IMPORTANCE OF FRUITS OF INDIA

1)      EGG FRUIT (CANISTEL)

    Canistel comes from the southern parts of Mexico in the Yucatan Peninsula. The Aztecs and Mayans, for instance, enjoyed this heart-shaped fruit as long back as 800BC. The fruit’s also native to northern Central America; more specifically, El Salvador, Belize, and Guatemala.

Though wild strains are not found in these countries, canistel grows in the lower half of Central America from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Jamaica, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. Florida’s proximity to these countries and appropriate weather has made canistel a beloved fruit there, though many Americans remain unaware of this fruit. 

When the fruit came to India isn’t exactly known, though it was likely near the time the Philippines received the fruit around 1924. Egg fruit’s popularity is limited to the regions of its origin, as it’s not well-known in Europe nor most countries in Asia.

Availability of Egg Fruit in India

Egg fruit grows in Maharashtra throughout the Western Ghats, Kerala, limited parts of Tamil Nadu, and it’s also a hobby fruit in a few gardens within Auroville. The fruit does not have any serious farming efforts behind its cultivation, and generally sulks in the shadow of its immensely popular brother, the sapota. To add insult to injury, some Indians know the fruit as “yellow sapota.”

Egg fruit season in India is June through July. Farmers have to pick individual ripe fruits off the tree, as they do not ripen uniformally. The eggfruit’s skin is also quite delicate, which causes an additional harvesting burden.

Taste of Egg Fruit

Egg fruits are named as such because of its texture resembling an egg yolk: soft, starchy, yet somewhat creamy. The texture of the fruit evolves as one nears the center of the fruit—while the pulp is slightly tough and mealy unde the skin, the pulp nearest to the center is softer and creamier.

The taste may be responsible for eggfruit’s name as well, as it may make a person wonder if someone didn’t hand them a bowl of mashed egg yolks sprinkled with sugar. Canistels are also a bit like a sweet potato, yams and cooked pumpkin with its subdued sweetness and mellow, agreeable flavor.

MEDICINAL USE

    Medicinal Uses: A decoction of the astringent bark is taken as a febrifuge in Mexico and applied on skin eruptions in Cuba. A preparation of the seeds has been employed as a remedy for ulcers.

In 1971, a pharmaceutical company in California was exploring a derivative of the seed of Pouteria sapota (mamey, q.v.) which seemed to be active against seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp. Since they were having difficulty in procuring sufficient seeds for study, I suggested that they test the more readily available seeds of the canistel. They found these acceptable and were pursuing the investigation when last heard from.

2)      CHAMPAKKA ( ROSE APPLE)

The rose apple is native to the East Indies and Malaya and is cultivated and naturalized in many parts of India, Ceylon and former Indochina and the Pacific Islands. It was introduced into Jamaica in 1762 and became well distributed in Bermuda, the Bahamas, the West Indies and, at low and medium elevations, from southern Mexico to Peru. In Guatemala, the tree may be planted as a living fencepost or in hedgerows around coffee plantations. For this purpose, it is drastically pruned to promote dense growth. It grows wild abundantly, forming solid stands and thickets, in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama.

In 1825, eight young trees were taken from Rio de Janeiro to Hawaii by ship, and, in 1853, a United States warship delivered avocado and rose apple trees from Central America to the island of Hilo. The rose apple became naturalized on the islands of Kauai, Molokai, Oahu, Maui and Hawaii. In 1893, it was reported as already cultivated in Ghana. It is semi-naturalized in some areas of West Tropical Africa and on the islands of Zanzibar, Pemba and Reunion. It is believed to have been first planted in Queensland, Australia, about 1896. A tree obtained from an Italian nursery has grown and borne well on the coastal plain of Israel. However, it is not of interest there as a fruit tree but rather as an ornamental.

The rose apple was introduced into Florida, at Jacksonville, before 1877, but, as a fruit tree, it is suited only to the central and southern parts of the state. In California, it is planted as far north as San Francisco for its ornamental foliage and flowers. Because the tree occupies considerable space and the fruit is little valued, the rose apple has not been planted in Florida in recent years, though there are quite a number of specimens remaining from former times.

  

The fruiting period varies in different parts of India. In South India, blooming usually occurs in January, with fruit ripening in March and April, whereas in the Circars, ripening takes place in April and May. In the central part of the country, flowering occurs in February, March and April and the fruits ripen from June through July. Then again, it is reported that there are varieties that produce fruit in February and March.

Yield

In India, they say that a mature rose apple tree will yield 5 lbs (2 kg) of fruit each season. The fruits are, of course, very light in weight because they are hollow, but this is a very small return for a tree that occupies so much space.

