TROPICAL FRUITS AND NUTS

• Most of the other types of tropical crops are perennials that cannot be cultivated in temperate zones of the world... • More types of fruits in the tropics than in temperate portions o

TROPICAL FRUITS AND NUTS

David S Seigler Department of Plant Biology

University of Illinois Urbana, Illinois 61801 USA

seigler@life.illinois.edu

http://www.life.illinois.edu/seigler

Tropical Fruits and Nuts: Outline

• Changes -some ancient

Cultivation - propagation - rarely

monoculture - why not?

CHAPTER 4 IN TEXT.

Fruits from market in Panama

Courtesy Dr Carol A ugspurger

• Many types of tropical fruits Some exotic and not found

commonly in temperate regions of the world

• Others are well-known cultivars such as tomatoes, squash, green peppers and cucumbers

• Most of the other types of

tropical crops are perennials

that cannot be cultivated in

temperate zones of the world

Introduction

• More types of fruits in the

tropics than in temperate

portions of the world

• Few previously known here The situation has changed in recent years Many exotic tropical

fruits are "in"

• In the tropics, most gathered wild or cultivated on a local scale and consumed locally

• Bananas, citrus crops,

pineapples, mangoes, and avocados are major exceptions

• See the table of tropical fruits and nuts on pg 76

• Tables of production, p 77

• Bananas (Musa sp., Musaceae) are

from southeast Asia The taxonomy

is complex They were early taken

to Madagascar and Africa by the

Indonesians In 600 B.C they were

in India Alexander the Great saw them there In 1522 in West

Africa To the Americas by 1516

• Other evidence indicates that

bananas were also domesticated in east Africa at an early date

Bananas

Banana plantations in Jamaica

Musa sapientum ,

bananas, Musaceae

Banana leaves and

plantains

• Most banana species have seeds.

• Common cultivars are sterile

Primitive, probably diploid, banana

Bali ck and Cox, Plants, People , and Culture

The rise of bananas as a cultivated crop is linked to the history of the United Fruit Company.

In 1900, the company developed a

good transport system to ship

bananas to market.

They perfected the conditions to

ship the fruits without spoilage and to ripen them at exactly the proper time for market.

They also dominated the politics of many Central American countries.

• Bananas reproduced vegetatively This leads to many fungal disease problems.

• See figures pg 94

• Musa textilis (abaca) is used as

a fiber crop

• Domesticated members of this genus are difficult taxonomically because of

selection of mutants and hybridization

in agricultural practice.

• All have a hesperidium for a fruit

This is basically a berry with a

leathery skin (exocarp and mesocarp

together) and oil glands.

• The endocarp has modified fleshy hairs

or juice sacs that are the part we

eat.

Citrus crops

Citrus fruits

The Complete Book of Fruits & Vegetables, F Bianchini, F Corbetta, M Pistola, Crown Publishers, New York, 1973

• Citrus fruit keeps relatively

well None of this group is native

to the low, wet tropical regions

• The citron (Citrus medica) was the

first introduced into Europe.

• Almost all are propagated

vegetatively The orange (Citrus

sinensis, Rutaceae) is the most

widely cultivated of all of the

Citrus crops.

• The wild ancestors are not known.

• Oranges transferred to the Persian empire The Moors brought them to Spain The Spanish and Portuguese introduced them into the New World.

• Most U.S oranges from Florida,

Texas and California.

• Diagram of orange flowers etc p 79.

• Citrus aurantium or bitter orange

used for marmalade and liquors

• Citrus aurantifolia, the lime,

from East Indies The Arabs used them by 1000 A.D They were

introduced into Europe by 12th or 13th century Used to treat

scurvy by the British

• Citrus reticulata, the tangerine

was brought to the U.S and to

Europe about 1800 From S.E

Asia

Pomello, Citrus grandis, Rutaceae

• Citrus paradisi, the grapefruit,

arose spontaneously in the West

Indies Considered to be a hybrid

between the pummelo (C maxima)

and the sweet orange (C

Grapefruit,

Citrus paradisi ,

Rutaceae

Lemon, Citrus

Citrus limon often

associated with Italian descent peoples Lemons often used for flavoring foods.

• Widely distributed in the New World when Columbus came.

• Pineapples domesticated by the Guaraní Indians of Paraguay

• Pineapples are multiple fruits

• Most modern cultivars

parthenocarpic They set seed without fertilization

• Normally, pineapples are

reproduced vegetatively

Pineapple , A nanas comosus ,

Bromeliaceae

Pineapple, A nanas

comosus,

Bromeliaceae

• Pineapples were taken to many

countries by the Portuguese,

Spanish, and Dutch

• They were taken to Hawaii by the Dole family

• In the 1970s, Hawaii grew about 1/3 of world's supply Now about 2%

Avocados native to Mexico and Central

America Exceptional in that they have lipids instead of sugars or starches The mesocarp is rich in oil 2000-2800 calories per kg.

Avocados appear about 7000 B.C in

Mexico May have been independently

domesticated in at least three different areas.

Introduced into the U.S by the Spanish, but did not become common until the

Avocados (Persea americana,

Lauraceae)

Avocados and

flowers

Primitive

avocados

Mangoes are native to southeast

Some people are sensitive to the

outside of the fruit

Mangoes (Mangifera indica,

Anacardiaceae)

Mangos, Mangifera indica, Anacardiaceae

Dates, Phoenix dactylifera,

Arecaceae

Dates come from the palm family (Arecaceae

or Palmae).

