David Fairchild’s Plant Introduction Garden in Miami Celebrates 100 Years of Horticultural Research

One hundred years after its creation by David Fairchild as a research garden for the introduction of tropical plants, the Subtropical Horticulture Research Station in Miami has survived the very real threat of closure and continues to provide cutting edge research to aid South Florida growers and homeowners. Over the past 25 years, one focus of research has continued to be the genetic improvement and distribution of new horticultural plants such as varieties of Portlandia, Lagerstroemia speciosa, Handroanthus impetiginosus, and Hippeastrum brasilianum. Plant explorations have been conducted in search of new species of cycads, palms, and amaryllids that could be tested for ornamental merit in South Florida. Another research focus has been the genetic characterization and improvement of tree crops such as cacao, mango, lychee, longan, jaboticaba, and avocado. Breeding productive cultivars of cacao resistant to fungal diseases such as frosty pod, witch’s broom, black pod, and Ceratocystis wilt has been a priority, as well as breeding avocado for resistance or tolerance to the laurel wilt pathogen now invading South Florida. Entomological research has focused on the development and commercialization of lures for the entrapment of invasive pests of fruits preharvest. Attractant chemicals have been identified and tested for control in the field of insects such as the Caribbean and other tephritid fruit flies in several tropical fruits and the redbay ambrosia beetle in avocadoes. A fourth area of research was agro-hydrology. Scientists sought to understand the effects resulting from the re-engineering of the flow of water in the Everglades.