Germplasm Supply, Propagation and Nursery Management of Miombo Fruit Trees - Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization - page 362

unsterilized forest soil plus sawdust, and sterilized forest soil), foliar fertilization
(with and without) and soil application of fertilizers (with and without) on the
incidence of these diseases were conducted at Msekera. The incidence differed
with soil application of fertilizer but not with foliar application (Sileshi, 2007).
There were also differences among potting mixtures, where unsterilized soil mixed
with sawdust had lower incidence of disease compared with sterilized forest soil
(Table 19.2).
19.6 Conclusion and Way Forward
There is emerging interest in growing indigenous fruit trees in southern Africa,
but this enthusiasm is limited by the lack of a supply of quality germplasm and
may lead to frustration among prospective users. Therefore, appropriate
germplasm delivery pathways are needed to meet the demands for germplasm
by smallholder farmers.
Adequate information on requirements for the maintenance of the
physiological and genetic quality of seed is basic to the development of miombo
fruit trees as commercial species. Therefore, there is a need to establish seed
zones and seed transfer guidelines for the collection of propagules between
provenances based on genetic and environmental criteria, in order to minimize
the risk of maladaptation of indigenous fruits in new niches. Selection and
management of seed sources based on their phenotypic traits coupled with
deployment in environments similar to those of the respective source could be
considered as the easiest option for seed transfer. This can be implemented by
establishing seed zone systems in locations with sufficiently uniform ecological
conditions so that the phenotypic or genetic characters within a species in the
zone are similar (Barner and Willan, 1983). Germplasm collection needs to focus
on superior traits, and efforts must be made to credit the farmers and local
communities in whose custody these materials have been preserved for centuries
(Akinnifesi et al. , 2006, Chapter 8, this volume). Farmers' and breeders' rights
must also be upheld in case large-scale commercial ventures with new tree crops
are established. This can be achieved using participatory selection and
domestication approaches, as detailed by Leakey and Akinnifesi, Chapter 2,
Akinnifesi et al ., Chapter 8 and Tchoundjeu et al ., Chapter 9, this volume.
There is a considerable amount of undocumented indigenous knowledge
on miombo fruit trees. As germplasm is collected, the indigenous knowledge
associated with it needs to be systematically collected and documented.
However, this must be done in compliance with the Convention on Biological
Diversity and farmers must be allowed to maintain the rights to their
indigenous knowledge and the genetic materials.
Conservation of forest genetic resources, of which indigenous fruits are an
integral part, is regarded as constituting the actions and policies that ensure the
continued existence, development and availability of these resources in the future.
In addition to conserving the genes it is necessary that development must proceed
in such a way as to maintain existing knowledge and the landscape, in order to
buffer them against environmental changes (Eriksson et al. , 1993; FAO, 1993).