Everything you need to know about fig tree cultivation, growth and production. Learn about:- 1. Introduction to Fig Tree 2. Climate and Soil Required for Cultivating Fig 3. Propagation 4. Planting 5. Training and Pruning 6. Manuring and Fertilization 7. Harvesting and Postharvest Management 8. Grades, Sizes and Packaging 9. Varieties 10. Uses.
Contents:
- Introduction to Fig Tree
- Climate and Soil Required for Cultivating Fig
- Propagation of Fig
- Planting of a Fig Tree
- Training and Pruning of Fig Trees
- Manuring and Fertilization of Fig
- Harvesting and Postharvest Management of Fig Trees
- Grades, Sizes and Packaging of Fig
- Varieties of Fig
- Uses of Fig
1. Introduction to Fig Tree:
Fig (Ficus carica) belongs to family- Moraceae (mulberry). Ficus carica subgenus Eusyce is the only member of genus cultivated for fruit. It is originated from Southern Arabia (native to semi-desert regions. Fig is under cultivation since ancient times.
The fig is believed to be indigenous to Western Asia and to have been distributed by man throughout the Mediterranean area. It has been cultivated for thousands of years, remnants of figs having been found in excavations of Neolithic sites traced to at least 5,000 B.C.
As time went on, the fig-growing territory stretched from Afghanistan to southern Germany and the Canary Islands. Pliny was aware of 29 types. Figs were introduced into England sometime between 1525 and 1548. It is not clear when the common fig entered China but by 1550 it was reliably reported to be in Chinese gardens. European types were taken to China, Japan, India, South Africa and Australia.
The Fig plays an important part in Latin mythology. It was dedicated to Bacchus and employed in religious ceremonies. The wolf that suckled Romulus and Remus rested under a Fig tree, which was therefore held sacred by the Romans, and Ovid states that among the celebrations of the first day of the year by Romans, Figs were offered as presents.
The inhabitants of Cyrene crowned themselves with wreaths of Figs when sacrificing to Saturn, holding him to be the discoverer of the fruit. Pliny speaks also of the Wild Fig, which is mentioned also in Homer, and further classical references to the Fig are to be found in Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Varro and Columella.
The first figs in the New World were planted in Mexico in 1560. Figs were introduced into California when the San Diego Mission was established in 1769. Later, many special varieties were received from Europe and the eastern United States where the fig reached Virginia in 1669.
The Smyrna fig was brought to California in 1881-82 but it was not until 1900 that the wasp was introduced to serve as the pollinating agent and make commercial fig culture possible.
From Virginia, fig culture spread to the Carolinas, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. The tree was planted in Bermuda in early times and was common around Bahamian plantations in Colonial days. It became a familiar dooryard plant in the West Indies, and at medium and low altitudes in Central America and northern South America.
There are fair- sized plantations on mountainsides of Honduras and at low elevations on the Pacific side of Costa Rica. From Florida to northern South America and in India only the common fig is grown. Chile and Argentina grow the types suited to cooler zones.
The current major production areas are California ranks second after Turkey, and ahead of Spain, Greece and Portugal. Production from 1996 was 14,000 tons. Morphologically it is called as syconium, which is a vegetative, fleshy tissue, with tiny true fruits enclosed inside.
While the ancient history of the fig centers around the Mediterranean region, and it is most commonly cultivated in mild-temperate climates, it nevertheless has its place in tropical and subtropical horticulture. It is unique in a genus embracing perhaps over 1,000 species, mostly giant rubber trees, and mostly tropical. It is almost universally known simply as fig, common fig, or edible fig.
The name is very similar in French (figue), German (feige), Italian and Portuguese (figo). In Spanish it is higo or brevo. Haitians give it the name, figue France, to distinguish it from the small, dried bananas called figs.
The fig is a tree of small dimensions, 10 to 30 ft (3-9 m) high, with numerous spreading branches and a trunk rarely more than 7 in (17.5 cm) in diameter. The trees live to a great age.
The Fig produces naturally two sets of shoots and two crops of fruit in the season. The first shoots generally show young Figs in July and August but those in England rarely ripen and should therefore be rubbed off.
There is sometimes a failure in the Fig crop, many immature receptacles dropping off in consequence of the pistils of the florets not having been duly fertilized by the pollen of the stamens. It is supposed that fertilization is caused naturally by the entry of insects through the very small orifice which remains open in the flowering Fig.
