27 Aug 2012

American Samoan trying out new breadfruit varieties from Hawaii

6:04 pm on 27 August 2012

A new variety of breadfruit which is a mix of popular Samoan and Fijian varieties is being trialed by the American Samoa Department of Agriculture.

The variety is growing in Maui in Hawaii, and American Samoa's Governor Togiola Tulafono and the Director of Agriculture Lealao Mel Purcell were there recently to check it out..

More than 200 breadfruit varieties are thriving in Maui, some of which are being shipped to parts of the world suffering from hunger.

Lealao says his department will test to seek how the Maui variety performs in American Samoan soils and climate.

"We did bring back a few trees to just test out and sample here in Pago so we are waiting now to see how those trees are going to respond to our climate and the ground."

American Samoa's Director of Agriculture Lealao Mel Purcell.