TROPICAL FRUITS AND NUTS

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 Importance • Local • World-wide • Botanical • Domestication • Changes -some ancient Cultivation - propagation - rarely monoculture - why not? • Most Important • Bananas • Citrus • Pineapple • Avocado • Mango • Tropical nuts- importance • Coconut • Cashew READING CHAPTER IN TEXT Fruits from market in Panama Courtesy Dr Carol Augspurger Tropical fruits in a Queensland market Introduction • 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 • 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 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 is one of the largest seeds known 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 History Magazine • 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 History Magazine 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 National Geographic Courtesy Dr Carl Bouton [...]... 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 fruits The Complete Book of Fruits & Vegetables, F Bianchini, F Corbetta, M Pistola,... are the latter type Primitive, probably diploid, banana Balick and Cox, Plants, People, and Cult 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... 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 sinensis) by some • Pink grapefruit (e.g., Ruby Red) are "sports" or somatic mutations • Ruby Red arose in McAllen, Texas, in 1929 and is propagated vegetatively... 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... 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 Banana plantations in Jamaica Musa sapientum, bananas, Musaceae Carolina Biological Supply Co Banana leaves and plantains • Most banana... 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 • 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... 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 1960s Today, many are cultivated in Florida Avocados and flowers... 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 of the world • They seem to prefer dry climates with lots of sunshine • They cannot tolerate severe frosts well • The citron (Citrus medica) was the first introduced into Europe • Almost... Avocados and flowers Avocados, Persea americana, Lauraceae Primitive avocados Mangoes (Mangifera indica, Anacardiaceae) Mangoes are native to southeast India Mangoes taken to the New World by the Portuguese and are now a major crop in many countries See pg 98 Some people are sensitive to the outside of the fruit Mangos, Mangifera indica, Anacardiaceae ... Avocado • Mango • Tropical nuts- importance • Coconut • Cashew READING CHAPTER IN TEXT Fruits from market in Panama Courtesy Dr Carol Augspurger Tropical fruits in a Queensland market Introduction... of tropical fruits and nuts on pg 76 • Tables of production, p 77 Bananas • Bananas (Musa sp., Musaceae) are from southeast Asia The taxonomy is complex They were early taken to Madagascar and. .. • 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 •