Fig growers therefore adopt an artificial means of ensuring fertilization- a small feather is inserted and turned round in the internal cavity, the pollen thus being brushed against the pistils.
This process is called ‘Caprification,’ from the Latin caprificus (a wild Fig), as the same result was originally obtained in the countries where the Fig grows wild, by placing branches of the Wild Fig in flower over the cultivated bushes, so that the pollen might be shaken out over the orifices of their receptacles, thus ensuring the development of the young fruit.
It contains copious milky latex. The root system is typically shallow and spreading, sometimes covering 50 ft (15 m) of ground, but in permeable soil some of the roots may descend to 20 ft (6 m).The roots are free from stagnant water and they are sheltered from cold, while exposed to a hot sun, which ripens the fruit perfectly.
The deciduous leaves are palmate, deeply divided into 3 to 7 main lobes, these more shallowly lobed and irregularly toothed on the margins. The blade is up to 10 in (25 cm) in length and width, fairly thick, rough on the upper surface, softly hairy on the underside.
What is commonly accepted as a “fruit” is technically a synconium, that is, a fleshy, hollow receptacle with a small opening at the apex partly closed by small scales. It may be obovoid, turbinate, or pear-shaped, 1 to 4 in (2.5-10 cm) long, and varies in color from yellowish- green to coppery, bronze, or dark-purple.
Tiny flowers are massed on the inside wall. In the case of the common fig, the flowers are all female and need no pollination. There are 3 other types, the “Caprifig” which has male and female flowers requiring visits by a tiny wasp, Blastophaga grossorum; the “Smyrna” fig, needing crosspollination by Caprifigs in order to develop normally; and the “San Pedro” fig which is intermediate, its first crop independent like the common fig, its second crop dependent on pollination.
The skin of the fig is thin and tender, the fleshy wall is whitish, pale-yellow, or amber, or more or less pink, rose, red or purple; juicy and sweet when ripe, gummy with latex when unripe. Seeds may be large, medium, small or minute and range in number from 30 to 1,600 per fruit.
Fig is a deciduous tree and grows in subtropical areas. The wood is soft, pithy, bark is generally smooth and free of fissures, however ‘burrknots’ often occur on lower trunk and roots, nodal swellings form under and on both sides of leaf scars; leaves are large, petiolate, 3-7 lobed to almost entire (leaves aid in cultivar identification); bears morphologically unusual fruit called syconium which is almost entirely vegetative peduncular tissue (true fruits are tiny pedicellate druplets within).
Fig is a gynodioecious species and some female types need pollination while others set fruits parthenocarpically. Pollination is effected by a wasp, which develops inside the syconium of a male fig. This symbiotic relationship is a classic case of coevolution between plant and insect.
They are of two types:
1. Monoecious nonedible capri fig – It serves as a pollenizer.
2. Pistillate edible fig – In this pollination is achieved by fig wasp (Blastophaga psenes L.), which colonizes the syconium of the capri fig in a symbiotic relation; lateral bearing; 5-year generation time.
Fig fruits are often consumed as dried or canned. As a fresh fruit, it has a luscious taste. Fruits have been prized over centuries for the medicinal and dietary properties. Its cultivation is mostly confined to western parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow and Saharanpur), Karnataka (Bellary, Chitradurga and Sriangapatna) and Tamil Nadu (Coimbatore).
Fig is a highly nutritious fruit. It is rich in calories (269), proteins and calcium (higher than milk), iron and highest fibre content. Fig has nutritive index of 11, as against 9, 8 and 6 for apple, raisin and date respectively. The chemical composition and flavour of fig varies with the cultivar. The total sugar content of fresh fig is 16% and of dried is 52%.
The edible portion of dried fig (100 g) supplies protein (4 g), carbohydrate (69 g), fat (1 g), calcium (200 mg), iron (4 mg), Vitamin A (1001U) and thiamine (0.1 mg). Fig is valued for its laxative properties and is used in the treatment of skin infection. The fruits help to maintain acid-alkali balance of the body. Latex is useful to coagulate milk.
2. Climate and Soil
Required for Cultivating Fig:
Fig tree is a deciduous, and subtropical. It favours areas having arid or semi- arid environment, high summer temperature, plenty of sunshine and moderate winter. The plant has better threshold limit for higher temperature than for the lower. Although plants can survive temperature as high as 45 °C, the fruit quality deteriorates beyond 39 °C.
