of coffeehouses.In Turkey, for example, Muslim leaders tried to suppress the opening of coffeehouse because they were thought to compete with attendance at Mosques.In Italy, some Catholics were opposed to the drink, but Pope Clement VIII (1592-1605) tried and liked coffee, and blessed it as a Christian drink.The Pope argued that there was no reason to let coffee trade fall into the hands ofthe infidels.Opposition in London came from tavern owners who did not like the competition.In London, some women became disturbed at the amount of time their husbandswere spending in coffee houses.In England, women were excluded from coffee houses, except as servers.The petition drawn up by women in London in 1674 read as follows:

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"The WomensPetitionagainstcoffee

representing to public consideration

theGrand inconveniences accruingto their sex from the excessiveuse of that drying, enfeebling

liquor"

The men's response in London in 1674:"The

Mens Answerto the

Womens Petitionagainstcoffee:

vindicatingtheir own performances, and the virtues of

their liquor, from the undeservedaspersions latest cast upon

them, in theirScandalous Pamphlet"

Powerpoint #7: Coffee

Contemporary Coffee Drinking SceneIn Syria, coffee flavored with cardamom a perennial herb, native of India.In Mexico, coffee is often flavored with cinnamon.

In Britain, coffee bars, not coffee houses, revived after 1950 with the introductionofespresso machines (mostly made by Gaggia in Italy).Espresso machines force nearly boiling water through ground, dark-roasted coffee.They also contain a small, narrow pipe that conducts steam, used in foaming milk.Espresso coffee has been catching on in North America since the 1980s.

In the U.S., espresso coffee bars have really taken off in the last twenty years.Witness, for example, the emergence ofStarbucks (based in Seattle, Washington)a major corporation which has gone nation-wide, including Orlando airport, andhas recently opened up coffee bars abroad, such as in London.

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Minneapolis-based Caribou Coffee is the second largest coffeehouse chain in theU.S. Caribou coffee (www.caribou-coffee.com) was founded in 1992. Cariboussales pitch: Life is short. Stay awake for it.Several bookstore chains, such as Barnes and Nobles and Border, now featureespresso coffee bars in their stores.

Main kind of coffees served in coffee bars:

Espresso is very strong, black coffee. Cappuccino is espresso coffee with frothy white with milk, named after the

white habits of Capuchin monks. The frothy milk is produced by passing steamthrough milk. Sometimes topped with powdered chocolate or cinnamon.

Caffe Latte is espresso coffee with warm milk Frappuccino cold coffee and milk flavored with vanilla. Starbucks sells a

bottled version in food stores.

VarietiesBelow were some coffees for sale in 1996 at Swings coffee house (established in

1916) near the White House in Washington, D.C.:

Variety Description $/lb.Jamaican BlueMountain

Medium roast, wonderful body, worlds fines 35.00

Hawaiian Kona Medium roast, light body, striking character,aromatic

15.00

Ethiopian

Yergacheffe

Medium roast, very distinguished, moderate body 7.70

Ethiopian MochaHarrar

Medium roast, fruity characteristics, acidic tones 7.70

Kenya AA City roast, very rich, hearty, complex and delicatewiney undertones

7.70

Sumatra Mandheling City roast, very developed, long finish, low acid 7.70

La Cuesta Nicaragua City roast, exclusive, light body, distinguished 7.70

Costa Rican Tarrazu City roast, well balanced with exceptional flavor 6.90

Mexican Altura City roast, boasts a rich and well-balanced flavor,clean finish

6.90

Note: City roast means a darker roast than medium.

Barnie's (Florida) mail order catalogue included the following coffees:

Variety Description $/lb.Jamaican Blue Mountain Full body, low acidity, mellow 49.99

Hawaiian Kona Light body, medium acidity, sweet 24.99

http://www.caribou-coffee.com/http://www.caribou-coffee.com/http://www.caribou-coffee.com/http://www.caribou-coffee.com/

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Puerto Rican Yauco Selecto Full body, medium acidity, rich 16.99

Ethiopian Yergacheffe Medium body, spicy acidity, sweet 10.99

Costa Rican Tres Rios BellaVista

Full body, high acidity, fine aroma 9.99

Haitian Bleu Full body, low acidity, slightly sweet 9.99

Kenya AA Full body, sharp acidity, slightly sweet 9.99Tanzanian Peaberry Medium body, sharp acidity, flavorful 9.99

Brazilian South Minas MochaLavado

Light body, medium acidity, light cup 9.99

Sumatra Mandheling Heavy body, dry acidity, intense flavor 9.99

Java Kalistat Estate Full body, low acidity, creamy aftertaste 9.99

Papua New Guinea Full body, medium acidity, sweet 9.99

Mocha Java Full body, nice balance of acidity & aroma 9.99

Colombian Bucaraamanga Full body, medium acidity, mild flavor 8.99

Note:Body refers to "the strength and viscosity of the coffee in the mouth. Body isdescribed in such terms as heavy, full, medium, or light".Acidity is "the coffee's burst of flavor or its snap in the mouth, mostly on the sidesof the tongue. Acidity is described in such terms as soft, bright, winey, andintense".Aroma is "the enticing bouquet released by freshly-ground and brewed coffee.Aroma is described as sweet, fragrant, rich, bold, and mellow".

Some of the premium coffees:

Blue Mountain, Jamaica, limestone soils. Pure Blue Mountain coffee sells for$50/lb, and is exported to only 6 countries.

