Publication from
Fruitipedia, Encyclopedia of the Edible Fruits of the World
by Dr. Chiranjit Parmar
Fig
Ficus
carica
Input from Dr. S. H. Jalikop, Division of Fruit
Crops.
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research. Bangladore, India
Fig
is under cultivation since ancient times. Morphologically it
is
called as ‘syconium’, which is a vegetative, fleshy tissue,
with tiny true fruits enclosed inside.
Fig is a gynodioecious species and some female type’s need
pollination while others set fruits parthenocarpically.
Pollination is effected by a wasp, which develops inside the syconium
of male fig. This symbiotic relationship is a classical case
of
co-evolution between a plant and insect.
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. In India,
its
cultivation is mostly confined to western parts of Maharashtra and
Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (Lucknow and Saharanpur), Karanataka (Bellary,
Cnitradurga and Srirangapatna) 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 (100g) supplies protein (4g), carbohydrate (69g),
fat (1g), calcium (200mg), iron (4mg), vitamin A (100iu) and thiamine
(0.1mg). 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.
Types of fig
Figs have been grouped into 4 types based on sex of the flower and
pollination. The salient features of the fig types are given
in
Table 1. Only caprifig produces pollen, while other 3
pistillate
types are dependent on pollen of caprifig or develop fruits
parthenocarpically. Commercially grown Indian figs belong to
‘common’ fig group and set fruits parthenocarpically.
Fig
fruits
Climate
and soil
Fig
tree is a deciduous, and subtropical. It favours area having
arid
or semi arid environment, high summer temperature, plenty of sunshine
and moderate winter. The plant has better threshold limit for
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.
Climate has an important bearing on size, shape and color 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.
Table 1. Horticultural classification of fig
| Type |
Popular
varieties |
Flower
type |
Mode
of pollination |
No.
of crops |
Listed
varieties |
Other
features |
| Edible fig |
Poona |
Long
Styled
Pistillate
Flowers |
Female
wasps emerging from the spring caprifig enter Smyrna
fig for oviposition and in the process effect
pollination.
First (breba) crop.
Fruit develops without
pollination but not second (main) crop. |
1 |
470 |
Seeds are hollow
with out inner kernels and the embryo. Some varieties produce a small
breba or first crop isn
addition to main or second crop. Originated from the
caprifig. The fertile seeds contribute to the excellent fruit
quality.
Commercially not very important
some white large fruited types are grown in mediterranean
countries for drying.
A primitive type. Fruits
have almost no edible value, but serve as an abode for fig wasp and
Smyrna and San Pedro figs. |
| Conardia |
| Mission |
| Kadota |
Brown
Turkey |
Smyrna
(lopinjir) |
Calimyrna
(sari lop) |
Long
Styled
Pistillate
Flowers |
2 |
116 |
| Zidi |
| Taranimt |
| San pedro |
King |
Long
Styled
Pistillate
Flowers |
21 |
| Gentile |
| San
Pedro |
| Dauphine |
| Lampeiria |
| Wild
fig |
Lampeiria |
|
Caprifig
(male or goat fig) |
Roading 3 |
Short styled pistillate flowers and functional staminate flowers near the ostiole |
Self fertile
(persistant) syconia |
3 |
20 |
| Samson |
| Stanford |
| Brawley |
Medium
to heavy, calcareous sell drained, deep (about 1m) soil having pH of
7-8 is ideally suited for fig cultivation. Although it does
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.
Varieties
Nearly
700 varieties of fig have been listed in the world. The most
popular varieties of fig are given in Table 1. Varieties vary
for
vegetative vigour, pollination requirement, yield, fruit size, shape,
skin color, pulp quality and color. Large sized figs belong to
‘common fig ‘group.
Poona
fig is most popular cultivar grown in India. Bangalore,
Bellary,
Coimbatore, Daulatahad, Dindigual, 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.
Dinker,
an improvement over Daultabad for yield and fruit quality, is
gaining commercial significance.
Some well known fig hybrids from California have performed well in
India 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.
Fegra fig (Ficus palmata):
This is small fruited fig of excellent taste that grows wild in the
mid-hill region of the Western Himalayas. This fig has been described
in this website separately under the heading Fegra.
Propagation
Although
it is possible to propagate fig from seeds, cuttings, layers, grafts
and by tissue culture, commercially cuttings are used for
multiplication. 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. After about 75 days,
they
are transplanted to polythene bags containing garden soil, sand
farmyard manure (1:1:1), and field planted about 4-6 months later.
Higher success can be achieved by: (1) using cuttings with short
internodes, collected from basal portion of the shoots located in the
lower part of the crown; (2) storing of cuttings in moist sawdust or
sphagnum moss for about 4 weeds at room temperature; (3) treating with
growth regulators like IBA; (4) pre girdling at the base of canes
(removing 2.5 cm width bark) a month prior to taking cuttings; and (5)
planting cuttings in a slightly slanting (80°) position.
