Development and promotion of fruit tree industry in Region 02, Philippines

摘要

There are thousands of fruit tree species and the Philippines is a country blessed to be growing more than 300 edible fruit bearing species. Thirty percent (30%) of these are indigenous and endemic, while the remainder were introduced from other tropical countries (Coronel, 2011). High value fruit trees can now be grown into profitable ventures in Luzon and elsewhere. Orchard growers of rambutan, durian, lanzones, mangosteen, longan, lychee, pitaya and atemoya are managing booming enterprises. Basedon proceedings of the 16th Annual National Fruit Symposium conducted by the Philippine Fruit Association, these fruit trees were previously abundant in Mindanao and Vizayas, and lately they have gained popularity, adaptability and productivity in Northern Luzon, Philippines. Endemic and indigenous fruit bearing trees should be given attention because they have great potential to be grown commercially and the fruit may be consumed raw and is suitable for processing. Moreover, they are easier to cultivatebecause of their greater resistance to disease and resilience to the climatic conditions in the locality. Experiment Stations of the Department of Agriculture at Tapaya, Villaros, Bagabag and Nueva Vizcayacater to the technology needs of the hillyland growers in the province. There is a need for the performance of upcoming cultivars of fruit crops to be documented. Moreover, these fruit crops need to be planted in the experiment stations to serve as a genebank and scion grove for distribution to nursery operators, institutions and qualified growers region-wide; hence the imperative for this project.