TASTE OF ROSE APPLE

    The rose apple tree may be merely a shrub but is generally a tree reaching 25 or even 40 ft (7.5-12 m) in height, and has a dense crown of slender, wide-spreading branches, often the overall width exceeding the height. The flowers are creamy-white or greenish-white, 2 to 4 in (5-10 cm) wide, consisting mostly of about 300 conspicuous stamens to 1 1/2 in (4 cm) long, a 4-lobed calyx, and 4 greenish-white, concave petals. There are usually 4 or 5 flowers together in terminal cluster. The fruit is nearly round, oval, or slightly pear-shaped, 1 1/2 to 2 in (4-5 cm) long, with smooth, thin, pale-yellow or whitish skin, sometimes pink-blushed, covering a crisp, mealy, dry to juicy layer of yellowish flesh, sweet and resembling the scent of a rose in flavor.

Medicinal Uses: In India, the fruit is regarded as a tonic for the brain and liver. An infusion of the fruit acts as a diuretic.

A sweetened preparation of the flowers is believed to reduce fever. The seeds are employed against diarrhea, dysentery and catarrh. In Nicaragua, it has been claimed that an infusion of roasted, powdered seeds is beneficial to diabetics. They say in Colombia that the seeds have an anesthetic property.

3)      ATHIPAZHAM (COMMON FIG)

   The common fig (Ficus carica) is a species of flowering plant in the genus Ficus, from the family Moraceae, known as the common fig, or just the fig. It is the source of the fruit also called the fig, and as such is an important crop in those areas where it is grown commercially. Native to the Middle East and western Asia, it has been sought out and cultivated by man since ancient times, and is now widely grown throughout the temperate world, both for its fruit and as an ornamental plant.

The edible fig is one of the first plants that was cultivated by humans. Nine subfossil figs of a parthenocarpic type dating to about 9400–9200 BC were found in the early Neolithic village Gilgal I (in the Jordan Valley, 13 km north of Jericho). The find predates the domestication of wheat, barley, and legumes, and may thus be the first known instance of agriculture. It is proposed that they may have been planted and cultivated intentionally, one thousand years before the next crops were domesticated (wheat and rye).[5]

Figs were also a common food source for the Romans. Cato the Elder, in his De Agri Cultura, lists several strains of figs grown at the time he wrote his handbook: the Mariscan, African, Herculanean, Saguntine, and the black Tellanian (De agri cultura, ch. 8). The fruits were used, among other things, to fatten geese for the production of a precursor of foie gras.

It was cultivated from Afghanistan to Portugal, also grown in PITHORAGARH kumaon hills(INDIA)and from the 15th century onwards, was grown in areas including Northern Europe and the New World.[1] In the 16th century, Cardinal Reginald Pole introduced fig trees to Lambeth Palace in London.

Availability

Fig season occurs twice a year, with one session producing significantly tastier figs. The first session is from May-June, with these figs being acidic and sub-par to the figs produced in the season of December through January.

Though figs are not always available fresh year-round, they are available dried in most every store.

Taste of figs

    They have a mild, sweet, slightly earthy and unassuming flavor but can have a tart aftertaste, especially the skin. The pink flesh inside is the sweetest, most robust section of the fruit.  Its texture is like smooth fleshy jam, with nice crunchy seeds adding to a pleasant taste. Those used to the distinct taste of dried figs might be surprised by the gentle flavors of fresh figs.

             Medicinal uses

The leaf decoction is applied to sore eyes, also serves as a diuretic and expectorant and treatment for rheumatism. The juice of macerated leaves is taken as a febrifuge. Powdered leaves have been rubbed on the bodies of smallpox patients for the cooling effect.

The bark contains 7-12.4% tannin. It is emetic and cathartic. The decoction is administered to relieve asthma, bronchitis and hoarseness. Cuban people believe that the root is an effective remedy for epilepsy.

