4 Important Fruits Cultivated in India

The following points highlight the four important fruits cultivated in India. The fruits are: 1. Mango 2. Banana 3. Cashew Nut 4. Sugar Cane.

Fruit # 1. Mango (Mangifera Indica Linn):

Mango is a large or medium sized evergreen tree with thick rough or nearly rough bark. Leaves are simple, alternate coriaceous, oblong-lanceolate or oblong, entire, acute or acuminate, narrowed at base, often with wavy margin, 12-25 cm. long, 3-5 cm. broad, crowded near the ends of the branches; petioles 2-3.5 cm. long.

Inflorescence a much branched terminal panicle; pubescent; bracts deciduous. Flowers are very small, polygamous or monoecious, on very short jointed pedicels. Calyx 4-6-partite, segments imbricate, deciduous.

Petals 4- 5, free, often adnate to a disc, imbricate. Disc 5, lobed. Stamens 1 or 2 perfect, and 2-4 sterile with imperfect anthers or without anthers, inserted on the inner side of the disc. Carpel 1; ovary superior, sessile, oblique, 1-locular with a lateral style and simple stigma; ovule solitary, pendulous from a basal or lateral, rarely horizontal funicle.

Fruit a large fleshy drupe with a compressed fibrous stone and glabrous skin; ripe fruits 5-15 cm. long and 2-8 cm. broad near base, generally slightly flattened and elongated with a tendency to be curved at the thinner end opposite the stalk and a pointed swelling indicating the position of the style.

When ripe the basal part or the whole of it turns yellow, sometimes with flush of red or purple; some varieties remain green even when fully ripe. The flesh is yellow or orange, sweet and delicious with a characteristic flavour of its own.

A great number of varieties are found in different parts of India of which the “Alphonso” of Bombay is perhaps the- best. The “Langra” of U.P. and Bihar is also very tasteful while S. India can boast of some with fruits of excellent qualities.

The “Fazli” of Bengal has the largest fruits each weighing 1 kg. or more. It is also very tasteful. The good fruits come from grafted trees which are usually short sized. Trees raised from seeds attain large size, yield numerous fruits which however have larger stone covered by fibres. Fruits from grafted trees have smaller stones and almost fibreless.

Mango is in great demand in countries outside India and is exported in considerable quantities as fresh fruits or tinned fruits and also as chutneys and preserves. The juice of ripe fruits dried on plates forms thin cakes known as “amsath” which can be preserved for along time. The unripe fruit is acid, and has a flavour of terpentine. It is cooked and made into pickles.

Besides producing fruits the mango tree is useful in many other ways. It is a good timber tree. The bark and leaves yield a yellow dye and the bark is used for tanning. The unripe fruit is a cure for opthalmia.

The smoke of burning leaves stops hiccough and is a remedy for sore throat. A paste of the leaves is applied to remove pain in scorpion sting. The large evergreen tree with dense foliage is very often planted as an avenue tree.

Mango is indigenous to India but is seldom found truly wild although it grows as self-sown tree almost everywhere in the plains near human habitations. It is planted in almost all gardens in the villages and is cultivated in the orchards. It is also indigenous to Ceylon and Malaya and has been introduced into other tropical countries including Mexico.

The mango tree comes to flower towards the close of winter season and fruits ripe in 3 months. Ripe fruits are available in market from April to July. The tree has been associated with Hindu-religion. The leaves are used in decorating the place of worship and from an important ingredient in all pujas. The tree is mentioned in old Sanskrit and

Pali literature and travellers from Persia and Arabia spoke highly about the fruits. From the ancient times the kings encouraged planting of mango trees and being patronized by the rulers and rich people the gardeners were able to raise so many different varieties.

In different parts of the country there are many mango orchards where trees are grown on a commercial scale. These are all raised from grafts and trees are about 15 mtr high. Trees are planted in rows 4-8 mtrs apart and same distance between trees in the same row.

The grafts are planted in holes 50-60 cm. in diam. and so deep. The holes are filled with 90% of farmyard manure, 10% of wood ash and a little quantity of bone meal. Where white ants prevail Neem or Mahua cakes are mixed with the manure to get good result.

Mango grows in varied types of soils from rich clayey loam to poor sandy and gravelly soil, but it cannot stand water-logging. Those growing on loamy soil containing 5-10% of lime and enough peroxide of iron produce best fruits.

