What can be achieved by tree domestication

1. Reflections on ICRAF’s programme (GRP1) What can be achieved by tree domestication? SCIENCE WEEK 2011 Roger Leakey, James Cook University, Australia and International Tree Foundation, UK

3. Regional Programme presentations The regions all appear to have specific research strengths and somewhat different agendas. In one sense this is not surprising as they differ in their biophysical and socio-economic environments. However, when notionally they are involved in similar research (e.g. tree domestication), it seemed that they did not follow similar strategies or use similar techniques and would benefit from cross-fertilization. 1. Is there a need for more in depth interaction (staff visits and exchanges) between regions? – eg. WCAfrica x Southern Africa x SE Asia x Latin America for high value indigenous fruits – Participatory Domestication, Vegetative propagation, etc. 2. Similarly, there seems to be opportunities to learn from each other about marketing, processing and adding value to AFTPs.

4. Inter-Regional cooperation In some cases comparative studies would be beneficial – eg. Land tenure and rights issues. To what extent are they constraints to tree domestication and agroforestry? There seem to be contradictory statements in the literature. If they are site specific, are there any lessons which can be learned? Others? – PES, AF impacts.

9. Characterization of Fatty Acid Content Atangana AR, van der Vlis E, Khasa DP, van Houten D, Beaulieu J, and Hendrickx H (2011) Tree-to-tree variation in stearic and oleic acid content in seed fat from Allanblackia floribunda from wild stands: potential for tree breeding. Food Chemestry 126: 1579-1585. Data for only one species? – few sites? Allanblackia spp.

10. The Ideal AB? High oil yield Few big fruit / many nuts v. Many smaller fruits / few nuts? Fatty acid profile (100% Oleic and Stearic acid O:S ratio)

11. In fruit and nut trees this approach allows the development of numerous single-purpose ideotypes targeting different markets, even within individual species . Hierarchy of Ideotypes 1 3 2 LEVEL Pulp Juice Skin Beer and wine Distilled liquor Nutritional value Tas te Processing quality Fruit Flesh Nut Shell Kernel Food Taste Nutritional value Oil Medicinal products Cosmetics Edible oils

13. Superior trees ( ● ) from were found to be unrelated. c.f. Assogbadjo et al., 2009. Agroforestry Systems 75: 157 – 165. Effect of Cultivar Development on Genetic Diversity Pauku, R.L., Lowe, A. and Leakey, R.R.B. 2010. Domestication of indigenous fruit and nut trees for agroforestry in the Solomon Islands. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 19: 269-287. Over 80% of diversity available at the village level

14. Post-harvest processing and marketing of ATFPs DOMESTICATION COMMERCIALIZATION GRP1 GRP3 GRProgramme presentations Domestication needs the support of commercialization and commercialization needs the outputs of domestication. Therefore they should run in parallel.

15. Post-harvest processing and marketing of ATFPs DOMESTICATION GRP1 GRP3 GRProgramme presentations COMMERCIALIZATION

16. AFTP Processing, Value Adding and Trade Drying Transformation Bottling Packaging for better quality, longer shelf-life and wider scale and out-of-season trade. Business and employment for poverty alleviation

17. Commercialization of fruits Value-adding: Example of mango in Australia Processing, packaging and marketing

18. Commercialization, value addition and trade How is ICRAF’s Domestication programme promoting this commerce?

20. Effects of Vegetative Propagation on Tree Size and Time to Fruiting (from Orthotropic shoots) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Years to first fruiting 15 6 2 15

21. Overcoming problems of plagiotropism Some species (eg. Allanblackia spp.) are posing problems of plagiotropic growth from cuttings and grafts Leakey, R.R.B. (1990). Nauclea diderrichii : rooting of stem cuttings, clonal variation in shoot dominance and branch plagiotropism. Trees 4 , 164-169. Epigenetic control of branch growth? Which buds are ‘programmed? as branches? When does this occur?

22. Effects of Vegetative Propagation on Tree Size and Time to Fruiting (Plagiotropic shoots) ● REPLACE THIS WITH ERECT GROWTH BY USING ORTHOTROPIC SHOOTS ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Years to first fruiting 15 6 2 15 15 Years to first fruiting ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

23. Phase Change and Rooting Ability Pauku, R.L., Lowe, A. and Leakey, R.R.B. 2010. Domestication of indigenous fruit and nut trees for agroforestry in the Solomon Islands. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 19: 269-287 . Is it possible to develop physiologically young shoots in an ontogenetically mature tree crown? Guys who got it wrong got FRS!

25. Where are we going? We need a ‘ new wave of domestication ’ to meet the needs of poor people, diversify farming systems, and promote socially and environmentally sustainable production systems. Leakey, R.R.B. 2011. Participatory Domestication of Indigenous Fruit and Nut Trees: New crops for Sustainable Agriculture in Developing Countries. In: Biodiversity in Agriculture: Domestication, Evolution and Sustainability . Harlan II Symposium, University of California, Davis, 14 - 18 September 2008. Jared Diamond (1997) in “ Guns, Germs and Steel” says that domestication has been the precursor of settled, politically centralized, socially stratified, economically complex and technologically innovative societies (= the Developed World). A ‘New Wave’ of domestication

26. Progress with the ‘New Wave’

27. Cycle of Land Degradation Impacts on poverty, malnutrition and hunger The ‘Vicious Cycle’ (Reardon and Vosti, 1995) Environmental Degradation Poverty

30. Tree Domestication in the Big Picture Recognize that low yields are due to poor crop husbandry and poverty. We need to fill the ‘ Yield Gap’. Need a focus on natural resource rehabilitation and agroecological functions Need a focus on livelihoods – income generation and nutrition Leakey, RRB (in press). Addressing the causes of land degradation, food / nutritional insecurity and poverty: a new approach to agricultural intensification in the tropics and sub-tropics. In: UNCTAD Trade and Environment Review 2011/2012 (ed. U. Hoffman), UNCTAD, Geneva, Switzerland. . AFTPs RES/PES GENERATE INCOME BNF STEPs 2+3 Focus of AF DIVERSIFY STEP 1

31. Filling the Yield Gap Solution Leakey, R.R.B. 2010. Agroforestry: a delivery mechanism for Multi-functional Agriculture. In: Handbook on Agroforestry: Management Practices and Environmental Impact , 461-471, Ed. Lawrence R. Kellimore, Nova Science Publishers. Environmental Science, Engineering and Technology Series, ISBN: 978-1-60876-359-7. Step 2+3 Step 1 Yield Gap Solution Crop yield (tonnes per hectare) +3

32. Filling the Yield gap: Changes in land use Large area of low yield food crop Smaller area of high yield food crop + area of cash crops

33. AF in Multifunctional Landscapes The development of diversified and functional landscapes producing multiple AFTPs within a mosaic that includes patches of productive food cropping on the best land and trees crops on marginal and vulnerable land should deliver environmental resilience and livelihood benefits. GRP4, GRP5, GRP6

34. GRP1 – The ‘Flag-tree’ project ‘DOMESTICATION’ IS CENTRAL TO ICRAF OVERALL STRATEGY GRP6 GRP3 GRP 4 GRP 5 GRP 2 GRP 1 OUTPUTS