Side grafting on Ficus
glomerata and Ficus
palmata
may be adopted for circumventing nematode problem in the
soil.
Brown Trukey, as rootstock, imparts vegetative vigour in fig Excel,
Conardia 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.
Cultivation
Planting
The
best time for planting is the onset of the rainy season. The
layout for planting can be either square or hexagonal system.
The
square system is more common and desirable. Spacing depends on
variety and soil type. The recommended spacing for Poona fig is 5m x 5m
(400 plants /ha). It is 2.5m x 2.5m (1,600 plants/ha) for
Excel and Conardia.
Pits of 60cm x 60cm x 60cm 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.
Training and
pruning
Fig
trees are trained initially to 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
meter 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 practiced 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 running is
practiced, 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 practiced 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
shoot. The technique is useful for induction of fruiting
laterals
on vigorous upright braches and to increase the total bearing area of
the plant.
Manuring and
fertilizer
Nutrient
requirements vary according to the variety and soil type. A
general manure and fertilizer recommendation for fig is given in table
2. 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 color 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.
Table 2. Recommended dose of manures and
fertilizers for fig
Age of plant
(year) |
Organic manure
(kg) |
|
|
Inorganic manure
(g) |
|
| |
Farmyard manure |
Oil cake* |
N |
P |
K |
1-2
3-5
Above 5 |
15.0
25.0
40.0 |
0.5
1.0-1.5
2.0 |
75
150
300 |
50
100
200 |
50
100
200 |
*Neem, Pongamia or castor
Some
soils are may be deficient in micronutrients. General
guidelines
for correcting micronutrient deficiencies are given in
Table3. 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.
Table 3. Micronutrients to be applied for correcting deficiencies
| Micronutrients |
Soil application |
Foliar application* |
| Zinc |
30kg Zn SO4 |
3-4 sprays of 0.25% ZnSO4 (unneutralized)
at 10 day interval |
| Iron |
- |
3-4 sprays of 05% feSO4 at 10 days
interval |
| Boron |
12kg Borax /ha |
- |
| Magnesium |
50 kg MgSO4 /ha |
2-3 sprays of 0.5 %Mg SO4 at 10 day interval |
*Either soil or foliar application can be done. Foliar spray
is applied when the plants are flushing.
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 weed free orchard is very important. During
early
years of orchard, raising green manure or intercrop is
recommended. Green manure sun hemp suppresses the weed growth
and
augments the supply of organic matter in the soil.
Intercropping
vegetables and legumes is beneficial.
Irrigation
Fig
plants can sustain heat and drought. But commercial fig
production
is possible if plants 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
practiced. 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 regular schedule is
resumed after pruning. If drip irrigation is adopted, 15-20
liters
of water/ day/ plant may be supplied. The thumb rule is to
replenish 50% of pan evaporation losses.
Harvesting
and postharvest management
Harvesting
of figs depends on their use. About 90% of the figs produced
in
the world are dried. But figs produced in India 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. But in our country,
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 flesh figs are very delicate, extra care is
required
in handling.
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 year. The harvesting season varies with region and the
yield depends on variety and cultivation practices. The second
crop is mostly of poor quality fruits.
Fig is classified as a climacteric fruit, and to a little extent
ripening continues once the fruit is harvested. After picking,
figs are carefully sorted. The diseased and damaged ones are
culled. Fruits are grader for size as 50kg, 40-50g and 30-40g. They
are packed in a corrugated box carton of 3 ply having 12 holes for
ventilation. They are arranged in the carton in 2 layers, each
of
28 (4 rows of 7 figs in a line). Fig leaves are used for
cushioning. Owing to perishable nature of fruits, growers
prefer
to sell their produce to some extent in local or nearby markets. Figs
can be held for a short period (7-10 days), at 0°C and 85-90 % relative
humidity.
Figs are one of the first fruits to be preserved by
drying. Apart
from drying and canning, figs are processed into paste and jelly.
Physiological
disorder
Fig
is susceptible to sun burn, fruit splitting and fruit
drop. Sunburn is noticed mostly in young plants and those subjected to excessive
pruning. The trunk and shoots that are exposed to direct sun
are
prone to sunburn. The affected parts crack and the bark peels off,
providing easy access for fungi and other
infection. Developing a
good canopy by proper pruning and coating the exposed limbs with lime
protect the plants from sunburn. Fruit splitting is attributed
to
sudden change in atmospheric humidity during
ripening. This
makes the fruit unfit for consumption as the pulp is exposed to insect
and microbial infection. Fruit drop may result from excessive
drought and heat, cold nights or light frost. Lack of
pollination
also causes fruit drop in figs.
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