Irrigation for first 3-4 years is necessary and in drier areas irrigation is done 4-5 times before monsoon. Manuring is done for young plants in trenches at the beginning of monsoon. To control white ants DDT in water is sprayed to the young plants in October.

Inarchining or simple approach-grafting is commonly practiced. Seeds are sown on the onset of monsoon and seedlings of a year old are used as a stock. Potted seedlings are carried to the scion tree and placed on an elevated scaffolding to meet the branches.

The graft is ready in about 2 months which is then removed by cutting the scion branch below the grafted portion and the top of the stock. The graft is nursed for about six months or more before planting.

Varieties of mango run to over a thousand and a few best varieties are named below:

Alphonso: Maharashtra, Kerala, Mysore, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh.

Bangan palli: Tamil Nadu; Andhra Pradesh;

Bombai: U.P; Bihar;

Dusheri: U.P; Haryana;

Fazli: W.B; U.P; Bihar

Gulabkhas: Bihar

Langra: U.P; Bihar

Himsagar: W.B.

Fruit # 2. Banana (Musa X Paradisiaca Linn):

Banana tree is like herb with a pseudo-stem and an underground larger globose perennial rhizome, stoloniferous; the pseudo stem composed .of leaf-sheaths rolled round one another, 1-3 mtr high and 15-25 cm. thick at base.

Leaves of banana are radially arranged with a large oblong blade on a channelled spongy petiole on the top of a cylindrical leaf-sheath split on one side; the blade 1-2 mtr long, 25-60 cm. broad, bright green above and pale green and glaucous beneath, with a stout channelled spongy midrib and parallel secondary nerves, slightly unequal at base.

Inflorescence is a large decurved pendulons spadix, terminating the arial stem that pushes itself through the pseudo stem and the crown of leaves, coming from the centre of the rhizome; the spadix bears a number of cymose groups of flowers arranged acropetally on the stout axis each subtended by a spathe, the largest is the first from the base and covering the whole inflorescence above it; the next spathe is slightly smaller and covers the rest of the inflorescence and successive spathes are smaller by degrees and cover the portion of the inflorescence above each; the spathes are caducous and each spathe after opening and exposing the cyme of flowers subtended by it is shed off.

The spathes are thick and leathery in texture, ovate and boat shaped and of a dull purple colour; cymes dense flowered. Flowers functionally unisexual, the females on the basal portion of the spadix and males on the upper part, zygomorphic, epigynous.

Sepals 3 and petals 3; the 3 sepals and 2 petals unite to form an anterior, 5- toothed perigonium, while the 6th posterior petal is free, hyaline, notched or pointed at apex; the perigonial tube is split on one side. Stamens 5, with a sixth rudimentary one or the sixth stamen altogether absent; anther linear, 2-celled.

Carpels 3, united in an inferior 3-loculsr ovary with many ovules superposed on axile placentation; style filiform from a thickened base; stigma globose or 6-lobed. Fruit an oblong or fusiform trigonous berry, often slightly curved on one side; seeds absent, although in wild species of Musa the fruit is full of globose or angular seeds.

The above description of the edible banana is that of a cultivar, a natural hybrid between M. acuminata Colla and M. balbisiana Colla. Edible banana of hybrid origin comprises all the diploid, triploid and tetraploid clones. Edible forms of M.acuminata Colla are also known and cultivated.

Musa is indigenous to Indo Malayan region and cultivation of edible bananas started in that region in prehistoric times. It is now extensively cultivated in the tropical countries of Asia and Africa, in the Caribbean Islands, Central America, Ecuador, Columbia, Brazil and Canary Islands.

In India Kerala, Mysore, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal are the chief banana growing states. In addition to growing the plant in large plantations or orchards, it is extensively grown in village gardens with other fruit trees.

The total area under banana cultivation in India is about 3, 83, 000 acres. Banana is a rain-fed crop and grows best in areas with a well-distributed rainfall from 175 cm, 250 cm. in a year. In some drier areas irrigation during December — March is necessary. The crop requires a well-drained soil.

The soil is well dug or deeply tilled before planting. Suckers are used for propagation. Pits are dug 45 cm. in length, breadth and also of same depth at distances of 1.5 – 3 mtr – on either sides depending on the size of the plants.

