The Domestication of Fruit and Nut Tree Species in Vanuatu, Oceania - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 120

7

The Domestication of Fruit
and Nut Tree Species in
Vanuatu, Oceania

V. L EBOT , 1 A. W ALTER 2 AND C. S AM 3

1 CIRAD, Port-Vila, Vanuatu ; 2 IRD, Agropolis, Montpellier, France ;
3 MQAFF, National Herbarium, Port-Vila, Vanuatu

7.1 Introduction

The population of the Pacific Islands, comprising Melanesia, Polynesia and
Micronesia (hereafter named Oceania), is increasing very rapidly (SPC
Demography/Population Programme, 2000). In some Melanesian countries,
such as Vanuatu, it is doubling every 20 years. There is obviously an urgent
need to develop smallholder production and plant improvement. Crop
improvement and protection and the maintenance of soil fertility are the key
areas. Local species of fruit and nut trees can play a major role because they
are well adapted to traditional cropping systems. In Oceania arboriculture is
the necessary complement of the traditional cropping system (Pollock, 2002).
Most of the traditional staple crops are propagated vegetatively and are
established asexually without ploughing. Their root systems are very
superficial and their cultivation is safer when conducted in very small plots
(0.1-0.3 ha) within agroforestry systems where shade and windbreaks are well
established. Fruit and nut species are therefore omnipresent, not only because
their production is appreciated but also because their protective role is
essential for sustainable food production (Walter and Sam, 1999; Walter and
Lebot, 2003).
The fruit tree species that have been introduced since the 16th century
include mango, papaya, lime, guava, custard apple, orange, grapefruit,
mandarin and avocado (Yen, 1998). However, it is much harder to define the
centres of origin and original distributions of other fruiting species because they
were spread more widely by humans during earlier aboriginal migrations (Yen,
1985, 1993). Thus, a large number of fruit tree species are present over a vast
area from the Indomalayan region to eastern Polynesia. These include the sea
almond ( Terminalia catappa ), Indian mulberry ( Morinda citrifolia ), Tahitian
chestnut ( Inocarpus fagifer ) and candlenut ( Aleurites moluccana ), to mention
just a few of the most common species (Smith, 1985).