Kona, Hawaii (volcanic soils) Mocha, named after a former port in Yemen. This coffee is famous for the

chocolate nuance to its flavor. Mocha was cut off from the Red Sea by asandbar in early 1800s. Mocha now known as Al Mukha.

Many companies are now selling roasted and ground beans online, such as:CoffeeAM.com (Woodstock, Georgia)

Coffee Bean Corral (Phoenix, Arizona)Cuppers Coffee Company (Salt Lake City)E-Java.com (Auburn, California)FreshCoffeeNow.com (Atlanta)Gevalia.com (Gavle, Sweden)GodivaIlly (Naples, Italy)

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Peets Coffee and Tea (Berkeley, California)Starbucks (Seattle)

Special Role of Botanic GardensThe Amsterdam Botanic Garden (now part of the University of Amsterdam)

received just two coffee plants from Java in 1706.Some seedlings from the Amsterdam Botanic Garden were also sent to the Jardindes Plantes, Paris, in 1714.From the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, coffee seedlings were sent to Martinique in1720, but only 1 survived the journey.That one seedling started the coffee industry on Martinique.From Martinique, progeny sent to:Jamaica in 1730 (leading to development of Blue Mountain coffee) andHaiti (then Saint-Domingue) about the same time.Also, from Martinique coffee seedlings sent to many tropical American countries.

From Amsterdam, seedlings from those plants were sent to Dutch Guiana (nowSurinam) around 1713.

The Edinburgh Botanic Garden obtained coffee seedlings from Amsterdam andsent seedlings to Malawi (then Nyasaland) in 1878.

Coffee Producing AreasBest growing areas for coffee are tropical mountains (but not at high altitudeswhere hard frosts occur) with fertile soils, derived from volcanic ash or lava, orfrom limestone.

Brazil is the biggest producer. Brazil accounts for 30% of coffee traded on worldmarket.Most of the coffee in Brazil is grown in So Paulo State, at an elevation of 1,000meters on rich alfisols (terra roxa) derived from weathered basalt. Other mainproducing state in Brazil is Paran.Much of the early wealth of So Paulo generated on large coffee estates (fazendas)starting in the late 1700s.Santos is the main export port for coffee produced in Brazil.Many of the coffee growing areas of Brazil are prone to frost damage. Majorfreezes, such as in 1974, can cause a jump in the world price of coffee becauseBrazil is such a large producer.

Coffee the single most important source of (legal) foreign exchange for:ColombiaEl SalvadorUgandaBurundiRwanda

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Ethiopia

The Growing Market for Sustainable CoffeesSustainable coffees is a trade name for organic, shade, and fair trade coffees.

Organic means grown without the use of artificial fertilizers and pesticides. Shade means coffee grown under shade trees, such as Gliricidia, which in

addition to enriching the soil with nitrogen (because many of the shadetrees are legumes and fix nitrogen through symbiotic Rhizobium bacteria),provide habitat for some birds and other animals. Shade coffee is thusregarded as biodiversity-friendly. Traditionally, much of the coffee grownin central America and Colombia has been under leguminous shade treesthat help fix nitrogen and thereby enrich the soils. The trees have alsoprovided habitat for wildlife, including migrating birds from NorthAmerican that spend the winter in tropical climates. Now many coffeeproducers are moving to open-sun coffee production because yields are

higher, especially when fertilizers are used. Some specialty coffees nowadvertise themselves as Bird Friendly Coffee, hoping to attract customers

concerned with the environmental impacts of their consumption habits.

Fair trade means coffee grown by small farmers organized in cooperativesthat are guaranteed a minimum contract price.

Yields may be lower with sustainable coffees or the cost of production higher,but they fetch a premium price in the market.The market for sustainable coffees globally was worth about US$500 million in2001, but is growing.

Breeding Challenges and Genetic ResourcesLatin American coffee plantations are based on few introductions, and Asiancoffee plantations also rest on a narrow genetic base.

Coffee rust, caused by a fungus (Hemileia vastatrix), is the no. 1 disease problemCoffee rust wiped out commercial coffee production on Sri Lanka after it appearedin 1869.Coffee rust reached Brazil in 1970Various theories as to how it got to Brazil:

1.

Inadvertently on a VARIG flight from Lagos to Rio de Janeiro2. Wind dispersal of spores3. Introduction on illegally introduced breeding material4. Plot to undercut Brazilian coffee productionBy 1983 coffee rust had reached Colombia and Panama

Sources of resistance to coffee rust:

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Ethiopian coffee of particular interestBut Ethiopia is not releasing coffee germplasmIllustrates the south-south tug of war over genes, rather than a North-Southconflict.A major problem with resistance breeding for coffee rust is that at least 25 races

identified by early 1970s, and by 1986, 33 races identified.

In SW Ethiopia, the genepool of wild populations of arabica coffee are shrinkingdue to:

Deforestation to create more space for crops, a result of population pressure. Natural and escaped man-made fires, especially during El Nio years when the

climate is drier, as in 1998.

Globally, coffee is a $55 billion a year business, so a lot rests on the long termsafety of coffees genetic resources.

Checklist of place names for 1st map quiz:

CitiesAmsterdamParisSantos, Brazil

IslandsCanary IslandsCubaDominican RepublicFijiJamaicaJavaMadagascarMartinique

New GuineaPuerto RicoTahiti

CountriesBrazilBurundiColombia

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Costa RicaEl SalvadorEthiopiaGuatemalaHonduras

JamaicaKenyaNicaraguaRwandaUgandaVenezuelaYemen