Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
T A B L E 6.1. Selected Fruits of Tropical Trees: Characteristics and How Eaten
Common and
Scientific Names
Characteristics
How Eaten
Avocado, Persea americana
Green/purple skin with flesh
inside and roundish seed in
middle
Cut in half, remove seed,
and eat flesh with spoon.
Sweetener may be added
Carambola,
a
Averrhoa
carambola
Green-yellow cross section
star shaped
Whole—skin, flesh, and seed
Guavas, Psidium spp.
Skin surrounding flesh with
imbedded seeds
Whole—skin, flesh, and seed
Jackfruit, Artocarpus
heterophyllus
Thick bumpy peal, fleshy fruit
around large seed
b
Peal removed, fleshy fruit
removed from seed and eaten
Mango, Mangifera spp.
Thin skin yellow when ripe
Pealed, flesh around
seed eaten
Pummelo, Citrus maxima
Very similar to grapefruit
Sections removed, peeled, and
the inner flesh eaten
a
Also called star fruit.
b
Seed can also be eaten.
example, guavas (Fig. 6.12). Table 6.1 gives a summary of selected tropical fruits, their
characteristics, and how they are commonly eaten.
Tropical fruit trees can be very large, often as large or larger than any other
common tropical tree. This makes protecting and harvesting fruit difficult. In the
case of mango the upper most reaches of the tree are not readily accessible by
normal spraying equipment. Fruit can, however, be protected by covering it with
paper bags (Fig. 6.6). Harvesting is done by placing ladders in the trees (not only
resting on the ground extending into the tree but also the whole ladder between
branches of the tree; Fig. 6.6) and climbing throughout the tree on these ladders.
Fruit can also be protected by smoke. A smoky fire is burned under the tree and the
resulting smoke drives insects away from the fruit.
All tropical tree fruits are low in protein; this means that they cannot be a signifi-
cant source of protein in the diet (Fig. 6.14). Avocado has the highest amount of fat,
which is indeed the largest component of this fruit. Durian also has some significant
fat content while the others, excepting pummelo
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which has almost no fat, have
minimal amounts, and jackfruit are relatively high in carbohydrate. Breadfruit,
durian, and jackfruit have significant carbohydrate contents while guavas, kiwi, and
mangoes have moderate levels, and the remainder have low carbohydrate contents
comparatively speaking. All the fruits have small amounts of fiber with avocado
having the largest amount.
Fruits are noted for contributing vitamins to the diet. Of the tropical fruits under
discussion, guavas have the highest amount of vitamin C and the second highest
values for both A and B vitamins. Papaya contains the highest amount of vitamin A
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Pummelo has many different spellings that are given in the Glossary.
