Proceedings of the 25th Anniversary Conference of Nazareth Agricultural Research Center: 25 Years of Experience in Lowland Crops Research25 years of research experience in lowland crops

Abstract

Many of the fruits are new to Ethiopian agriculture. Cultural practices and importance of fruits in the diet were not understood by the public. Now the trend is changing and very encouiagmg signs are observed both by producers and consumers. IAR's responsibilities will be to play a crucial role by identifying and finding solutions for existing and expected problems in the field. Research on fruits started at Melka Werer; coordination of fruit research including planning, planting material propagation, supervision and report writing was done from the then National Horticultural Research Center, the present Nazareth Agriculture Research Center. At the early stage, researchers introduced all sorts of fruits to study their adaptability. Later on they prioritized and concentrated on few fruit crops; and specialization of research centers was introduced. Aj a result several improved varieties were recommended to fruit growers. Besides, studies on major cultural practices including plant protection, spacing, fertilization and irrigation were initiated. It is only recently that individuals and organizations showed interest in fruits. To help this trend Nazareth Research Center launched extension program to reach all potential users. Strong activities in training of SMSs, DAs and farmers and distribution of planting materials to farmers and urban dwellers started. In the future, strengthening of various disciplines will continue and attempt will be made to disseminate existing technologies to users to assist fruit industry development in the country.