Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Tahitian chestnut can be propagated by cuttings and marcotting. It is
available during the break season between two harvests of yams, and it is one
of the main alternative foods of the Melanesian and Polynesian peoples. The
fruit is roasted in its skin or boiled. It may also be reduced to a puree, which is
wrapped in leaves of Heliconia indica and braised. Often harvested in large
quantities, the fruits can keep for several months on bamboo drying racks
placed in dark places in the hut. The seeds are removed as they become ready.
7.3.7 Morinda citrifolia
The English common name of Morinda citrifolia L. is Indian mulberry. It is
rarely planted in the villages because of the strong odour of the fruits rotting on
the ground. It is a wild species that is carefully tended. The cultivated form,
producing edible fruits with large regular (with smooth skin) fruits, is rather rare
in Vanuatu but the wild form is widespread. Wildings are often transplanted
closer to the homestead. Flowering and fruiting are continuous. The fruits are
rich in vitamin C and they are regularly consumed in Polynesia, where superior
morphotypes have been selected.
This species has recently attracted significant interest from the Western
nutraceutical industry and the so-called noni juice is now a very popular
product in the USA, Australia and New Zealand. Scientific literature regarding
the physiological properties of the compounds found in the fruits is sparse and
it is therefore difficult to say whether this industry is sustainable. However, the
Indian mulberry is also locally important as a medicinal plant. The raw fruit is
crunched and eaten for the treatment of boils and numerous types of infection.
7.3.8 Pometia pinnata
Pometia pinnata J.R. & G. Forster is extremely variable and the variability
appears to be greater in New Guinea than in Vanuatu. There are forms with
round or oval fruits, and with orange or brown fruits. The species grows in
secondary forest up to 300 m.a.s.l. The tree is wild and its better forms are
transplanted close to areas of habitation, where they are carefully and regularly
weeded, in some cases to encourage the growth of young plants. They are
pruned to ease the harvest. Unfortunately, the fruits are often infested with
maggots. They are picked with the aid of a long bamboo pole and placed
carefully in baskets. However, they do not keep and have to be eaten rapidly,
raw. The seeds may also be eaten once they are roasted and are sometimes
dried on racks and stored.
7.3.9 Spondias cytherea
Spondias cytherea Sonnerat (golden apple) is found up to 300 m.a.s.l. Farmers
prefer to plant it around their gardens rather than in villages. Fruit bats feed on
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