In case you missed it, here’s an update on research emanating from Dr. Jugpreet Singh lab. Dr. Singh’s research programs aim to improve the tropical and subtropical fruit cultivars for Florida’s stakeholders and consumers. Who’s Dr. Singh? You can discover more about Dr. Jugpreet Singh’s and his professional goals here.
Taste the Tropics
One of the joys of living in south Florida is having access to many cultivars of lots of different tropical fruits. Access to specialty cultivars like Coconut Cream mangos and Choquette avocados are great for our local, specialty growers, and consumers! As more Americans are developing a taste for tropical fruits, finding cultivars ideal for large-scale production in Florida is a goal of the Singh lab. This can be accomplished by testing cultivar potential, their suitability to expanding area under production, and potentially evolving new markets for various tropical fruits.
Dr. Singh and his lab are developing tools and technology for the breeding of exceptional tropical fruit including but not limited to mango, papaya, and avocado. They do this by screening and sequencing germplasm, analyzing DNA-markers, and more. These processes will improve the flavor and nutritional quality of the fruits. (What does it look like to improve the flavor of a mango? That’s what the Mango Science page is all about.) Dr. Singh’s lab also aims to improve production efficiency, disease resistance, and germplasm adaptability to new climatic zones due to recent weather changes in past years.
Pathogens and other threats
Another goal of the Singh lab is to address the resistance and tolerance to biotic/abiotic stresses in tropical fruit crops. On the short list: creating a cultivar of papaya with resistance to papaya ring spot virus (PRSV). In collaboration with Dr. Romina Gazis, Dr. Singh will address anthracnose on mango and Laurel Wilt tolerance of specific avocado cultivars. These efforts are focused on characterizing mango and avocado germplasm for discovering new sources of durable disease resistance and genetic markers associated with the resistant traits. Stay tuned to this Research Report for updates on tropical fruit innovation emanating from the Singh lab at the UF/IFAS TREC.
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