A Fresh Look

Forward for Tropical

Vegetables

40th Anniversary Celebratory Colloquium

AVRDC @ 40: A Fresh Look Forward

17 October 2013
Global Vegetables
Temperate climate:
distinct cold and hot
seasons; no extremes
Vegetables introduced from other parts of temperature or
of the world (often temperate regions) precipitation; maritime
and continental
influences

Tropical climate: 22C

to 35C, little variation
throughout the year;
seasons usually
distinguished by
variation of rainfall
and cloudiness.

2
Traditional Vegetables

Either endemic crops domesticated and

cultivated where they originated

Or introduced crops that are now recognized

through custom, habit and tradition as
naturalized or traditional vegetables

3
Vegetables: the next years

Challenges Opportunities

Climate change and climatic events Better understanding of the need for
affecting production good nutrition

Increased urbanization and loss of New technologies for better

arable land production systems

Pests and diseases Employment and income

Adverse policies Empowering women

Wastage Globalization

4
 Climate change and climatic events

2011 East African drought Floods, Taiwan 2007

Oxfam East Africa

European cold wave 2012,

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dan Brickley, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

5
Global warming

Historical context 1878-2011

0.75oC/100 years 4.0oC/100 years

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Increased temperatures can affect fruit
set and seed viability

7
Adapting to abiotic stresses
Studies to develop salinity-tolerant
lines
Incorporate traits and genes from wild
relatives
Screening vegetables for salinity-
prone environments at ICBA,
Dubai UAE
LA1606 -
S. pimpinellifolium
shows good levels
of tolerance to
continued salinity
(200mM) stress
CA 4

CLN2498E

Arka Meghali

LA1579

LA1606

Seawater inundation Funafuti atoll

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 Risks: biotic stresses

Tomato fruit worm

Bruchids

Cucurbit polerovirus

Anthracnose

Powdery mildew Bacterial wilt

9
Pests effect of climate changes on distribution
and behavior
Species Biotype at 17C at 33C
Pest distribution
Generation time
range expansion or
contraction B 49 days 18 days
Bemisia tabaci
exploitation of new areas on sweet pepper Q 46 days 17 days
by invasive species
higher temperatures can
Natural enemies Muniz & Nombela, 2001

increase generations Pollinators

Helicoverpa armigera
higher temperatures may C
Exposure Eggs/ Successful
enhance locomotion time (min) female mating (%)
12.5 566 14
Pest behavior 45
15 213 0
death of dormant pupae 5 361 0
at elevated temperatures 46.5
10 10 0
unsuccessful mating Mirondis et al., 2010

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Conducive conditions for tomato diseases

Leaf mold
Increase in humidity

Late blight Bacterial spot

Powdery mildew
Bacterial wilt

Early blight

Fusarium wilt

Increase in temperature

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 2.5

Population growth 2.0

Agricultural population

1983

Number of people (billion)

1993
1.5
2003

Increasing world population 2013

1.0

Greatest population growth 0.5

predicted in Asia and Africa 0.0

Asia Africa Americas Europe Oceania
10
9
Population numbers (billion)
3 4 5 2
16 7 8

Julien Harneis
0

1973 1983 1993 2003 2013 2023 2033 2043

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Maximizing vegetable productivity

Oman protected Vietnam protected vegetable

field production cultivation in Da Lat

Mauritius protected Brunei protected

tomato production seedling production

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Minimizing crop losses
Pre- and postharvest losses in chili and tomato in India
(Tamil Nadu) as percentage of potential yield

Sources: AVRDC-TNAU survey 2013 (pre-

harvest losses); Viswanathan et al. 1998
Status of Harvest and Post Harvest
Losses of Tomato in Tamil Nadu,
Agricultural Engineering Today 22(5/6):
28-35 (postharvest losses)

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Rural urban Global rural urban population distribution

population shifts
Decreasing predicted
rural population
Increasing pressure
on urban land
Potential misuse of
resources

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Food wastage
In 2007, the total amount of
food wastage occupied almost
1.4 billion hectares (about 28%
of the worlds agricultural land)
Food Wastage Footprint, FAO 2013

