Curator of Tropical Fruit
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 
14885 SW 248 St
Homestead, FL 33032 USA
Phone 305.258.0464
Fax  305.258.0157
nledesma@fairchildgarden.org

 

  

 

Education

MS in Environmental Education, Universidad de Malaga, Spain. 1999

BS in Forestry Engineering, University, Republic of Colombia. 1993 

 General Info

Curator of Tropical Fruit at the Tropical Fruit Program at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Plant collector with experience in the Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Thailand, Philippines, South Africa, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Colombia, Brazil, and India. Emphasis mango (main), Avocado, Jackfruit, mamey sapote, canistel, sapodilla, caimito, and Spanish lime. Teaching experience in horticulture.  

Fields of Interest

Tropical fruit germplasm acquisition, conservation, interpretation and distribution.

Tropical fruit cultivar characterization.

Distribution of genetic resources.

Business operator for the Fruit Program.

Education and special events to promote Tropical Fruits. 

Language Skills

English, Spanish: Fluent oral and written skills. 

Current Research Projects

Characterization of mango cultivars and other Mangifera species. 

Recent Scientific Publications 

BOOKS 

Miami Children Hospital Foundation. 2008. “Miami Flavors: Our City’s Culinary Point of View”, Miami Florida.  

Campbell, R.J., Ledesma Noris, 2008. “For the Love of Mangos-India”, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, Florida. 

Campbell, R.J., Ledesma Noris, 2003. “Fairchild’s Quick Guide to Mangos of the World”, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami, Florida. 

Campbell, R.J., Ledesma Noris, 2003. The exotic jackfruit: Growing the World’s Largest Fruit, Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami, Florida. 

Campbell, R.J., Ledesma Noris and C.W. Campbell(ed). 2002. Tropical Mangos “How to grow the world’s most delicious fruit”: Fairchild Tropical Garden, Miami, Florida.

 REFEREED PUBLICATIONS

The Characterization of Sapodilla Cultivars.
Bianca Bonilla, FIU
Richard J. Campbell, Noris Ledesma, Bradley Bennett.
American Society for Horticultural Science,  April 2012.  

Race, Interracial Admixture and Genetic Differentiation of Avocado (Persea Americana Mill.)
Edward Boza, Cecile Tondo, David Kuhn, Alan Meerow, Osman Gutierrez; USDA/ARS
Richard J. Campbell, Noris Ledesma, FTBG
Raymond J. Schnell, Mars, Inc.
American Society for Horticultural Science,  April 2012.  

The Changing Face of Varieties for the Western Hemisphere.
Richard J. Campbell and Noris Ledesma, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,Coral Gables
International Society for Horticultural Science, Mango Symposium, China, November 2010.     

Update of New Mangifera Species in Florida.
Richard J. Campbell and Noris Ledesma, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,Coral Gables
International Society for Horticultural Science, Mango Symposium, China, November 2010.  

Trends in Mango Production and Cultivars Wordwide.
Richard J. Campbell and Noris Ledesma, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,Coral Gables
American Society,  November 2009.  

Florida Avocado Heritage Collection for South Florida.
Carlos Balerdi, Richard J. Campbell, Miami-Dade County Extension, UF, and Noris Ledesma, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Miami.
Fla. State Hort. Soc. 2007. 

The Inverted Root Graft: Applications for the Home Garden in Florida.
Noris Ledesma and Richard J. Campbell, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,Coral Gables.
Fla. State Hort. Soc. 2007.

Horticultural Lessons within the Williams F. Whitman Tropical Fruit Pavilion
Noris Ledesma,and Richard J. Campbell, and Juan Valls, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables
Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 119: 58-60. 2006. 

Tropical Fruit Urban Forestry at the Whitman Tropical Fruit Plaza of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Noris Ledesma, Richard J. Campbell, and Juan Valls, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables
Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 119: 13-15.2006. 

Collecting Pouterias (Pouteria spp.), Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) and Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito) on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica and Nicaragua
Richard J. Campbell and Noris Ledesma, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,Coral Gables
Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 119: 58-60. 2006 

A Plan for the Future of the Export Mango Industry of the Western Hemisphere
Richard J. Campbell and Noris Ledesma, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,Coral Gables
Pro. Interamer. Soc. 2006.  

Collecting Mammea Americana L. in Tropical America: Potential for Florida
Richard J. Campbell and Noris Ledesma, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,Coral Gables
Proc. Fla. State Hort. 2005 

Potential of New West Indian Avocado Selections for Tropical America
Richard J. Campbell and Noris Ledesma, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden,Coral Gables
Pro. Interamer. Soc. Trop. Hort. 48: 85-88. 2005.  

Williams Grove Genetic Resource Center: A Scientific and Outreach Facility for South Florida
Richard J. Campbell, Noris Ledesma and Gilberto Aleman, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral GablesPro. Interamer. Soc. Trop. Hort. 48: 82-64. 2005.  

Professional and Service Activities

• Writer for Miami Herald (2009-Present)
• Writer for The Tropical garden Magazine (2001-Present)
• Writer for Tropical Fruit News magazine
•  Assistant Executive Secretary Treasurer (2000-2008) of the Interamerican Society for Tropical Horticulture (500 members in Tropical America,Asia,Africa)
• Editor, Proceedings of the Interamerican Society for Tropical Horticulture: 1999-2008.
• Editor Newsletter of the Interamerican Society for Tropical Horticulture : 1999- 2008.
• Vice President of Florida State Horticulture Society in the Krome Memorial 2008.
• Organize committee of the International Mango Festival and other specific fruit festivals at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
• Board Member of Slow Food Organization 2008 

Awards

Florida Magazine Association, The Charlie Award for the Best Service Feature for the Tropical Cuisine Column, 2007 and 2008.