4)      GUAVA

One of the most gregarious of fruit trees, the guava, Psidium guajava L., of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), is almost universally known by its common English name or its equivalent in other languages. In Spanish, the tree is guayabo, or guayavo, the fruit guayaba or guyava. The French call it goyave or goyavier; the Dutch, guyaba, goeajaaba; the Surinamese, guave or goejaba; and the Portuguese, goiaba or goaibeira. Hawaiians call it guava or kuawa. In Guam it is abas. In Malaya, it is generally known either as guava or jambu batu, but has also numerous dialectal names as it does in India, tropical Africa and the Philippines where the corruption, bayabas, is often applied. Various tribal names–pichi, posh, enandi, etc.–are employed among the Indians of Mexico and Central and South America.

   he guava has been cultivated and distributed by man, by birds, and sundry 4-footed animals for so long that its place of origin is uncertain, but it is believed to be an area extending from southern Mexico into or through Central America. It is common throughout all warm areas of tropical America and in the West Indies (since 1526), the Bahamas, Bermuda and southern Florida where it was reportedly introduced in 1847 and was common over more than half the State by 1886. Early Spanish and Portuguese colonizers were quick to carry it from the New World to the East Indies and Guam. It was soon adopted as a crop in Asia and in warm parts of Africa. Egyptians have grown it for a long time and it may have traveled from Egypt to Palestine. It is occasionally seen in Algeria and on the Mediterranean coast of France. In India, guava cultivation has been estimated at 125,327 acres (50,720 ha) yielding 27,319 tons annually.

Apparently it did not arrive in Hawaii until the early 1800's. Now it occurs throughout the Pacific islands. Generally, it is a home fruit tree or planted in small groves, except in India where it is a major commercial resource. A guava research and improvement program was launched by the government of Colombia in 1961. In 1968, it was estimated that there were about 10 million wild trees (around Santander, Boyacá, Antioquia, Palmira, Buga, Cali and Cartago) bearing, 88 lbs (40 kg) each per year and that only 10% of the fruit was being utilized in processing. Bogotà absorbs 40% of the production and preserved products are exported to markets in Venezuela and Panama.

Brazil's modern guava industry is based on seeds of an Australian selection grown in the botanical garden of the Sao Paulo Railway Company at Tatu. Plantations were developed by Japanese farmers at Itaquera and this has become the leading guava-producing area in Brazil. The guava is one of the leading fruits of Mexico where the annual crop from 36,447 acres (14,750 ha) of seedling trees totals 192,850 tons (175,500 MT). Only in recent years has there been a research program designed to evaluate and select superior types for vegetative propagation and large-scale cultivation.

In Florida, the first commercial guava planting was established around 1912 in Palma Sola. Others appeared at Punta Gorda and Opalocka. A 40-acre (16 ha) guava grove was planted by Miami Fruit Industries at Indian-town in 1946. There have been more than two dozen guava jelly manufacturers throughout the state. A Sarasota concern was processing 250 bushels of guavas per day and a Pinellas County processor was operating a 150-bushel capacity plant in 1946. There has always been a steady market for guava products in Florida and the demand has increased in recent years with the influx of Caribbean and Latin American people.

The guava succumbs to frost in California except in a few favorable locations. Even if summers are too cool–a mean of 60º F (15.56º C)–in the coastal southern part of the state, the tree will die back and it cannot stand the intense daytime heat of interior valleys.

In many parts of the world, the guava runs wild and forms extensive thickets–called "guayabales" in Spanish–and it overruns pastures, fields and roadsides so vigorously in Hawaii, Malaysia, New Caledonia, Fiji, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Cuba and southern Florida that it is classed as a noxious weed subject to eradication. Nevertheless, wild guavas have constituted the bulk of the commercial supply. In 1972, Hawaii processed, for domestic use and export, more than 2,500 tons (2,274 MT) of guavas, over 90% from wild trees. During the period of high demand in World War II, the wild guava crop in Cuba was said to be 10,000 tons (9,000 MT), and over 6,500 tons (6,000 MT) of guava products were exported

Availability

 Guavas grow year-round in India with the exception of May and June. Peak seasons are August, November through December, and March through April. Fruitipedia explains the best region for guava growing is Uttar Pradesh, specifically the Allahabad region. The Bihar region grows red-fleshed varieties called cattley guava,

Taste

They’re mellow and mildly sweet. At its best, the guava's lack of astringency gives it almost the musky taste of an unsweetened white peach. There’s some resemblance to a pear as well. If you’ve tried guava juice, there’s some resemblance to the raw fruit: with the juice, it’s as if someone turned up the “brightness” and “sweetness” knobs up 10 notches.

Medicinal uses

  Guava leaves and bark are used traditionally as a disinfectant and antiseptic for dressing wounds and sores. A decoction of Guava leaves is used for relieving tooth-ache and gum boils when used for gargling. The flowers of Guava are used for treating bronchitis The Guava fresh leaf extract (decoction) is used to treat digestive disorders like diarrhoea and vomiting. Application of powdered leaves is believed to have soothing effect in rheumatic pains. The fruit helps reduce high blood pressure. It is also considered to increase the good cholesterol.. The guava leaf extract is also effective in treating gastrointestinal due to the presence of quercetin and other flavonoids.. The bark extract protects the heart and improve its functionality.. It is also used to treat acne and painful menses.