OpenIDUser2 [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via

Wikimedia Commons

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Wastage and losses
In Oceania
Within 48 hours 27% of
harvested eggplant is
unsalable due to
dehydration
After 4 days 38% of the
tomatoes that reach
market are lost due to
rots. In the Greater Mekong
Poor packaging/transport
Adverse storage condition
Poor quality
Cannot sell all produce

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Wastage and losses

Slide Deck WFLO Appropriate Postharvest Technology Planning

Project (http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-1848.pdf)

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Transportation issues

Getting vegetables

Where they are needed

When they are needed,
and
In good condition

Typical route for produce from the Sigatoka valley to Suva, Fiji

Thursday morning Sunday morning

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Adverse policies

Often inappropriate or non-

existent policies, which may be
poorly enforced:
Seed sector
Land tenure
Agricultural input supply
Good agricultural practices
Support for marketing fresh
produce
Food safety
Availability of information

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Common global food and nutrition issues

Low nutrient Low

starch-based vegetable
diets consumption

Low Few basic

vegetable skills and
diversity inputs

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 Balanced
diets

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Vegetable availability and gaps

Food may not always be available when it is needed

FAO/WHO recommended daily
consumption of vegetables

Seasonal and year-round

availability of vegetables
in Bangladesh

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Potential solutions to improve nutrition

Garden
Year-round
nutrient
home gardens
supply

Improved Enhanced
processing skills of
and recipes partners

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Protected vegetable cultivation
Protected production of
vegetables in Punjab, India

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Expansion and mechanization of protected cultivation

Singapore Oman

Singapore

Oman Taiwan

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Vegetables improve incomes
net houses new varieties mungbeans vegetable soybeans

Ten times the Tripled yields; Additional Extra US$28

income from profits US$600/ha income per kg of
open field quadrupled instead of leaving seed sown
production the land fallow

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Improving the value chain

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Better quality vegetables in the market

Quality, attractive
Sanitary preparation Proper marketing
Careful harvesting products for the
for market and care of produce
consumer

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Engagement of the private sector

Best-practice hubs
Working towards common
goals

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Market chains Engaging value chain actors

Processing industries
Linking vegetable production to
processing industry will increase
the demand and eventually the
production and consumption of
vegetables

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 Appropriate postharvest technologies
Solar dryers (IITA)

Commercial freeze dryer

Simple evaporative cooler constructed from

bricks and sand, no cement

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Empowering women
High-value crops
Smaller land areas
Small-scale enterprises
Farmers can earn $1,000/ha of African
Contribute to family and eggplant per season
community nutrition

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Empowering women business
opportunities

Nurseries
specialized in
production of
grafted tomato and
Simple beginnings
other vegetable can lead to
seedlings for sale to profitable outcomes
farmers
Training and support
to women nursery
entrepreneurs

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Empowering women nourishing
families
Understanding the need for
good nutrition
How to prepare nutritious
meals
Using home-grown vegetables
Opportunities to sell extra
produce

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Improving the
quality of our
crops

Nutrient dense
crops Calcium Phosphorus Iron Vitamin A Thiamin Riboflavin Niacin Ascorbic acid

Focus on
nutritional
quality not shelf
life, size and
color

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Globalisation
Export opportunities
World Trade Competition
Organization
Exports of fresh vegetables (1999-2001 average)
Eliminate non-tariff trade
barriers (sanitary and
phytosanitary measures)

Codex alimentarius
Quality, size, tolerances,
presentation, labelling,
contamination and
hygiene

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Information, business skills and job
creation
Increased bargaining power
Reducing cheating by middlemen
Locating forwards sales contract
opportunities

Sustainable solution to agricultural poverty

and regular good quality supply of produce
to the market Mobile
telephony
data sharing

Picture-based
local language
price details at
market (Sri
Lanka)

Harsha de Silva
LIRNEasia and Director, e-development labs (private) limited

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Tackling seasonality
Is seasonality a problem, or a solution?

