By Simon Mng’omba

1. Improving access to fruits for improvedImproving access to fruits for improved
nutrition through better fruit orchardnutrition through better fruit orchard
managementmanagement
By
Simon Mng’omba
15 April 2015

2. Presentation overviewPresentation overview
• Importance of fruits
• Why low fruit production & consumption – southern Africa?
• Fruit orchard management based on tree growth
• Approaches to scale up IFTs
• Approaches to improve avocado productivity
• Conclusions

3. Fruits are good for our health
They contain food nutrients
• vitamins (A, E & C)
• Minerals (Iron, calcium)
• Lipids (unsaturated, cholesterol free)
• CHO (low sugar levels and sodium free)
• Proteins
• water
high in fibre good for digestion
low production cost – perennial
Source of income
IntroductionIntroduction

4. There has been low fruit consumption in SA
• 70 g per day (recommended 200 g per day)
Poor fruit tree management contributes to
• alternate bearing/fruiting
• seasonal fruiting (abundant during the rainy season)
• high pest and disease infestation
Farmers harvest a few fruits per tree
• good quality fruits are sold for income
• undesirable fruits are eaten
Fruit production & consumption – southern Africa

5. Common management practices
For homestead/field fruit orchards:
(a) No irrigation/fertilizer/manure application
• Fruit trees are provided by nature
(a) Irrigation/fertilizer application without tree manipulation
• Limited knowledge on management based on tree growth

6. Management based on tree growth
Pawpaw, Banana,
Pineapple
Yield: high, year round & steady
What can we do to improve yield?
•Improve growing conditions –
Irrigation/fertilizer/manure
– Pest & disease control
•Plant breeding
Avocado, mango, Uapaca, peach …
What can we do to improve yield?
•Balance between improving growing
conditions &
•tree manipulation – e.g. pruning,
vegetative propagation, fruit thinning
Yield: low, erratic & mostly seasonal
Tree Growth characteristics
Continuous Rhythmical

7. Managing IFTs - Uapaca fruit size and load
On-farm orchard
•small fruit sizes
•high fruit load
In the wild
•high fruit load: 6000/tree
•small fruit size
Thin fruits to improve fruit sizeThin fruits to improve fruit size

8. Scaling up model for IFTsScaling up model for IFTs
Some IFTs have long juvenile phase- discourages growers e.g.
Uapaca (>15 years for un-grafted plants)
•Supply two species with short & long fruiting precocity
•Use grafted plants to reduce juvenile phase
0
10
20
30
2008 2009 2010
Time (years)
Fruityield(kg)
Fig 1a Grafted Uapaca Fig. 1 b Grafted Vangueria
Both species planted in 2004
30%
32%
36%
89%
76%
100%

9. Approaches to improve avocado productivityApproaches to improve avocado productivity
1. Additional pollinators needed
Honeybees (beehives needed)
2. Harvest fruits when mature
Do not allow avocado fruits to ripe on a tree
3. Grow two types of avocado
‘A’ and ‘B’ cultivars

10. Conclusions
Good fruit orchard management improves
• Fruit yield (productivity)
• Fruit quality
• Fruit availability
•Planting more fruit trees is not enough to achieve food and
nutrition security. We need better fruit orchard
management

11. THANK YOU!!!