Mature trees can withstand temperature up to 4°C, but young ones need protection. However, deciduous nature of fig allows the plant to resist temperature as low as – 10 °C, when in dormancy. In mild climate, plants remain evergreen, lack well-defined flowering and fruiting season, and sometimes produce long barren limbs.
In southern India, Marseilles flourishes on hills above 5,000 ft (1,525 m). In tropical areas generally, figs thrive between 2,600 and 5,900 ft (800-1,800 m). The tree can tolerate 10° to 20° of frost in favorable sites. It should have a dry climate with light early spring rains if it is intended for the production of fresh fruit.
Rains during fruit development and ripening are detrimental to the crop, causing the fruits to split. The semi-arid tropical and subtropical regions of the world are ideal for fig-growing if means of irrigation are available. But very hot, dry spells will cause fruit-drop even if the trees are irrigated.
Climate has an important bearing on size, shape and colour of skin and pulp. A relatively cool climate stimulates production of larger and elongated fruits. Climatic conditions during fruit development considerably influence the fruit quality. Very high temperatures (>39 °C) induce premature fruit ripening. High humidity results in fruit splitting, while hot breeze during ripening leads to sweet but small fruits.
The fig can be grown on a wide range of soils; light sand, rich loam, heavy clay or limestone, providing there is sufficient depth and food drainage. Medium to heavy, calcareous well-drained, deep (about 1 m) soil having pH of 7-8 is ideally suited for fig cultivation. Sandy soil that is medium-dry and contains a good deal of lime is preferred when the crop is intended for drying. Highly acid soils are unsuitable. The pH should be between 6.0 and 6.5. The tree is fairly tolerant of moderate salinity.
The fig can be grown well even on light sandy, shallow soils, deep soils encourage better root establishment. The fruits produced on fertile, light soils are better suited for drying. The crop can tolerate drought, salts (chlorides and sulphates) but is sensitive to sodium carbonate and boron salts. In general, climate rather than soil is a limiting factor for its cultivation.
3.
Propagation of Fig:
Although it is possible to propagate fig from seeds, cuttings, layers, grafts and by tissue culture, commercially cuttings are used for multiplication.
Fig trees have been raised from seed, even seed extracted from commercial dried fruits. Ground or air-layering can be done satisfactorily, and rapid mass multiplication by tissue culture has been achieved in Greece. Trees of unsatisfactory varieties can be top-worked by shield- or patch-budding, or cleft- or bark-grafting.
The tree is commonly propagated by cuttings of mature wood 2 to 3 years of age, ½ to ¾ in (1.25-2 cm) thick and 8 to 12 in (20-30 cm) long. About 25 cm long cuttings having 3-6 nodes are usually made from wood of previous season and planted in moist sand either in seed pans or in nursery beds. This can be taken up during pruning or just after the onset of monsoon. The cuttings are raised in shade with regular watering.
Planting must be done within 24 hours but, first, the upper, slanting end of the cutting should be treated with a sealant to protect it from disease, and the lower, flat, end with a root-promoting hormone. After about 75 days, they are transplanted to polythene bags containing garden soil, sand and farmyard manure (1:1:1), and field planted about 4-6 months later.
For success the cuttings must have the following features:
1. Use cuttings with short internodes.
2. They should be collected from basal portion of the shoots located in the lower part of the crown.
3. Store the cuttings in moist sawdust or sphagnum moss for about 4 weeks at room temperature.
4. Treat the cuttings with IBA (auxin).
5. Pre-girdling at the base of canes (removing 2.5 cm width bark a month prior to taking cuttings.
6. Plant the cuttings keeping the slant at 80° angle.
Side grafting on F. glomerata and F. palmate may be adopted for circumventing nematode problem in the soil. Brown Turkey, as rootstock, imparts vegetative vigour in fig Excel, Conadria and Deanna. Shield or patch budding, cleft or bark grafting enables to top-work a desirable genotype on established but inferior tree. Protocols are now available for micro-propagation of fig shoot tips.
