Tropical Fruits

Abstract

The tropics with relatively warm climate occupy nearly 40 % of the earth’s surface supporting nearly half of the world’s population. The temperature variations are less significant. Majority of the world’s biodiversity is adapted to the diverse tropical conditions ranging from wet tropical rainforests to deserts and snow covered high mountains. About half of the plant families are tropical (Crane and Lidgard 1989; Meyer et al. 2000). Most botanical families have at least one species of tropical fruit. Asia has about 500 tropical fruit species, the Indian subcontinent about 300, with about 1200 in Africa. Of these fruits only a few are found in local markets and fewer are exported. Ninety per cent of the export market is made up of citrus, banana and plantain, mango and pineapples. A further 5 % is made up of papaya, avocado and dates. The remainder is made up of more than 20 species, ranging from breadfruit and litchi to mangosteen, passion fruit and coconut. More than 90–95 % of tropical fruits are not exported from the producing country but are consumed locally. Fruit crops while growing under particular climatic conditions develop their own pollination system. This unique system remains as long as the plants are grown under similar conditions. The pollination ecology of different pollinators and their safety from pesticides for some fruit crops such as mango, papaya and banana is discussed below: