This book is a report on the major effort made to establish a breadfruit germplasm collection at the University of the West Indies, at St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, and to describe each cultivar in the collection. Cultivars are from the Pacific islands and the Caribbean. This effort is highly commendable because breadfruit, among its various attributes, can be a valuable and staple source of food, yet information on this tree crop is sparse. This is not surprising as it takes several years to collect reliable data on tree crops, and breadfruit has been a neglected, underutilized crop.
As with any other crop, certain breadfruit cultivars grow better under some environmental conditions, are more resistant to pests and diseases, and are more suitable for various types of processing, than other cultivars. The detailed descriptions of the morphology and other characteristics made by Laura Roberts- Nkrumah are essential steps for identifying and selecting suitable cultivars for the desired purpose - for use as fresh or frozen food, for processing into flour or chips, for soil conservation and so on.
This book is useful in making any Ministry of Agriculture in the tropics, other agricultural-related organizations and institutions, and individuals aware of the diverse characteristics of breadfruit and thus select cultivars which are suitable for the intended purpose. In addition, if persons would like to have already-established cultivars identified, until DNA profiles are available, this book explains how relevant measurements can be taken, and observations made, which can then be submitted to the author for identification of the cultivar. The clearly described methods and the accompanying high-quality photographs greatly facilitate the collection of the data.
–Phyllis L. Coates-Beckford,
Professor Emeritus of Plant Pathology, the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.
