strawberry

Fragaria × ananassa, commonly known as strawberry or garden strawberry, is a hybrid species that is cultivated worldwide for its fruit. It is also called the pineapple strawberry, or ananas strawberry.^[1] The fruit (which is not a botanical berry, but an aggregate accessory fruit) is widely appreciated for its characteristic aroma, bright red color, juicy texture, and sweetness. It is consumed in large quantities, either fresh or in prepared foods such as preserves, fruit juice, pies, ice creams, and milkshakes. Artificial strawberry aroma is also widely used in many industrialized food products.
The garden strawberry was first bred in Brittany, France, in the 1750s via a cross of Fragaria virginiana from eastern North America and Fragaria chiloensis, which was brought from Chile by Amédée-François Frézier in 1714.^[2]
Cultivars of Fragaria × ananassa have replaced, in commercial production, the woodland strawberry, which was the first strawberry species cultivated in the early 17th century.^[3]
The strawberry is, in technical terms, an aggregate accessory fruit, meaning that the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries but from the receptacle that holds the ovaries.^[4] Each apparent "seed" (achene) on the outside of the fruit is actually one of the ovaries of the flower, with a seed inside it.^[4] In both culinary and botanical terms, the entire structure is considered a fruit.^[4]

Cultivation

Fragaria × ananassa 'Gariguette,' a cultivar grown in southern France

Strawberry cultivars vary widely in size, color, flavor, shape, degree of fertility, season of ripening, liability to disease and constitution of plant.^[5] Some vary in foliage, and some vary materially in the relative development of their sexual organs. In most cases, the flowers appear hermaphroditic in structure, but function as either male or female.^[6] For purposes of commercial production, plants are propagated from runners and, in general, distributed as either bare root plants or plugs. Cultivation follows one of two general models, annual plasticulture^[7] or a perennial system of matted rows or mounds.^[8] A small amount of strawberries are also produced in greenhouses during the off season.^[9]

A field using the plasticulture method

The bulk of modern commercial production uses the plasticulture system. In this method, raised beds are formed each year, fumigated, and covered with plastic to prevent weed growth and erosion. Plants, usually obtained from northern nurseries, are planted through holes punched in this covering, and irrigation tubing is run underneath. Runners are removed from the plants as they appear, in order to encourage the plants to put most of their energy into fruit development. At the end of the harvest season, the plastic is removed and the plants are plowed into the ground.^[7][10] Because strawberry plants more than a year or two old begin to decline in productivity and fruit quality, this system of replacing the plants each year allows for improved yields and denser plantings.^[7][10] However, because it requires a longer growing season to allow for establishment of the plants each year, and because of the increased costs in terms of forming and covering the mounds and purchasing plants each year, it is not always practical in all areas.^[10]
The other major method, which uses the same plants from year to year growing in rows or on mounds, is most common in colder climates.^[7][8] It has lower investment costs, and lower overall maintenance requirements.^[8] Yields are typically lower than in plasticulture.^[8]

A diorama created from beeswax by Dr. Henry Brainerd Wright at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum in Shreveport, Louisiana depicts strawberry harvesting. Strawberries are particularly grown in the southeastern portion of the state around Hammond.