4. Planting of a Fig Tree:
Cuttings are raised in nursery beds and are set out in the field after 12 or 15 months. They may be spaced from 6 to 25 ft (1.8 to 7.5 m) apart depending on the cultivar and the fertility of the soil. A spacing of 13 x 13 ft (4 x 4 m) allows 260 trees/acre (625 trees/ha). In Colombia, growers are advised to set the trees at 10 x 10 ft (3×3 m) on level land, 10 x 13 ft (3 x 4 m) on slopes.
Fruiting will commence in less than a year from planting out. Young plants will benefit from shading with palm fronds or other material until they are well established. A fertilizer formula of 10-30-10 or 10-20-20 NPK is recommended 2 oz (about 60 g) each for young plants and 1/5 lb (100 g) each for adults, plus minor elements at the rate of 1 oz (30 g) per tree every 6 months.
Rainy season is the best time for planting. The layout for planting can be either square or hexagonal system.
Square System:
It is more common and desirable. Spacing depends on variety and soil type. The recommended spacing for Poona fig is 5 m x 5 m (400 plants/ha).
Excel and Conadria:
The spacing 2.5 m x 2.5 m (1,600 plants/ha). Pits of 60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm size are dug and exposed to sun for about 15 days, and then filled with a mixture of compost, top soil and sand (1:1:1); 2 kg of neem or castor cake/pit.
Planting can preferably be taken up on an overcast day. When grafts are used the graft-joint should remain above the ground level. Once the tree is planted the soil around the plant should be tamped firmly. Water is applied immediately after planting.
Fig trees are cut back severely in fall or winter, depending on whether the crop is desired the following summer or fall. Branches are often notched to induce lateral branching and increase the yield. If there are heavy rains, drainage ditches should be dug to prevent water-logging. Fig trees remain productive up to 12 or 15 years of age and thereafter the crop declines though the trees may live to a very advanced age.
5. Training and Pruning
of Fig Trees:
Fig trees are trained initially to a single stem to encourage a wide, symmetrical crown with a mechanically strong framework having evenly distributed laterals. The tree is allowed to grow for about a metre and then it is topped, which induces side branches all-round the main stem. The interior of the bush should be maintained free of suckers, dry and sick branches.
Pruning in fig is practised annually to stimulate production of new growth, and bearing fruits. The time and type of pruning vary with location, variety and number of crops harvested annually. The best time to secure a mature crop is hot, dry summer. Therefore, pruning may be done 4-5 months in advance.
Generally, a single marketable crop is harvested yearly in our country. Either heavy or light pruning can be adopted in fig. When heavy pruning is practised, trees are headed back severely every year, leaving about 2 buds on each one- year-old shoot. If light pruning is adopted, shoots which have yielded fruits are lightly headed back after harvesting. Copper fungicide should be used to protect the cut ends.
Notching is practised sometimes in Poona fig for activating dormant buds before the start of vigorous growth. Usually 1-2 buds are selected for notching in the middle portion of about 8-month-old canes. Notching involves removing of small slice of bark immediately above the dormant bud, giving 2 slanting cuts as deep as the bark.
Notch should be about 2.5 cm long and the breadth depends on thickness of the shoot. The cut checks the free flow of sap and stimulates the bud just below it to throw out a fruiting shot. The techniques are useful for induction of fruiting laterals on vigorous upright branches and to increase the total bearing area of the plant.
6. Manuring and Fertilization
of Fig:
Nutrient requirements vary according to the variety and soil type. A general manure and fertilizer recommendation for fig is given in Table 26.3. For young plants fertilizers can be applied with the onset of monsoon and, just after pruning for those which have commenced yielding.
The annual requirement can be best divided into 2 applications, half after pruning and remaining 2 months later when the syconia are developing. Nitrogen is essential for rapid growth of foliage and development of syconia, fruit colour and maturation and K for yield and quality. Better fruit quality can be achieved if N and K are applied in the form of ammonium sulphate and sulphate of potash respectively.
Some soil may be deficient in micronutrients. General guidelines for correcting micronutrient deficiencies are given in Table 26.4. However, a grower should get the soil tested and consult the soil specialist for specific advice. Application of compost, which is done mostly in the beginning of monsoon also supplies micronutrients to some extent.
Aftercare:
After the plants are set in the field, regular watering is essential until they are well established. A basin of 60 cm diameter should be prepared around the plant and is widened as the canopy size increases. Basin cleaning is taken up regularly to keep it weed-free. The side shoots and suckers should be removed as and when they emerge.
