ISHS Acta Horticulturae 269: Symposium on Tropical Fruit in International Trade
SOME EXAMPLES OF RESEARCH CONDUCTED WITHIN THE I.R.F.A./C.I.R.A.D. NETWORK |
| Author: | P. Martin-Prevel |
| Abstract:
The structure set up by France for fruit research in warm climates is organized in a planetary network with the involvement of various forms of cooperation. For each commodity, every region benefits from the backstopping at headquarters and the central laboratories. Knowledge is shared with the whole network. Postharvest techniques as related to international trade include CO2- shocks on avocadoes and SO2-treatment of lychees. But many post-harvest problems originate long before harvest. "Yellow pulp" (or "green ripeness") of bananas results from possible disequilibria between the very early determined number of fingers, and the volume or efficiency of the canopy during bunch filling; correlations are presented; primary causes appear to be mostly nutritional. Attempts were made to obtain ‘Tahiti’ limes with better green color at harvest. The dietary value of the same clone of ‘Clementine’ tangerine greatly differs according to its rootstock. Most of the encountered problems require cooperations of geneticists and other sciences. Internal browning of pineapples was provisionally overcome in Cote d'Ivoire through a combination of techniques aiming at increasing the ascorbic acid content of ‘Smooth Cayenne’ and improvements in the postharvest refrigeration chain. Simultaneously a long-term breeding programme, recently succeeded in selecting new hybrids and varieties that are ready for release having low susceptibility to internal browning. | |
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