The use of tissue culture techniques in the developpement of selected crops suitable for productions in the Caribbean

The emphasis of this paper is on crops that hold potential for increased production for export markets. The criteria on which crop selection is based are: increasing markets in USA, Canada and EC, and experience of production within the region. Figures for market size and existing production are given. The major non-traditional export earning crops for which the market is expanding at present are identified as mango, avocado, hot pepper, ginger, melon and pineapple. In addition, papaya is identified as a crop which is traditionally produced in the region, and for which the market is expanding rapidly. Tissue culture techniques are particularly useful in the development of improved varieties of papaya, ginger and pineapple, and details of these techniques are given. For papaya, micropropagated plants bear earlier and frequent replanting may allow good production despite the presence of disease organisms. Ginger cannot be improved by traditional breeding programmes and tissue culture techniques include the use of colchicine to double chromosome numbers, thus producing larger rhizomes. For pineapples, micropropagation allows the rapid propagation of new varieties, and the costs of producing plants this way are outlined.