PREFACE
Food and nutrition security is a critical concern in most developing countries in the tropics in spite of the availability of a wide range of plant species used for food. One of the major challenges that has stymied the development of agriculture for contribution to food security in these countries is the paucity of information on most tropical food crop species. Underlying this constraint is very limited sustained research and documentation on crops that are considered of minor economic importance. Such crops are usually not traded internationally, and if they are, the quantities traded are insufficient for them to be significant foreign exchange earners. If they are sold on local markets, marketing arrangements are typically informal and their value chains underdeveloped. Such plant species are referred to as neglected and underutilized species (NUS).
One such NUS is breadfruit, a traditional carbohydrate staple in the Pacific and the Caribbean, which has declined considerably in importance while the consumption of imported food has increased. However, benefits such as its significant nutritional value, versatility in methods of preparation and high productivity substantiate breadfruit’s considerable potential as a crop for sustainable food and nutrition security. Other significant advantages include its complementarity with other crops in farming systems in the humid tropics and its contribution to environmental conservation through the soil cover and recycled nutrients provided by the tree canopy and leaf litter, respectively. In recognition of this potential and the increasing erosion of its genetic diversity, breadfruit was identified among those tropical food crop species for conservation for food and agriculture under the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In reality, however, germplasm conservation is more likely to be achieved by increased demand for the crop and its by-products.
Except for the Pacific, where hundreds of cultivars exist, in all other breadfruit-producing regions fewer than ten and, most commonly, only one or two cultivars are grown or recognized. Within the Caribbean, a limited range of germplasm is considered a fundamental deficiency for addressing identified obstacles to commercialization for food security, such as the significant height of the trees, their seasonal bearing and the short shelf life of the fruits. Furthermore, the existing cultivars have not been described. To minimize these gaps, research has been undertaken at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine campus, in collaboration with other organizations, to collect germplasm existing in Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Jamaica in the Caribbean, to introduce additional germplasm, and to characterize and evaluate the accessions.
The objective of this publication is to promote sustainable commercial production and increased utilization of breadfruit for food and nutrition security in the Caribbean and throughout tropical areas with similar environmental conditions by providing information on breadfruit germplasm at the UWI. This information covers the description of thirty-three named breadfruit accessions consisting of eleven accessions from the Caribbean and twenty-two from the breadfruit germplasm collection at the National Tropical Garden in Hawaii, United States, and of its close ancestor, chataigne, or breadnut, using characterization and evaluation descriptors to assist in cultivar identification and the selection of suitable cultivars for cultivation and utilization for various purposes.