5)      MANGO

  The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to South Asia, from where it has been distributed worldwide to become one of the most cultivated fruits in the tropics. While other Mangifera species (e.g. horse mango, M. foetida) are also grown on a more localized basis, Mangifera indica – the 'common mango' or 'Indian mango' – is the only mango tree commonly cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. It is the national fruit of India,[1] Pakistan and the Philippines, and the national tree of Bangladesh. Mango trees (Mangifera indica L.) grow up to 35–40 m (115–130 ft) tall, with a crown radius of 10 m (33 ft). The trees are long-lived, as some specimens still fruit after 300 years. In deep soil, the taproot descends to a depth of 6 m (20 ft), with profuse, wide-spreading feeder roots; the tree also sends down many anchor roots, which penetrate several feet of soil. The leaves are evergreen, alternate, simple, 15–35 cm (5.9–14 in) long and 6–16 cm (2.4–6.3 in) broad; when the leaves are young they are orange-pink, rapidly changing to a dark, glossy red, then dark green as they mature. The flowers are produced in terminal panicles 10–40 cm (3.9–16 in) long; each flower is small and white with five petals 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long, with a mild, sweet odor suggestive of lily of the valley. The fruit takes three to six months to ripen.

The ripe fruit varies in size and color. Cultivars are variously yellow, orange, red or green, and carry a single flat, oblong pit that can be fibrous or hairy on the surface, and which does not separate easily from the pulp. Ripe, unpeeled mangoes give off a distinctive resinous, sweet smell. Inside the pit 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) thick is a thin lining covering a single seed, 4–7 cm (1.6–2.8 in) long. The seed contains the plant embryo.

Availability

Mangoes have been cultivated in South Asia for thousands of years[11] and reached East Asia between the fifth and fourth centuries BC. By the 10th century AD, cultivation had begun in East Africa.[11] The 14th century Moroccan traveler, Ibn Battuta, reported it at Mogadishu.[12] Cultivation came later to Brazil, the West Indies and Mexico, where an appropriate climate allows its growth.[11]

The mango is now cultivated in most frost-free tropical and warmer subtropical climates; almost half of world's mangoes are cultivated in India alone, with the second-largest source being China.[13][14][15] Mangoes are also grown in Andalusia, Spain (mainly in Málaga province), as its coastal subtropical climate is one of the few places in mainland Europe that allows the growth of tropical plants and fruit trees. The Canary Islands are another notable Spanish producer of the fruit. Other cultivators include North America (in South Florida and California's Central Valley), South and Central America, the Caribbean, Hawai'i, south, west and central Africa, Australia, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Southeast Asia. Though India is the largest producer of mangoes, it accounts for less than one percent of the international mango trade; India consumes most of its own production.[16]

Many commercial cultivars are grafted on to the cold-hardy rootstock of Gomera-1 mango cultivar, originally from Cuba. Its root system is well adapted to coastal Mediterranean climate.[17] Many of the 1,000+ mango cultivars are easily cultivated using grafted saplings, ranging from the "turpentine mango" (named for its strong taste of turpentine[18]) to the huevos de toro.[citation needed] Dwarf or semi-dwarf varieties serve as ornamental plants and can be grown in containers.

Medicinal uses

Mango is considered a very useful remedy and energizer in Ayurveda and used to balance all three humors or doshas (Vata, Kapha or and Pitta), especially Pitta dosha. Its medicinal properties are presented in the bullet form below..The insoluble fiber, present in mangoes, helps the elimination of waste from the colon and prevents constipation.. The tartaric acid, malic acid, and a trace of citric acid found in the fruit help to maintain the alkali reserve of the body.. A milk-mango shake used in the summers help people gain weight. Extracts of leaves, bark, stem and unripe mangoes are believed to possess antibacterial properties against some micro-organisms. Dried mango flowers are used in the treatment of diarrhea, chronic dysentery and some problems of the bladder.. The stone (kernel) of the mango fruit is used widely in Ayurvedic medicines for treatment of different ailments. Antioxidants and enzymes present in the mango fruits are believed to play an important role in the prevention/protection of cancer (colon, breast, leukemia and prostate) and heart disease. Serum cholesterol is regulated by the high content of fiber, pectin and vitamin C present in the mango.. Some of the flavonoids present in the fruit are believed to strengthen the immune system of human body.. Presence of fiber and enzymes makes mangoes favorite for healthy digestion.

