horticultural science curriculum Acta Hort. 672 197 203 Leary, J.K. DeFrank, J. Sipes, B. 2006 Tropical eggplant ( Solanum melongena L.) production with a buffelgrass ( Pennisetum ciliare L.) living mulch system in Hawaii Biol. Agr. Hort. 24 105 116 10
Abstract
The ASHS Tropical Region was founded in 1951 by a group of enthusiastic horticulturists working in the Caribbean and Latin America. This group was greatly inspired by Wilson Popenoe, a visionary in tropical horticulture who was dedicated to actions supporting agricultural development and the conservation of resources in Central America.
Abstract
To most North American horticulturists, tropical horticulture is an “exotic” science. Familiar concepts such as length of growing season, degree of hardiness, winter dormancy, and critical day length are inappropriately applied to many tropical situations. Ignorance of tropical agriculture may lead one to believe that very little research has been done in tropical crops. A missionary attitude may prevail: We ought to send some of our horticulturists down there to show them how. These attitudes and beliefs are inappropriate in an age when American “know-how” is being widely exported.
Chilling injury inhibits the growth and development of tropical plants and shortens the postharvest life of tropical horticultural commodities. This presentation will emphasize the postharvest aspects of chilling injury. While most tropical commodities are sensitive to temperatures below 10 to 15C, specific critical temperatures may vary with the species, stage of development, and type of tissue. Likewise, symptoms of chilling injury also vary with different commodities. Reduction of chilling injury can be achieved either by increasing the tolerance to chilling in sensitive tissues or by delaying the development of chilling injury symptoms. Some methods involve the manipulation and modification of the storage environment, whereas other techniques involve direct treatment to the commodities. Specific examples of the alleviation of chilling injury in various tropical commodities will be discussed.
Tropical horticulture is a senior-level course in most horticulture curricula. A combination of notes, slides, and hands-on demonstration with tropical crop products is the traditional presentation format for this course. Our project integrated computer-based learning models in a comprehensive courseware package suitable for teaching an entire undergraduate tropical horticulture course covering 14 crops from the areas of fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and floriculture. The user-friendly multimedia course includes hypertext class notes, animated graphics, videos, and pictures. The CD-ROM will be available and will be tested by students registered in the tropical horticulture class in Louisiana State Univ. and will also be translated to Spanish.
Abstract
It is generally accepted that modern agriculture in tropical areas was first practised in the early days of colonialism when the main aim was production of items required in large quantities by the metropolitan nations. For this reason there developed plantations where crops like coffee, cotton, sugarcane and tobacco were grown on an extensive scale for export after simple preparation of the produce to enable it to withstand slow travel by sea; interest in horticultural crops which require intensive methods of production and rapid travel was to come much later. However, the existence of tropical fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants in abundance and great variety could not be ignored for long and, in time, the traditional approach to horticulture in temperate regions was adopted in the tropics also: plants were grown to produce crops for immediate use and the local market. It is remarkable that sometimes the names of horticultural crops of more temperate areas were attached quite inappropriately to a number of them, like avocado pear (Persea americana) and rose-of-sharon (Hibiscus mutabilis). Increasing familiarity bred appreciation of tropical horticultural produce and led to a growing demand most notably, for fruits but also for vegetables, flowers and ornamental foliage. The inevitable outcome has been the movement of larger quantities from the areas of production to the expanding areas of consumption – a prerequisite of a satisfactory export trade.
There is a need to develop effective, non-damaging, non-polluting, non-carcinogenic procedures for insect disinfestation and disease control in fresh horticultural products. The loss of ethylene dibromide as a fumigant and the uncertainties of other fumigants, has meant that alternatives are needed. The most likely possibilities include irradiation, heat, cold and controlled atmospheres. Irradiation doses required for sterilization of insects cause only minor physiological changes, while controlled atmospheres appear to require longer periods of exposure than the postharvest life of most tropical fruit. The sensitivity of tropical commodities to temperatures less than 10°C makes cold treatments inappropriate for most tropical commodities. Heat treatments seem to be most promising. For papaya, the requirement is that the fruit core temperature reach 47.2°C, this can occasionally disrupt fruit ripening. The sensitivity to heat is modified by seasonal, variety and rate of heating factors. The sensitivity can be related to the heat shock response and the presence of heat shock proteins.
Abstract
84th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 34th Annual Congress of the Interamerican Society for Tropical Horticulture, Orlando, Fla., 6–12 November 1987
Poster Session 29—Teaching Horticulture to Diverse Constituencies 20 July 2005, 12:00–12:45 p.m. Poster Hall–Ballroom E/F