An advantage, or
a disadvantage?

http://www.adelaidefarmersmarket.com.au/www/content/default.aspx?cid=972

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Grafting

Rootstocks and scions grafted to

produce high-yielding, biotic stress
resistant and/or abiotic stress
tolerant plants

High-
throughput
automation Lam Dong Province, Vietnam:
100% uptake by farmers - grafting
with resistant eggplant and
tomato rootstocks to manage
bacterial wilt of tomato
http://cals.arizona.edu/grafting/grafting-robots

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Supergrafting
Grafting multiple scions onto one
rootstock
Opportunities using perennial
rootstocks for annual or biennial
crops

http://www.fruitsaladtrees.com

http://www.pomatoplant.com/

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Supergrafting

Multiple
scions onto
one
rootstock:
cherry tomato,
processing tomato,
multiple eggplant types
and sweet/chili peppers

Dr Sirikul Wassee, Kasetsart University

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Environmental management

Too hot, too cold

Protected cultivation
Too humid, too dry
nets, plastic, glass
Keep insects out
Lighting to extend production Let pollinators in
LEDs, day-length
Power will be an issue
solar, wind, water
Management
computers, smartphones
Postharvest management
targeting consumers

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Technologies for the
home

Production
technologies and Aeroponic Garden
components O'Hare Rotunda Building

must be
simple
affordable
easy to use

AeroGarden

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 http://www.thecoolist.com/geeky-gardening-

Technologies for the

how-to-grow-vegetables-with-green-technology/

home
Aquaponics
At home an indoor system,
lit by a window and grow
lights, using standard aquaria
or fish tanks and a small Aquaponic gardens, sensors, microprocessors, clouds and social media

hydroponic grow bed can

produce vegetables
Water flow rates Pumps
Tank level Heaters
Water quality Reservoir
Dissolved oxygen Feeding rate

Microprocessor

Wireless router Twitter

Facebook
Website updates
Text messages

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 FarmedHere indoor vertical farm (Illinois)

Module farming

High input, high output

Economies of scale for

intensive production

Streamlined, reduced One of the four climate controlled, automated,

hydroponic, recirculating vertical farming units at
labor costs Green Farms A&M (Indiana)

Potential risks

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Module farming

The Volksgarden

http://urbanledgrowth.wix.com/urbanledgrowth#!

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Developing improved, adapted
vegetables
Genetically-modified vegetables:
Courgette virus resistance
Eggplant insect resistance
Sweet pepper virus resistance
Tomato delayed ripening/fruit
softening/senescence, insect
resistance GM.org

Commercial approval:
Canada tomato FLAVR SAVR
[courgette/zucchini]
China [sweet pepper, tomato]
Mexico tomato FLAVR SAVR
USA - chicory Seed Link, tomato
FLAVR SAVR [courgette/zucchini]
www.semisweetonline.com

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Preserving vegetables Schematic of an irradiation facility

Irradiation
destroys harmful
bacteria
extends shelf life
retards maturation of
vegetables
reduces spoilage by
organisms that can Irradiated, dehydrated food for astronauts

grow under
refrigeration
.
can also be used in
place of fumigants
and other quarantine
procedures

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 Irradiated
strawberries
can last more
Preserving vegetables than a week in
a domestic
refrigerator

Vegetable shelf
Gamma irradiation of food life can be
permitted by over 50 countries extended 3-5
times
500,000 metric tons of food
treated annually worldwide
clearances vary: single food
category in many European
Union countries to any food in
Brazil
Pakistan and Brazil: any food
may be irradiated to any dose

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 Farmers aged 65 years and older
Changing mindsets 50 Average age (years) of farmers:
45 51 57 49 51 47 60 36 50
40
35
Influencing populations

PERCENTAGE
30
25
20
15
Linking education, 10

health, agriculture 5
0
1970 1998 1970 1998 1970 1998 1970 1998
United United Canada Canada Japan Japan Korea Korea
States States
A new generation of
agricultural scientists

A new generation of
farmers to feed a
growing population

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www.unsdsn.org

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Goal 6: Improve agriculture systems and raise rural
prosperity

Shifting towards healthier diets;

Ensuring the supply of safe, nutritious
food;
Preserving the environment;
Reducing food losses and waste;
New visions and business models for
smallholders;
Empowering women along the value
chain; and
Coherent policies at all levels.

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Prosperity for the Poor
and Health for All

17 October 2013