Maintenance of wee-free orchard is very important. During early years of orchard, raising green manure or intercrop is recommended. Green manure sunnhemp suppresses the weed growth and augments the supply of organic matter in the sol. Intercropping vegetables and legumes is beneficial.
Fig plants can sustain heat and drought. But commercial fig production is possible if plans are timely irrigated. Such plants produce greater shoot growth and higher yields of superior quality fruits. Loose and sandy soils require larger quantities of water than heavy soil. Either drip or flood irrigation can be practised. The drip irrigation minimizes water requirement and allows fertilizer application through irrigation water.
Flood irrigation may be repeated every 10 days in summer. The frequency may be adjusted depending on the soil type and weather. Excessive irrigation during fruit development causes the terminal buds to initiate growth at the expense of fruit development. Also excessive irrigation or heavy rains during ripening result in fruit cracking and production of insipid fruits.
In the absence of adequate and regular irrigation the fruit development is affected, resulting in small and hard fruits. Once harvesting of fruits is completed, irrigation may be reduced and regular schedule is resumed after pruning. If drip irrigation is adopted, 15-20 litres of water/day/plant may be supplied. The thumb rule is to replenish 50% of pan evaporation losses.
7. Harvesting and Postharvest Management
of Fig Trees:
Fig trees usually bear 2 crops a year, the early season (breba) fruits being inferior and frequently too acid and only those of the second, or main, crop of actual value. In Colombia and Venezuela, some fruits are borne throughout the year but there are 2 principal crops, one in May and June and the other in December and January.
Large-scale fig producers in California spray ethephon to speed up ripening and then wind-machines are drawn past the trees or helicopter over-flights are made to hasten fruit drop, thus shortening the harvest period by as much as 10 days in order to avoid impending rain and insect attack. Proper timing of the growth regulator is crucial to fruit quality.
Quality Characteristics and Criteria:
Skin color and flesh firmness of fresh figs are related to their quality and postharvest life. Flavor is influenced by stage of ripeness, and overripe figs can become undesirable due to fermentative products. Other quality indices include absence of defects (such as bird-peck, sunburn, scab, skin break, and stem shrivel), insects, and decay.
Horticultural Maturity Indices:
Fresh market figs must be harvested when almost fully ripe and firm to be of good eating quality. Skin color and flesh firmness are dependable maturity and ripeness indices- ‘Black Mission’ figs should be light to dark purple rather than black and should yield to slight pressure; ‘Calimyrna’ figs should be yellowish- white to light yellow and firm.
Figs for drying should fully ripen and partially dry on the tree before harvesting and completion of drying to about 17% moisture using either solar drying or a dehydrator at 60 °C (140 °F).
Fresh figs’ skin color and flesh firmness are related to their quality and postharvest-life. Flavor is influenced by stage of ripeness and overripe figs can become undesirable due to fermentative products. Other quality indices include absence of defects (such as bird-peck, sunburn, scab, skin break, and stem shrivel), insects, and decay.
8. Grades, Sizes and Packaging
of Fig:
Fully mature fresh figs are soft, easily bruised, and highly perishable. Figs are hand-picked and packed in a one-layer box. Pickers wear gloves as a protection against fig juice. ‘Mission’ fig, a black fig with distinctive flavor, and ‘Calimyrna’ fig, a large yellowish fig, are the main cultivars sold fresh in the U.S.
Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Considerations:
CA combinations of 5 to 10% O2 + 15 to 20% CO2 are effective in decay control, firmness retention, and reduction of respiration and ethylene production. Postharvest life at optimum temperature and RH depends upon cultivar and ripeness at harvest, but ranges from 1 to 2 weeks in air and 3 to 4 weeks in CA for California-grown ‘Black Mission’ and ‘Calimyrna’ figs.
Retail Outlet Display Considerations:
Figs should be displayed at 0 to 2 °C (32 to 36 °F) and dry with a RH of 90 to 95%.
Chilling Sensitivity:
Figs are not chilling sensitive.
Responses to Ethylene:
Figs are slightly sensitive to ethylene action on stimulating softening and decay severity, especially if kept at 5°C (41°F) or higher temperatures.
Figs are climacteric fruit and are slightly sensitive to ethylene action on stimulating softening and decay severity, especially if kept at 5 °C (41 °F) or higher temperatures.