Dates have long been an important food

plant Fruits of wild relatives have been gathered for thousands of years and

presumably the cultivated ones arose from these.

Dates are nutritious and contain 75%

carbohydrate and 2 percent protein.

Date palms are dioecious, i.e., they have male and female parts on different plants.

By 2300 B.C., agriculturalists had learned

Collecting pollen and pollinating date

palms

Courtesy Dr A braham Kri kori an

Figs (Ficus carica, Moraceae)

• Figs are from the Near East They

have been cultivated for thousands of years.

• This large genus contains only one

important commercial fruit crop.

• The fig is frequently mentioned in

the Bible and other Near Eastern

literature.

• Figs are often pollinated by small

wasps, although some are

parthenocarpic or self-pollinating.

• Smyrna figs have only female flowers Smyrna and Capri figs often grown

Fig, Ficus carica, Moraceae

A synconium

Breadfruit and jackfruit

Breadfruit (Artocarpus atilis, Moraceae)

native to Polynesia Cultivated for

thousands of years.

Tall trees with unisexual flowers Forms a multiple fruit The part eaten is formed

by abortive flowers See p 101.

Captain Bligh sent to take them to the

West Indies to feed slaves He set out in the ship Bounty but encountered

difficulties Bligh persevered and went

back and finally got breadfruit to the

West Indies.

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) has a

Breadfruit,

A rtocarpus atilis ,

Moraceae

Jack fruit, A rtocarpus heterophy llus , Moraceae

Pomegranates (Punica granatum,

Punicaceae)

Pomegranates native to the Old World.

Also cultivated for thousands of years.

Brought to Spain by the Moors by 800 A.D Spanish introduced pomegranates into the New World.

Grown for both ornamentals and fruits.

Pomegranate,

The papaya (Carica papaya,

Papaya, Carica papay a, Caricaceae

Courtesy Dr Mark McClure

More exotic tropical fruits

• Members of the genus Annona such

as the sweet sop and the

cherimoya

Soursop or guanábana,

Annona muricata,

Annonaceae

They are compound

fruits.

Star fruit or carambola (Averrhoa carambola,

Oxalidaceae) is native to Asia

Kiwi fruit (Actinidia chinensis,

Actinidiaceae) are native to Asia

They were introduced from New

Zealand

Passion fruit

(Passiflora edulis,

Passifloraceae) native to New World are widely eaten

See p 103.

Guavas (Psidium

guayaba, Myrtaceae)

(native to S America)

Several other members

of this family are also

eaten

Sapotes and sapodillas

(most from the

Amecameca market with mameys

The akee (Blighia

sapida, Sapindaceae)

was introduced from Africa to the West Indies with black slaves The national dish of Jamaica A number of toxicity problems are associated with this fruit

Rambutan, Nephelium lappaceum ,

Sapindaceae

• The "mamon tico" or mamoncillo

(Melicocca bijuga) is native to

Central and South America Also Sapindaceae

• The mangosteen (Garcinia

mangostana, Clusiaceae) is native

to Southeast Asia Although

really delicious, it is rarely

seen outside of that part of the world

Mangosteen,

Garcinia

mangostana,

Clusiaceae

The durian, Durio zebethinus,

Bombacaceae, is legendary for its

odor This fruit, native to

Southeast Asia, has a creamy texture and is quite sweet in taste

Tropical nut crops

• Many nuts have been utilized and some domesticated in the tropics

as well as in the temperate

portions of the world:

The coconut (Cocos nucifera,

Arecaceae)

• Coconuts widely used in the tropics today.

• Yield oil, fiber, drink, and food.

• Coconut native to S.E Asia and

early transported to many parts of the world by ocean currents and

also by man The coconut had

apparently just arrived in the New World before Columbus.

• Each fruit contains one seed This

Coconut, Cocos

nucifera,

Arecaceae

Coconut plantation in northern Venezuela

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale,

Anacardiaceae)

• The cashew is the most important tropical fruit that is eaten as a nut

• This fruit is poisonous until

heated and the outside portions

removed

• See diagrams pg 105

• Cashews are native to northern

South America

Cashew, A nacardium occidentale ,

Anacardiaceae

Natural Hi story Magaz i ne

• The "fruit" is also eaten as a

fruit, but usually used for

making juice

• Now widely escaped and cultivated

in arid tropical regions such as India, southern Africa, Mexico,

Florida, and the Mediterranean

• India is a major producer

Cashew and consumers

Natural Hi story Magaz i ne

Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia,

Proteaceae)

• Macadamia nuts are one of few plants from Australia that are cultivated.

• They were taken from Australia to

Hawaii where most macadamia

cultivation is centered.

• The climate there is ideal and

Hawaii is one of the few places that they can be grown well.

Macadamia,

Macadamia

ternifolia,

Proteaceae

Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa,

Lecythidaceae)

• Brazil nuts are native to Brazil They are borne in a peculiar

fashion, see the diagram pg 106

• Brazil nuts usually collected

from wild trees

• They are 66% fat

• Brazil nut oil is used as an

edible oil in Brazil

• A major Brazilian export

Brazil nut, Bertholettia excelsa,

Lecythidaceae

Courtesy Dr Carl Bouton Nati onal Geographi c