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Virgin Islands Research Presented at Food Crops Society Meeting

Veronica Gordon, Project Technician working with Sarah Workman, harvesting Carambolla fruit in the UVI orchard.

Sarah Workman attended the meeting of the Caribbean Food Crops Society (CFCS) to present work she and CSTAF colleagues have undertaken on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

The paper describing the work is titled “Methods, Scale and Systems Thinking: Working with Stakeholders in Reforestation and Biodiversity Conservation on St. Croix, USVI,” by Workman, Edward Ellis and CSTAF Assistant Director Michael Bannister. Ellis, formerly with CSTAF, is now with the University of Vera Cruz.

The paper describes the "Tree-crop diversity and enterprise development through agroforestry: A participatory survey and GIS-based analysis in the Virgin Islands" project, which is in the final year of its activities. The project focuses on working with farmers to increase tree cover on production sites in agroforestry systems. 

A survey of farmer production, agricultural practices and tree crop preferences during the first year of the project formed the basis for directing seed collection during year two and greenhouse production of tree species to outplant with participating farmers in year three. A compact disc was produced that integrated the farmer survey with data on soils, topography, vegetation, and land use.  This decision support system can be used to locate viable planting sites for native tree and fruit species, extension planning, ecological restoration activities, conservation and natural resource management, among other uses.

Tree seeds were collected on St. Croix, and resulting seedlings raised in the greenhouse in 2003 are ready to outplant with survey participants.

The majority of activity over the past 18 months has been the production of tree seedlings of native tree species and fruit crop trees. Participants will have about 1,300 seedlings and saplings to choose from of more than 50 species for outplanting during August and September 2005.

The CFCS annual meeting was held in Guadeloupe, French West Indies, July 10-16.

Other research and extension specialists from UF joined APHIS collaborators at the meeting to conduct a special symposium on Invasive Species and a Safeguarding Strategy for the Caribbean sponsored by the T-Star grants program. UF/IFAS Vice President Jimmy Cheek and research Dean Bill Brown were on hand to open and moderate the session. Christine Wadill, Waldy Klassen, Carlton Davis and Norm Leppla were among the UF faculty and research center directors attending.