Harvesting of figs depends on their use. The fruits may be picked from the tree or gathered normally or by mechanical sweepers after they fall to the ground. Brunswick is so tender it must be picked when slightly unripe in order to be firm enough for processing. Workers must wear gloves and protective clothing because of the latex.
In India, fresh figs are mostly sold as fresh. Fresh figs should be harvested when they are soft and slightly wilted at the neck and droop and little or no milky latex flow at the cut end of the stalk. Sudden increase in fruit size and opening of ostiole are other maturity indices. Harvesting process is mechanized in some parts of the world.
In India, figs are hand-picked from the trees by cutting or twisting the neck at the stem end. The fruits are collected and spread in shallow trays. Since fresh figs are very delicate, extra care is required in handling.
Harvested fruits are spread out in the shade for a day so that the latex will dry a little. Then they are transported to processing plants in wooden boxes holding 22 to 33 lbs (10-15 kg). In India, a fig tree bears 180 to 360 fruits per year. Venezuelan growers expect 132 to 176 lbs (6-8 kg) per tree.
When figs are grown for drying, they are allowed to ripen and to dry partially on the tree and fall naturally to the ground. Hence, during this period, area beneath the canopy should be maintained clean and dry. Once in 2-3 days, the figs are gathered for further processing.
Bearing in fig commences a year after planting, the life span of the tree being 35 years. The harvesting season varies with region and the yield depends on variety and cultivation practices. The second crop is mostly of poor quality fruits.
Fresh figs are very perishable. At 40° to 43° F (4.44° to 6.11 °C) and 75% relative humidity, figs remain in good condition for 8 days but have a shelf life of only 1 to 2 days when removed from storage. At 50°F (10°C) and relative humidity of 85%, figs can be kept no longer than 21 days. They remain in good condition for 30 days when stored at 32° to 35° F (0°-1.67° C). If frozen whole, they can be maintained for several months.
Fig fruits are climacteric therefore, a little extent ripening continues once the fruit it harvested. After picking, figs are carefully sorted. The diseased and damaged ones should be removed from the lots.
Fruits are graded for size as 50 g, 40-50 g and 30-40 g. Fruits are packed in a corrugated box carton of 3 ply having 12 holes for ventilation and can be arranged in two layers, each of 28 (4 rows of 7 figs in a line). Cushioning of fruits may be done with leaves.
9.
Varieties of Fig:
There are many cultivated varieties in each class of figs. In fact, over 700 varietal names are in use but many are synonyms. Here we need only present those that are suited to warm areas and do not require pollination.
Most popular among these are ‘Celeste’ and ‘Brown Turkey’, followed by ‘Brunswick’ and ‘Marseilles’, described as follows:
1. Adriatic (White Adriatic, or Grosse Verte):
It is turbinate with short, thick neck and short stalk; above medium size; green to yellowish-green with red pulp; of distinctive flavor and very good quality. In early, minor, breba crop the fruits are oblique-pyriform, large, green, often tinged with purplish-red with dark-red pulp and strong flavor.
2. Black Ischia (Blue Ischia):
It is an Italian variety; main crop is elongated pear shaped with many noticeable ribs; short neck and short to medium stalk; large, 2 ½ in (6.35 cm) long and 1 ½ in (3.8 cm) wide; dark purple-black except at the apex where it is lighter and greenish; there are many golden flecks; skin is wholly coated with thin, dark-blue bloom; eye open, with red- violet scales; pulp is violet-red, of good quality. In the breba crop, there are few ribs and mostly indistinct; the fruit is small, about 1 ½ in (3.8 cm) long and of the same width at the apex; the pulp is red to greenish-amber; of poor flavor. The tree is particularly ornamental and the leaves are glossy, only shallowly 3 lobed. A heavy bearer.
3. Brown Turkey:
It is broad-pyriform, usually without neck; medium to large; copper-colored; pulp is whitish shading to pink or light red; of good to very good quality; with few seeds. The tree is prolific. The main crop, beginning in mid-July, is large; the early, breba, crop is small. This cultivar is well adapted to warm climates. It is grown on all the islands of Hawaii.
4. Brunswick (Magnolia):
The leaves narrow-lobed; fruits of main crop are oblique-turbinate, mostly without neck; fruit stalk thick, often swollen; fruit of medium size; bronze or purple-brown; pulp whitish near skin, shading to pink or amber; hollow in center; of fair to good quality; nearly seedless. Ripens over a long season. Breba crop poor; large, bronze-skinned; flesh light-red; coarse.
