The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

Objective(s):
Highlights on this stop include a laboratory/facilities tour, a field tour of the ornamental, tropical and subtropical fruits (mango, avocado and miscellaneous tropical fruits) and sugarcane collections. About the Miami Station: The Miami station was started, as a plant introduction garden, in downtown Miami, on six acres near Brickell Avenue, in 1898. After an interim move in 1914 to the Charles Deering, Buena Vista Estate, the station's activities were permanently established in 1923 on the present 210 acre site. This location, the site of Chapman Field during World War I, is 12 miles south of the original 1898 station. The station was located here through the efforts of Dr. David Fairchild specifically for the introduction of tropical plants into the U.S. With the formation of the National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS) in 1980, the mission was modified from plant introduction to conservation of valuable genetic stocks known as germplasm. The National Germplasm Repository located on the Subtropical Horticulture Research Station is one of many repositories in the NPGS. Our mission is to introduce a broad genetic base for tropical and subtropical horticultural crops believed to have economic potential in warm humid regions of the United States or its territories. Evaluate the introduced populations for their genetic structure, horticultural variation, and botanical characteristics. Preserve a diverse sub-set representing a broad genetic base for each crop. Distribute the material to research scientist, botanical gardens, nurserymen and parks as is appropriate. Projects include work relevant to Florida and other tropical and subtropical regions around the world. Programs include Plant Germplasm Conservation, Applied Genetics and Genomics, Ornamental Genetics and Germplasm , Tropical Fruit, Sugarcane and Related Grasses, Cacao, Chemistry and Management of Exotic Insects.