Look at the size of that jujube fruit!

Indian Jujube is a fruit species from the Asian tropics that, once established, is quite tolerant of adverse conditions such as poor soil and drought. The fruit is typically smaller than a chicken egg and is usually eaten when mature, as indicated by a greenish-yellow color. The crisp flesh has a taste similar to that of a baked apple. Jujube is also known for its sharp, numerous spines.
Click here for more background info on jujube.

Recently, ECHO acquired a variety of Indian Jujube called ‘Giant Thai’ that is said to produce apple-size fruits when mature. Our tree has been in the ground for less than a year and is already producing egg-sized fruits (see photo below). Other interesting features of this variety are nearly thornless stems and large leaves.

ECHO has sent grafted ‘Giant Thai’ jujube trees to Mozambique, Madagascar, and Haiti. It will be interesting to find out how it performs under conditions in those places. So far, we are pleased with how it is doing on our demonstration farm here in Florida.

Vietnam, Land of Surprises

Vietnam is fast, slow, traditional, cutting edge, exotic and familiar, and most of all...accessible.

On Monday, more than 200 Fort Myers residents took a cinematic voyage to the Southeast Asian nation of Vietnam as part of our 2007 Travelogue series. Our journey included stops in bustling Saigon and historical Hoi An, excursions to floating markets and cloth merchants, and a trip along the Mekong Delta.

Hosted by the Broadway Palm, both ECHO and Habitat for Humanity benefited from the proceeds. Some members of the ECHO family were spotted in the crowd.

Seed bank grow-out

Way back behind the global village, the seed bank has it's own piece of land for raising seed. We like to call it "Grow-out". Sixteen raised beds sport all kinds of interesting plants. Such as...

Winged bean

We have eight different varieties planted in a variety trial right now, comparing yield, maturity dates, and other characteristics useful for our overseas network. Some have called winged bean the "supermarket" plant: every part of the plant is edible, from the flowers and leaves, to the young pods, to the dry beans.

Hopi Red Lima beans

These beans are drought tolerant, and produce an abundance of blood-red limas, good for soups and bean dishes. Hopefully we'll collect about 1/2 lb of seed from this row for the seed bank, eventually to be sent around the world.

Carrots, carrots, and more carrots!

Another variety trial, but this time of 22 carrot varieties! A researcher at the University of Wisonsin-Madison has done extensive breeding to develop a carrot more suitable to the tropics. He sent us some seed, so we're trying them in grow-out to find out which varieties have promise.

So, if you ever want to come help in grow-out--planting, weeding, mulching (and of course, learning!)--just let me know! My brother did. :)

Planning is underway for ECHO's Southeast Asia Agricultural Conference to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Former intern Katy Barlow has been working with Stan and Beth Doerr this past week, finalizing details for this summer's event.

Taking a tour

Conference team members get a tour of the hotel conference rooms.

Group Photo

Team in Chiang Mai working on the conference preparations.

Taking good notes

Stan Doerr and ECHO intern Katy take good notes at a planning meeting for the June Southeast Asia ECHO Agricultural Conference.

A Word About Papaya Fruit Fly

If your papaya fruits are ripening and dropping prematurely, the culprit could be papaya fruit fly (Toxotrypana curvicauda). Last week we walked through our demonstration farm and saw some papayas with papaya fruit fly larvae inside.

Adult female flies pierce the outer flesh of small papaya fruits, depositing their eggs inside the fruit where the eggs hatch into larvae (see photo below). Larvae-infested fruits yellow unevenly and easily fall off the tree. The larvae eventually eat a hole through the fruit wall and drop to the ground where they pupate in the soil at the base of the tree. Two to six weeks later, a new generation of flies emerges and the cycle repeats itself.

We minimize papaya fruit fly infestations by disrupting its life cycle. Once a week, each tree is shaken (not too hard) so that any infested fruits fall to the ground. These fruits are then collected and placed underwater to destroy the larvae before they can pupate.

Click here for more photos and detailed information from the University of Florida. Below are several photos taken on our farm.


An infected fruit









Larvae in fruit






















Pupa stage in soil under tree

Happy New Year from all of us at ECHO!

Happy New Year! My resolution is to be more healthy in 2007.
-- Mark Maerten, Director of Communications






Bònn ané! I want to take a language class in 2007, possibly French.
-- Rhoda Beutler, Educational Programs Coordinator




I resolve to write more letters on paper.
-- Miles Kirby, Gordon College Student

¡Felíz año nuevo! I want to read more books for pleasure.
-- Matt Schetne, Gordon College Student

Bonne année! I want to start yoga and hand weights.
-- Artis Henderson, PR Coordinator

Aam saiid! I haven't made a resolution for 2007. I believe you should try to better yourself each day, to continually strive to walk with God.
-- Stan Doerr, Executive Director