Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 14.9
Angled luffa fruit.
Figure 14.7
Bitter melon fruit.
ridged gourd, angled gourd or ridged luffa. Both species
probably originated in India. They are grown throughout
tropical Asia, South America and the Caribbean with the
smooth type being the most common.
Luffa vines are very large, lending themselves to training
on a stout vertical trellis that encourages the development
of straight fruit. The principal food use is immature fruit
prepared like summer squash. Young shoots and leaves
may be used as greens. When grown to maturity, fruit of
smooth luffa produce phytosponges. After harvest, they
are soaked in water to encourage decay of the outer fruit
wall and inner pulp, then washed thoroughly to remove
extraneous matter. The remaining fibre is dried in the
sun and bleached white. Luffa is widely grown in Asia,
especially China, and in the New World, especially
Guatemala and Colombia (Nayer & More 1998; Robinson &
Decker-Walters 1997).
Figure 14.8
Smooth luffa fruit.
Chayote (
Sechium edule
)
Mirliton and vegetable pear are other common names for
chayote (Figure 14.10). Its centre of origin is in Guatemala
and Mexico. Today, large scale production occurs in Costa
Rica, Guatemala and Brazil, as well as in other tropical areas.
Chayote is the only cultivated vegetable in the subtribe
Sicyinae, tribe Sicyeae. Plants are perennial in frost-free
areas. Because they are short-day plants in respect to
flowering, their production is restricted to subtropical and
tropical areas of the world. Commercial fruit are generally
pear shaped, white to dark green coloured and about 10 cm
long. They bear a single seed that may sprout within the
fruit (vivipary). Propagation is by planting the entire fruit
or the excised seed.
(Figure 14.7). They exhibit various shades of green, have
a warty, shiny surface and measure about 15 cm in length.
The tender shoots and leaves of bitter melons can be
prepared as cooked greens. The fruit may be boiled, curried,
fried or pickled. It is often soaked in salt water to reduce bit-
terness before cooking. Bitter melon is very popular in many
Asian countries and with Asian people living elsewhere
(Nayer & More 1998; Robinson & Decker-Walters 1997).
Smooth luffa (
Luffa aegyptiaca
) and angled luffa
(
Luffa acutangula
)
Smooth luffa or loofah (Figure 14.8) is also known as
sponge gourd, vegetable sponge, dishcloth gourd or rag
gourd; angled luffa (Figure 14.9) may be referred to as
