Tropical and subtropical fruit improvement project; final report, part II

Final contractor report covers the period 5/77-9/81; no methodology is stated. Although the project was impeded by the fact that the nine amendments reoriented it from basic research to applied research and extension, the project was nonetheless a success. Thousands of plants (e.g., citrus, papayas, bananas, apricots, plums, and grapes) and seeds (e.g., various citrus fruits) were established at two YAR Government (YARG) experiment stations in Sanaa and Jarouba. With the addition of 100,000 citrus buds from Spain, extensive budding and grafting was conducted. Another 7,565 imported trees were distributed directly to farmers. Other outputs included the conducting of soil analyses which showed the need only for phosphorous and, depending on the crop, nitrogen fertilizer; the completion of two studies on the socioeconomic aspects of horticulture; the offering of a 7-day course on the art of budding and grafting; and the training of a Yemeni horticulturalist. In addition to changes in the project focus, progress was also impeded by the difficulty of the contractor, Tuskeegee Institute (TI), in recruiting qualified personnel. For its part, the YARG did not support land aquisition, facilities construction, or road building at the remote Jarouba research station; allowed urban encroachments at the Sanaa station to reduce the station"s area and to destroy numerous healthy fruit trees; and identified only one candidate for technical training. It is recommended that in future horticultural work in the YAR: (1) long-term research be assigned a high priority; (2) fruit trees not be distributed until they have been budded or grafted and tested in experiment stations; (3) efforts be made to develop a temperate zone research station at Al Irra, to discontinue use of the Sanaa station, and to complete the Jarouba station; and (4) the importance of socioeconomic studies be stressed.