Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 8.4
Rubber plantation and rubber collection following tapping, Guatemala. (©Diczbalis)
and Indonesia) is the centre of commercial production with some production also
occurring in Central America and in Brazil, the origin of the crop.
Extensive areas of coconut, rubber, and oil palm, particularly in their establish-
ment phase, are also a valuable grazing resource. Coconut plantations, in particular,
allow for permanent integration of cattle because of the relatively low density of
palms and penetration of light for pasture growth between trees (Shelton and Stür
1991
).
Tropical Fruits and Nuts
Tropical and subtropical fruits, principally dessert bananas such as Cavendish, man-
go, avocado, citrus, pineapple, papaya and to a lesser degree litchi are increasing
being grown in plantation style production units (Paull and Duarate
2011
). Banana
production is discussed in greater detail as a case study in this chapter.
Pineapple (
Ananas comosus
) is the only fruit in the Bromeliad family, consist-
ing of 45 genera, grown for commercial sale. The Great Giant Pineapple plantation
(GGP), is an excellent example of a modern plantation model. Located in Lampung,
southern Sumatra, Indonesia, GPP produces 500,000 t of pineapple from 33,000 ha.
It is the third largest producer of canned pineapple and juice concentrate in the
world. The company exports to 30 countries in the Asia Pacific, North America,
Europe, Middle East and South America. The company's own promotional video
suggests that every fifth can of pineapple in the world is from the GGP (http://
vimeo.com/6938824).
Avocado (
Persia americana
), native to Central America, is widely grown
throughout tropical and sub tropical regions. Orchards in Chile, Australia and South
America are managed on a plantation model with farms ranging up to 5,000 ha. The
