Breeding Mashua, Babaco and Passionfruit with Chuck Chan
27 March 2026

Breeding Mashua, Babaco and Passionfruit with Chuck Chan

Recombination Nation

About

Chuck Chan is an accomplished amateur crop breeder from the humid cloud forests of California, adapting plants to his little pocket of Andean climate. He has made the most of his challenges by breeding a host of rare crops which struggle in other places, particularly the root crop Mashua, and papaya relative Vasconcellea along with numerous other projects. We also delve into how he manages his diverse plant collection and his experiences sharing the breeding work with the wider community.

You can check out glimpses of his successes through his regular posts: https://www.facebook.com/chuck.chan.562019

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Read Shane's book, Taming the Apocalypse, about the future of post industrial biological technology: https://www.amazon.com/Taming-Apocalypse-Shane-Simonsen-ebook/dp/B0D2XCLJ85/