5. Celeste:
It is pear-shaped, ribbed, sometimes with a short neck and slender stalk to ¾ in (2 cm) long; the eye (opening at apex) is closed; the fruit is small to medium; the skin purplish-brown or bronze tinged with purple and covered with bloom; the pulp whitish or pinkish amber, of rich flavor and good quality; almost seedless. Main crop is heavy but of short duration. There is rarely an early, “breba”, crop.
6. Genoa (White Genoa):
It is pyriform or turbinate, very faintly ribbed; neck thick and short, or absent; above medium in size; skin downy, greenish-yellow; pulp greenish-white near skin, mostly amber tinged with red; hollow; of fair quality. Fruits of breba crop oblique-obovate with thick neck and short stalk; yellowish-green externally; pulp light-red; of fair to good quality.
7. Marseilles (White Marseilles, or Lemon):
The fruits of main crop round to oblate without neck; on slender stalks to ¼ in (6 mm) long; of medium size. Those of breba crop, turbinate with short, thick neck and short stalk; yellow-green with small green flecks; pulp white, sweet; seeds large, conspicuous of fair quality.
8. Poona:
It is bell-shaped, of medium size, weighing about 1 1/2 oz (42 g); thin-skinned; light-purple with red flesh, of sweet, good flavor.
9. Purple Genca (Black Genoa; Black Spanish):
It is oblong, broad at apex, narrow at base; large; very dark-purple with thick blue bloom; pulp yellowish becoming reddish to red at the center; juicy, with sweet, rich flavor. At Saharanpur, India, Brown Turkey, Bangalore, Black Ischia and ‘Lucknow’ are successfully grown. Around Bombay, there is only one variety, ‘Poona’.
Varieties vary for vegetative vigour, pollination requirement, yield, fruit size, shape, skin colour, pulp quality and odour. Large sized figs belong to common fig group.
Poona fig is most popular cultivar grown in India. Bangalore, Bellary, Coimbatore, Daulatabad, Dindigul, Ganjam, Hindupur, Lucknow and Saharanpur, have clearly acquired the name from the location in which they are cultivated. Most of them resemble in plant and fruit morphology to that of Poona fig.
Possibly these are either clones or ecotypes and hardly they warrant varietal status. Black Ischia, Shahi, Maisram and Brown Turkey have not achieved prominence. Dinkar, and improvement over Daultabad for yield and fruit quality, is gaining commercial significance.
Some well-known fig hybrids from California have performed well in comparison to Poona fig under Bangalore conditions. They produce fruits parthenocarpically. Excel and Conardia figs that develop smaller canopies are suitable for high-density planting. The fruits do not split like Poona and Conardia fig. Conardia, Excel and Deanna are good for drying, canning and table purposes respectively.
10. Uses of Fig:
i. Food Value:
Figs have long been employed for their nutritive value and in both their fresh and dried state form a large part of the food of the natives of both Western Asia and Southern Europe. A sort of cake made by mashing up inferior Figs serves in parts of the Greek Archipelago as a substitute for bread. Alcohol is obtained from fermented Figs in some southern countries, and a kind of wine, still made from the ripe fruit, was known to the Ancients and is mentioned by Pliny under the name of Sycites.
Some people peel the skin back from the stem end to expose the flesh for eating out of-hand. The more fastidious eater holds the fruit by the stem end, cuts the fruit into quarters from the apex, spreads the sections apart and lifts the flesh from the skin with a knife blade, discarding the stem and skin. Commercially, figs are peeled by immersion for 1 minute in boiling lye water or a boiling solution of sodium bicarbonate.
In warm, humid climates, figs are generally eaten fresh and raw without peeling, and they are often served with cream and sugar. Peeled or unpeeled, the fruits may be merely stewed or cooked in various ways, as in pies, puddings, cakes, bread or other bakery products, or added to ice cream mix. Home owners preserve the whole fruits in sugar syrup or prepare them as jam, marmalade, or paste.
Fig paste (with added wheat and corn flour, whey, syrup, oils and other ingredients) forms the filling for the well-known bakery product, Fig Newton. The fruits are sometimes candied whole commercially. In Europe; western Asia, northern Africa and California, commercial canning and drying of figs are industries of great importance.
