african baobab trees (adansonia digitata l
TRANSCRIPT
Tropentag, September 19-21, 2016, Vienna, Austria
“Solidarity in a competing world —fair use of resources”
African Baobab Trees (Adansonia Digitata L.) Recorded in Uganda
Jens Gebauer1, Cory Whitney2, John Tabuti3
1Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems with SpecialFocus on Horticulture, Germany2University of Kassel, Fac. of Organic Agricultural Sciences, Germany3Makerere University, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences,
Abstract
The baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) is a key tree species of economic and cultural im-portance in many African countries. International interest in the species has intensifiedin recent years, following the acceptance of baobab fruit pulp as a food ingredient by theEuropean Union and the US Food and Drug Administration. The tree is widely knownto be absent in Uganda despite its wide distribution in most neighbouring East Africancountries. Not only is the baobab regarded as absent in natural habitats, it is also notknown to be cultivated on farmland or in homegardens in Uganda.
Research trips to the Central, Western, Eastern and Northern Regions of Uganda we-re conducted in 2015 and 2016 within the collaborative research project “Reduction ofPost-Harvest Losses and Value Addition in East African Food Value Chains” (RELOAD).Assessment of cultivated plant species was made through homegarden and field visits andthrough interviews with farmers. The objective was to study plant species diversity andits importance for conservation, and for regional livelihoods and nutrition.
As a result of our expeditions, four vigorous baobab trees were identified in the EasternRegion of Uganda aged between nine and 22 years, and one was found in the Central regionwith an unknown age. Two baobab trees were located in a courtyard to the northeast ofSoroti town in the Soroti District, two were recorded in a traditional homegarden southwestof Busembatia town in the Iganga District, and one baobab was found in an urban gardenin Kampala. Planting materials for the Eastern region baobabs originated in Sudan andKenya.
To our knowledge, these are the first scientific records of the African baobab in Ugandaand some research questions can be formulated based on this discovery:
How will these baobab trees perform in the future?When will they start to flower and fruit?What fruit quality can be expected and will local people accept it as food?Will this tree species become a common plant of homegardens in the Eastern Region of
Uganda?Are there more unknown baobabs in homegardens, on farm-land and/or in the wild of
Uganda?
Keywords: Adansonia digitata, Baobab, East Africa, Fruit tree, Malvaceae, Uganda
Contact Address: Jens Gebauer, Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Sustainable Agricultural ProductionSystems with Special Focus on Horticulture, Marie-Curie-Str. 1, D-47533 Kleve, Germany, e-mail: [email protected]