Exotics

Abstract

This chapter will discuss a selected range of so-called ‘exotic’ fruit. These are typically tropical in origin and at present represent only a very small proportion of the fruit imported into Western Europe and America. However, demand for many of these fruit is increasing within western societies and a progressive increase in trade will probably occur in the future. Some of the tropical fruit now entering the market place, their sites of origin and areas of production are listed in Table 5.1. Photographs of a representative range of exotics are shown in Plates 1–5. A major problem preventing the full commercial exploitation of these fruit is a lack of suitable postharvest handling techniques to ensure a relatively cheap and reliable supply of fruit. Several postharvest ripening control methods have been investigated for these fruit. A full description of these is outside the scope of this chapter, but some methods of interest have been summarized in Table 5.2. The postharvest handling of these fruit would benefit significantly from detailed information on their ripening physiology and biochemistry. However, these fruits have, in general, been poorly studied in this respect. In some cases, postharvest problems, for instance astringency in persimmon and cracking in lychee, have initiated quite intense investigation while other aspects of the biochemistry of ripening in these fruit have been largely ignored.