Breadfruit has been cultivated by people for thousands of years in highly productive plantings together with numerous other crops. This book was written for commercial and home growers looking to combine modern horticultural techniques with traditional growing methods similar to those successfully employed by Pacific Islanders over many centuries. This groundbreaking guide is being released as the prolific Pacific Island staple breadfruit enjoys a resurgence in planting and growing across Hawai‘i and around the tropical world. Noted for its high nutritional value, gluten-free status, and moderate glycemic index, breadfruit (called ‘ulu in Hawaiian) can be prepared similarly to a potato or yam but has greater versatility and qualities well suited for main dishes, desserts, baked goods, and even beverages. Breadfruit trees are abundant producers and require far less labor compared with other starchy crops such as taro and sweet potato. The guide presents techniques that can sustain productivity for long periods of time, while regenerating land degraded by erosion, compaction, overgrazing, and loss of organic matter. It covers subjects that include recognizing breadfruit varieties; agroforest planning, planting, and maintenance; selection of suitable accompanying crops; value-added products; and economic evaluation. The guide provides a range of growing scenarios from backyard gardens to large farms in the tropics. Using detailed design examples, species tables, and design descriptions and 95 photos and illustrations, this handbook breaks new ground in showing growers how to plan and implement agroforestry that emphasizes breadfruit production. In so doing, growers can design their production to be resilient to changes in weather and market prices—and build a stronger local food system in the process.
Craig Elevitch has been an educator in tropical agroforestry since 1993. Craig's internationally recognized publications and workshops have guided thousands in becoming more proficient in ecological food production, agroforestry, and reforestation. In addition to working directly with dozens of farmers, he has facilitated numerous agroforestry workshops in the Pacific, with over 7,000 producers and resource professionals participating since 1993. His agroforestry publications have garnered millions of downloads. These include Agroforestry Guides for Pacific Islands (2000), Traditional Trees of Pacific Islands (2006), Specialty Crops for Pacific Islands (2011), and Agroforestry Landscapes for Pacific Islands (2015), all of which promote diverse agricultural systems that are environmentally and ecologically regenerative. He is also co-director of Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu-Revitalizing Breadfruit and agroforestry director of the Pacific Regional Breadfruit Initiative, projects founded in 2010 to restore breadfruit agroforests in Pacific Island landscapes.
Dr. Diane Ragone is Director of the National Tropical Botanical Garden's Breadfruit Institute, created in 2003 to promote the conservation, study, and use of breadfruit for food and reforestation. She is an authority on the conservation and use of breadfruit. Her horticultural and ethnobotanical studies on this important Pacific staple crop for 35 years resulted in the establishment of the world's largest breadfruit conservation repository with 150 cultivars. She is Affiliate Graduate Faculty at the University of Hawaii in Tropical Plant & Soil Sciences and Ecology, Evolution, & Conservation Biology, and received a MS and PhD in Horticulture from UH. She is co-director of the Ho'oulu ka 'Ulu project to revitalize 'ulu in Hawaii. Dr. Ragone is author of over 100 publications on breadfruit, horticulture, and native Hawaiian plants. In 2015 she was honored as UH's College of Tropical Agriculture's Distinguished Alumna and in 2016 received the Garden Club of America's Medal of Honor.