Farm-yard manuring of 20 – 30 cart loads is recommended per acre before planting. Green manuring is also done. After planting a top dressing of farm-yard manure or compost, oil cakes and artificial fertilizers is practiced.

Nitrogen – 150 kg, phosphoric acid 75 kg. and potash – 50 kg. are used per acre. Fish meal is also good for the crop. Only one or two suckers are allowed to remain with the mother plant. In the hills banana is planted in terraces.

The plants start fruiting 8 — 18 months after planting depending on the variety. Some varieties fruit much earlier. The top portion of the spadix with the male flowers is usually cut off and this is beneficial to the maturing fruits. The fruiting spadix is often covered with dry leaves to give the fruits a beautiful pale yellow colour.

The area under banana cultivation in India is 383362 acre and the annual production is 1.7 – 2.0 million tons. These figures are exceeded if we take into account the plants grown in village orchards. A small portion of the total yield is exported outside India while the rest is consumed inside the country.

Banana plant is susceptible to Panama disease caused by Fusarium species. To check the spread of the disease in a plantation the infected plant is uprooted and the soil is
treated with quicklime.

Flooding the soil under 5 cm. of water for 45 days and application of lime is recommended. Banana weevil or borer does a. lot of damage to the crop and to kill the beetle paris green mixed with flour is dusted. Dry Dieldrin mixed with gypsum powder around the base of a clump affords effective control.

A few important types of edible banana cultivated in India are noted below:

Fruit # 3. Cashew Nut (Anacardium Occidentale):

Cashew nut is a short spreading evergreen tree, up to 12 m. high; milky latex present in all parts. Leaves are alternate, simple, petiolate, oblong obovate, 10 – 20 cm. long. Inflorescence a branched terminal panicle, 15 – 25 cm. long. Flowers are hermaphrodite and unisexual in the same panicle, small, yellow or pinkish, 1.5 cm across. Sepals 5; deciduous. Petals 5, very narrow. Stamens 8 -10, a few often reduced to staminodes.

Ovary 1-celled; style simple, lateral. The fruit is a kidney shaped nut seated on fleshy, swollen receptacle, much enlarged in fruit; the nut 2.5 cm. long, the receptacle or the cashew-apple is 5 – 8 cm. long, pyramidal in shape yellow or scarlet when ripe.

The tree is indigenous to tropical America and was introduced to India by the Portuguese some 450 years ago. Gradually it became popular and cultivation started in commercial scale and is now cultivated in Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Orissa and on a small scale in W. Bengal.

It can be grown in various types of soil but a sandy loam appears to be the best for its cultivation. It is drought resistant and grows well where average annual rainfall does not exceed 1000 mm, and is quite at home in place with a rainfall of 3000 mm. or over.

It cannot however stand water logging and is not frost resistant. Plants are grown from seeds although saplings are raised from grafts and layering’s. About 100 trees are recommended for a plot of an acre. No manure is usually applied although organic manure increases the yield.

Flowering starts in February and the fruits mature in 70 – 80 days. The fruits are gathered before they are fully ripe. They are then dried in the sun or sometimes roasted. The nuts are then broken and shelled. Shelling and peeling are done by hand.

About 15 kg of nuts are obtained annually from each tree and the yield per acre is about 1500 kg. The total annual production of nuts in India is about 20,000 tons.

The nuts give us the kernels which are used as dessert and also the shell oil is much in demand in insulating and varnishing industries. India meets 95 per cent of the world demand for kernels by exporting 75 per cent of her total production and only 25 per cent is consumed in this country.

Fruit # 4. Sugar Cane (Saccharum Officinarum):

Sugar cane is a tall erect grass, usually un-branched, culms 2.6 mtr. high, glabrous or with appressed hairs below the panicle, waxy below the nodes.

Leaves are linear lanceolate, acuminate, narrower at base, spreading and drooping at the tip, scabrous above and on margins, scaberulous and more or less glaucous underneath, up to 1.5 mtr. long and 6 cm broad; median nerve thick, white above; sheath pubescent on the throat or at first covered with appressed hairs; ligule very short, membranous, ciliate.

Inflorescence a large panicle, ovate-pyramidal, dense and spreading, about 25 cm. long, silvery silky; principal axis glabrous, channelled, bearded at the nodes; primary branches slender, 5-10 cm. long, more or less verticillate, glabrous, bearded at the nodes; secondary branches simple, distant, internodes fragile, equalling or exceeding the spikelet’s in length, somewhat thickened at the top, glabrous; pedicels glabrous.

