Figs - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 440

or export of figs. Both dried and fresh Turkish figs are
valued worldwide for their premiere quality due mainly to
their large size.
Though fig is generally preferred for exports as dry fruit,
the 'Bursa Siyahı' has a demand as a fresh fruit as well.
Among the fig varieties, 'Bursa Siyahı' is of the most prefer-
able and the highest quality for fresh fig in the world market.
According to 2006 data from Bursa region, the production
share of 'Bursa Siyahı' was 75%, of which 78% was ex-
ported. The main export markets are in France, the UK, the
Netherlands, and Germany. 'Bursa Siyahı' has distinctive
features, including its amazing taste, hard flesh structure,
black color, long storage life, and alluring shape and size
(Mencet et al., 2009). Besides 'Bursa Siyahı,' there are
many other good quality fresh fig cultivars such as 'Yedi-
veren,' 'Goklop,' 'Morguz,' 'Sarı Zeybek,' and 'Ye¸ilguz'
cultivars and ' 01-IM-02,' '31-IN-01,' and '31-IN-16' se-
lections.
Until recently, fresh figs represented less than 5% of total
fig production; most of the California figs are destined for
the dried market (Tous and Ferguson, 1996; Soby, 1997;
Stover et al., 2007). However, during the period from 2002
to 2006, fresh fig production increased fourfold (USDA,
2007). This increase in fresh fig production has been a con-
sequence of increasing consumer demand for fresh quality
produce of less familiar fruits (Stover et al., 2007).

Cultivars
There are many cultivated varieties in each class of figs,
that is, fresh or processed types. In fact, over 700 vari-
etal names are in use, but many are synonyms. However,
most commercial production is based on only a few cul-
tivars. For example, the Turkish fig industry is essentially
based on six cultivars: 'Sarılop,' 'Bursa Siyahı,' 'G oklop,'
'Morguz,' 'Yediveren,' 'Sarı Zeybek,' and 'Ye¸ilguz' (Polat
and ¸ aliskan, 2008).
A number of cultivated and wild forms of fig, primarily
for fresh consumption, can be found in Turkey with a great
diversity in color, shape, and flavor. The Mediterranean
shore and southeast Anatolia have especially suitable con-
ditions for fresh fig production (Polat and ¸ aliskan, 2008),
where fig production has a long history and a promising
future to expand. Fresh fig production in Turkey is seldom
found in dedicated orchards, except in the regions of Bursa,
I¸el (Mut), Manisa (Turgutlu-Salihli), and Hatay. Bursa is
the largest fresh fig region in Turkey with extensive fresh
fig exports. However, Turkey's fresh fig production has
not yet fulfilled its export potential ( ¸ ali¸kan and Polat,
2008).
Based on the recent breeding efforts, 'Yediveren,' 'Gok-
lop,' and '31-IN-16' could be alternatives to 'Bursa Siyahı,'
currently the most favored fresh table fig cultivar. These
new cultivars have a potential for both local consumption
and the export markets ( ¸ aliskan and Polat, 2008). More-
over, '31-IN-01,' '31-IN-08,' '31-IN-10,' '31-IN-12,' and
'31-IM-13' fig types have also been found promising (Polat
and Ozkaya, 2005). Differences in fruit quality parameters
such as ripening period and sugar/acid ratio among the
new entries could help fill different market niches. 'Bursa
Siyahı,' 'Yediveren,' 'G oklop,' '01-IM-02,' and '31-IN-16'
have been recommended when planting new fresh fig or-
chards in the Mediterranean region (Polat and ¸ aliskan,
2008; ¸ ali¸kan and Polat, 2008).
The main California cultivars are 'Calimyrna' ('Sar-
ilop'), 'Adriatic,' 'Mission,' 'Brown Turkey,' and 'Kadota'
(Stover et al., 2007). Of the cultivars described by Condit
(1955), 78% were common types, less than 4% were San
Pedro types, and the remaining 18% were Smyrna types.
Cultivars also vary in such traits as leaf morphology, plant
vigor, fruit external and internal color, fruit flavor, percent-
age soluble solids, titratable acidity, seed characteristics,
fruit shape, skin thickness, ostiole diameter, and duration
of fruit production. A selection of the wide-ranging
diversity in fig cultivars, focusing primarily on commercial
cultivars, is described in Table 24.2. Figure 24.2 shows
figs on tree for selected cultivars grown in Turkey.

PRODUCTION, CULTIVARS, AND HARVEST
Fig trees density per hectare ranges from 100 to 150 trees
in Turkey. Trees often grow quite tall ( > 5 m) and gen-
erally require no irrigation. Ripe, fallen fruits are picked
from the ground manually (with minimal mechanization);
the harvest requires intensive hand labor. Such traditional
fig growing has low productivity and is often not very cost-
effective or profitable. In many areas, fig producers are tran-
sitioning to more profitable fresh fig production. Fresh fig
production, however, requires more sophisticated cultural
practices. For the production of fresh figs, new cultivars
with high productivity are often planted (Flaishman et al.,
2008; Polat and ¸ aliskan, 2008).
Genetic variability in fig is enhanced by the obligatory
outcrossing in this species, resulting in the production of
new individuals with potentially favorable characteristics
from seeds. Because fig is easily propagated through cut-
tings and repeatedly repropagated to maintain desirable cul-
tivars, there is also considerable opportunity for phenotypic
variability from natural mutations within a cultivar (Polat
and ¸ aliskan, 2008).