Some drying is done in Poona, India, and there is currently interest in solar-drying in Guatemala. Usually, the fruits are allowed to fully ripen and partially dehydrate on the tree, then are exposed to sulphur fumes for about a half hour, placed out in the sun and turned daily to achieve uniform drying, and pressed flat during the 5- to 7-day process. ‘Black Mission’ and ‘Kadota’ figs are suitable for freezing whole in syrup, or sliced and layered with sugar.
Dried cull figs have been roasted and ground as a coffee substitute. In Mediterranean countries, low-grade figs are converted into alcohol. An alcoholic extract of dried figs has been used as a flavoring for liqueurs and tobacco.
ii. Toxicity:
The latex of the unripe fruits and of any part of the tree may be severely irritating to the skin if not removed promptly. It is an occupational hazard not only to fig harvesters and packers but also to workers in food industries, and to those who employ the latex to treat skin diseases.
iii. Other Uses:
a. Seed Oil:
Dried seeds contain 30% of a fixed oil containing the fatty acids: oleic, 18.99%; linoleic, 33.72%; linolenic, 32.95%; palmitic, 5.23%; stearic, 2.1 8%; arachidic, 1.05%. It is an edible oil and can be used as a lubricant.
Fig leaves are used for fodder in India. They are plucked after the fruit harvest. Analyses show – moisture, 67.6%; protein, 4.3%; fat, 1.7%; crude fiber, 4.7%; ash, 5.3%; N-free extract, 16.4%; pentosans, 3.6%; carotene on a dry weight basis, 0.002%. Also present are bergaptene, stigmasterol, sitosterol, and tyrosine.
In southern France, there is some use of fig leaves as a source of perfume material called fig-leaf absolute – a dark-green to brownish-green, semi-solid mass or thick liquid of herbaceous-woody-mossy odor, employed in creating woodland scents.
c. Latex:
The latex contains caoutchouc (2.4%), resin, albumin, cerin, sugar and malic acid, rennin, proteolytic enzymes, diastase, esterase, lipase, catalase, and peroxidase. It is collected at its peak of activity in early morning, dried and powdered for use in coagulating milk to make cheese and junket. From it can be isolated the protein-digesting enzyme ficin which is used for tenderizing meat, rendering fat, and clarifying beverages.
In tropical America, the latex is often used for washing dishes, pots and pans. It was an ingredient in some of the early commercial detergents for household use but was abandoned after many reports of irritated or inflamed hands in housewives.
d. Medicinal Uses:
Figs are used for their mild, laxative action, and are employed in the preparation of laxative confections and syrups, usually with senna and carminatives. It is considered that the laxative property resides in the saccharine juice of the fresh fruit and in the dried fruit is probably due to the indigestible seeds and skin.
The three preparations of Fig of the British Pharmacopoeia are Syrup of Figs, a mild laxative, suitable for administration to children; Aromatic Syrup of Figs, Elixir of Figs, or Sweet Essence of Figs, an excellent laxative for children and delicate persons, is compounded of compound tincture of rhubarb, liquid extract of senna, compound spirit of orange, liquid extract of cascara and Syrup of Figs.
The Compound Syrup of Figs is a stronger preparation, composed of liquid extract of senna, syrup of rhubarb and Syrup of Figs, and is more suitable for adults.
The latex is widely applied on warts, skin ulcers and sores. In Latin America, figs are much employed as folk remedies. A decoction of the fruits is gargled to relieve sore throat; figs boiled in milk are repeatedly packed against swollen gums; the fruits are much used as poultices on tumors and other abnormal growths.
The leaf decoction is taken as a remedy for diabetes and calcifications in the kidneys and liver. Fresh and dried figs have long been appreciated for their laxative action.
Figs are demulcent as well as nutritive. Demulcent decoctions are prepared from them and employed in the treatment of catarrhal affections of the nose and throat.
Roasted and split into two portions, the soft pulpy interior of Figs may be applied as emollient poultices to gumboils, dental abscesses and other circumscribed maturating tumours. They were used by Hezekiah as a remedy for boils 2,400 years ago.
The milky juice of the freshly-broken stalk of a Fig has been found to remove warts on the body. When applied, a slightly inflamed area appears round the wart, which then shrivels and falls off. The milky juice of the stems and leaves is very acrid and has been used in some countries for raising blisters.