Spikelet’s linear oblong, pale, or almost brownish, muticous, 3.5 – 4 mm. long, callus covered with dense white silky hairs 7-12 mm. long, one spikelet sessile the other pedicelled on the articulate fragile rachis; the pedicelled one falling from the pedicel, the sessile falling with the contiguous joint of the rachis and pedicel.

The florets 2; the lower reduced to an empty lemma, the upper hermaphrodite. Glumes equal, 3.5 – 4 mm. long, lower with inflexed margins in sessile spikelet, papyraceous-membranous, acute, entire, obscurely nerved; upper glume membranous, acute, 1-3 nerved, keels scabrous above.

Lemmas hyaline, as long as the spikelet in the lower empty floret, lanceolate, acute, membranous, nerveless; lemma of upper hermaphrodite floret very reduced or absent; palea lanceolate, acute, ciliate at the apex. Lodicules 2, cuneate. Stamens 3. Ovary superior, 1-celled with one anatropous ovule; styles 2, laterally exserted; stigmas plumose. Caryopsis oblong.

The cultivated sugarcanes are hybrids of S. officinarum Linn, and S. sinense Linn, and also of S. spontaneum Linn.

As a result of continued research in many countries and in Coimbatore in India many varieties were raised to suit various types of soil and climate and as resistant to diseases. Some are given code number instead of any varietal name, e.g. Co. 997, Co. 658, Co. 775, etc. These three are the best of the different types cultivated in India and mature early.

S. officianrum is supposed to have originated as a desirable mutant from the wild species S. robustum Linn, in New Guinea. From New Guinea it came to Indonesian islands and then to India where it was taken into cultivation. The art of making sugar from the juice also developed in India many centuries before the Christian era.

The art of making sugar spread to Malay and China and west wards to Persia and Egypt where sugar cane cultivation was also started. There were many natural varieties which were gradually replaced “by improved hybrid varieties raised in different Research Stations.

For most varieties a period of about 18 months is required for maturation although some varieties mature in course of one year. It is propagated by planting small pieces having usually 2 nodes with buds. These pieces are called seed-pieces or seed – sets.

Planting is done in spring, i.e. from January to March. Seed-pieces are collected from immature canes and 3-budded sets are preferred. Soaking the sets in water for 36 – 48 hours gives better “germination”.

After planting water is sprinkled for 15 days. Careful weeding in early stages is necessary and several weedicides are used of which 2.4 — D is very suitable in Indian conditions. Gramoxone is also very effective provided it is sprayed only on the weeds avoiding the cane-plants.

Hoeing and manual weeding is also done and that is more economical. Earthing up the plants keeps them erect and induces tillering. In coastal areas, particularly in Andhra Pradesh propping is necessary to keep the plants erect. Inter-cropping is done some times to raise a second crop of vegetable or ground nut but that reduces the yield of canes.

Bulk of the sugarcane is grown on alluvial soil, but black soil and red soil are equally good which are not subjected to inundation. Ploughing the field several times to a fine tilth is necessary and ridges and furrows are to be made. Planting is done in the furrows.

Basal dressing of compost and green manuring are done before planting. Frequent irrigation in formative phase of the crop is necessary and at post monsoon period irrigation is done at intervals of 25 days.

Manuring is done 3 months after planting and in 1 h.a. area nitrogen 200 kg, phosphorus 75 kg and potash 900 kg are applied by instalments. Oilseed cakes are liberally used. Harvesting is done after 18 months of planting but in good varieties in much less time. The plants are cut down at the base and made into bundles which are taken to the sugar mills or to the crushing machines.

Sugar cane is susceptible to Red-rot, Smut, Wilts, Yellow-spot and Virus diseases. Planting of disease free varieties is the best means to avoid such diseases. Diathene, Fermate, Bordeauxe mixture are useful in controlling the diseases. Treatment of the seed- pieces with different fungicides makes them immune to such diseases.

About 2 million h.a. of land is under sugarcane cultivation in India, the major part lying in U.P. About 6% of the extracted juice is used for preparing molasses and khandseri sugar and the rest is manufactured to refined sugar. India exports a fair quantity of sugar to U.S.A., Canada and United Kingdom.