6)      JACK FRUIT

The jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (syns. A. integrifolius Auct. NOT L. f.; A integrifolia L. f.; A. integra Merr.; Rademachia integra Thunb. ), of the family Moraceae, is also called jak-fruit, jak, jaca, and, in Malaysia and the Philippines, nangka; in Thailand, khanun; in Cambodia, khnor; in Laos, mak mi or may mi; in Vietnam, mit. It is an excellent example of a food prized in some areas of the world and allowed to go to waste in others. O.W. Barrett wrote in 1928: ";The jaks . . . are such large and interesting fruits and the trees so well-behaved that it is difficult to explain the general lack of knowledge concerning them."; No one knows the jackfruit's place of origin but it is believed indigenous to the rainforests of the Western Ghats. It is cultivated at low elevations throughout India, Burma, Ceylon, southern China, Malaya, and the East Indies. It is common in the Philippines, both cultivated and naturalized. It is grown to a limited extent in Queensland and Mauritius. In Africa, it is often planted in Kenya, Uganda and former Zanzibar. Though planted in Hawaii prior to 1888, it is still rare there and in other Pactfic islands, as it is in most of tropical America and the West Indies. It was introduced into northern Brazil in the mid-19th Century and is more popular there and in Surinam than elsewhere in the New World.

In 1782, plants from a captured French ship destined for Martinique were taken to Jamaica where the tree is now common, and about 100 years later, the jackfruit made its appearance in Florida, presumably imported by the Reasoner's Nursery from Ceylon. The United States Department of Agriculture's Report on the Conditions of Tropical and Semitropical Fruits in the United States in 1887 states: "There are but few specimens in the State. Mr. Bidwell, at Orlando, has a healthy young tree, which was killed back to the ground, however, by the freeze of 1886. " There are today less than a dozen bearing jackfruit trees in South Florida and these are valued mainly as curiosities. Many seeds have been planted over the years but few seedlings have survived, though the jackfruit is hardier than its close relative, the breadfruit (q.v.).

In South India, the jackfruit is a popular food ranking next to the mango and banana in total annual production. There are more than 100,000 trees in backyards and grown for shade in betelnut, coffee, pepper and cardamom plantations. The total area planted to jackfruit in all India is calculated at 14,826 acres (26,000 ha). Government horticulturists promote the planting of jackfruit trees along highways, waterways and railroads to add to the country's food supply.

There are over 11,000 acres (4,452 ha) planted to jack fruit in Ceylon, mainly for timber, with the fruit a much-appreciated by-product. The tree is commonly cultivated throughout Thailand for its fruit. Away from the Far East, the jackfruit has never gained the acceptance accorded the breadfruit (except in settlements of people of East Indian origin). This is due largely to the odor of the ripe fruit and to traditional preference for the breadfruit.

Availability

In Asia, jackfruits ripen principally from March to June, April to September, orJune to August, depending on the climatic region, with some off-season crops from September to December, or a few fruits at other times of the year.

Medicinal use

Diabetes: Most doctors do not recommend eating jackfruit for patients of diabetes. However, consumption of jackfruit leaves may help in improving glucose tolerance in both type-2 and normal diabetes patients.

Cancer: Jackfruit contains phytonutrients that have powerful anti-cancer properties. These phytonutrients help in eliminating free cancer causing radicals from the body and slow down the degeneration of cells in the body, which may lead to a number of degenerative disorders.

Constipation: One of the medicinal uses of jackfruit is the treatment of problems like constipation. Jackfruits are rich in fiber and have powerful laxative properties that help in facilitating bowel movements, thereby preventing and treating constipation.

Skin and eye care: Jackfruits contain powerful anti-aging properties that slow down the degeneration of skin cells and make the skin look younger. They are a rich source of vitamin A that is essential in maintaining healthy eyesight.

High blood pressure: Being a rich source of potassium, jackfruits are very effective in lowering high blood pressure and controlling the heart rate.

Bone health: Jackfruits are also effective in maintaining good bone health. They are a rich source of magnesium that helps in the absorption of calcium and strengthens the bones.

Anemia: Jackfruits being a rich source of iron help in preventing anemia and improving blood circulation in the body.

Asthma: Another one of the medicinal uses of jackfruit is the treatment of asthma and other upper respiratory tract problems. Experts believe that the root and extracts of jackfruit are effective in controlling asthma and alleviating the symptoms associated with this condition.

Ulcers: Jackfruit contains strong anti-ulcerative properties that not only help cure ulcers but also prevent a number of other digestive system disorders.