A third method uses a compost sock. Plants grown in compost socks have been shown to produce significantly higher oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), flavonoids, anthocyanins, fructose, glucose, sucrose, malic acid, and citric acid than fruit produced in the black plastic mulch or matted row systems.^[11] Similar results in an earlier 2003 study conducted by the US Dept of Agriculture, at the Agricultural Research Service, in Beltsville Maryland, confirms how compost plays a role in the bioactive qualities of two strawberry cultivars.^[12]
Strawberries are often grouped according to their flowering habit.^[5][13] Traditionally, this has consisted of a division between "June-bearing" strawberries, which bear their fruit in the early summer and "ever-bearing" strawberries, which often bear several crops of fruit throughout the season.^[13] Research has shown recently^[when?] that strawberries actually occur in three basic flowering habits: short-day, long-day, and day-neutral. These refer to the day-length sensitivity of the plant and the type of photoperiod that induces flower formation. Day-neutral cultivars produce flowers regardless of the photoperiod.^[14]
Strawberries may also be propagated by seed, though this is primarily a hobby activity, and is not widely practiced commercially. A few seed-propagated cultivars have been developed for home use, and research into growing from seed commercially is ongoing.^[15] Seeds (achenes) are acquired either via commercial seed suppliers, or by collecting and saving them from the fruit.
Strawberries can also be grown indoors in strawberry pots.
Kashubian strawberry (truskawka kaszubska or kaszëbskô malëna)^[16] is produced in Kartuzy, Kościerzyna and Bytów counties and in the municipalities of Przywidz^{[disambiguation needed]}, Wejherowo, Luzino, Szemud, Linia^{[disambiguation needed]}, Łęczyce and Cewice in Kashubia. Only the following varieties may be sold as kaszëbskô malëna: Senga Sengana, Elsanta, Honeoye that have been graded as Extra or Class I.

rambutan

The rambutan ( /ræmˈbuːtən/; taxonomic name: Nephelium lappaceum) is a medium-sized tropical tree in the family Sapindaceae. The fruit produced by the tree is also known as "rambutan."
According to popular belief and the origin of its name, rambutan is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. The earliest record of rambutan trees show that they were cultivated by the Malayan jungle tribes around their temporary settlements, a practice followed to date.^[3] Rambutan trees grow naturally in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines (where it is also called "laguan"), and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, although its precise natural distribution is unknown.^[4] It is closely related to several other edible tropical fruits including the lychee, longan, and mamoncillo.^[4] It is native to the Indonesian Archipelago,^[5] from where it spread westwards to Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka and India; northwards to Vietnam, and the Philippines.^[4]
A species regularly sold in Costa Rican markets may be known as "wild" rambutan. Yellow in color, it is smaller than the usual red variety. The flesh exposed when the outer skin is peeled off is sweet and sour, slightly grape-like and gummy to the taste. In Costa Rican Spanish, it is known as mamón chino ("Chinese mamón") due to its Asian origin and the likeness of the edible part with Melicoccus bijugatus. The fruit has been successfully transplanted by grafting in Puerto Rico.^[4]
Rambutans are a non-climacteric fruit - that is, they ripen only on the tree.^[4]

Etymology

The name rambutan is derived from the Indonesian word rambutan, meaning "hairy":^[4] rambut the Indonesian word for "hair", a reference to the numerous hairy protuberances of the fruit, together with the noun-building suffix -an.^[3] In Vietnam, it is called chôm chôm (meaning "messy hair") due to the spines covering the fruit's skin.^[6]

Description

It is an evergreen tree growing to a height of 12–20 m.^[4] The leaves are alternate, 10–30 cm long, pinnate, with 3-11 leaflets, each leaflet 5–15 cm wide and 3-10 cm broad, with an entire margin. The flowers are small, 2.5–5 mm, apetalous, discoidal, and borne in erect terminal panicles 15–30 cm wide.^[4]
Rambutan trees are either male (producing only staminate flowers and, hence, produce no fruit), female (producing flowers that are only functionally female), or hermaphroditic (producing flowers that are female with a small percentage of male flowers).
The fruit is a round to oval drupe 3–6 cm (rarely to 8 cm) tall and 3-4 cm broad, borne in a loose pendant cluster of 10-20 together. The leathery skin is reddish (rarely orange or yellow), and covered with fleshy pliable spines, hence the name rambutan, derived from the Malay word rambut which means hairs. The fruit flesh is translucent, whitish or very pale pink, with a sweet, mildly acidic flavor very reminiscent of grapes.^[4]
The single seed is glossy brown, 1–1.3 cm, with a white basal scar.^[4] Soft and crunchy, the seeds are mildly poisonous when raw, but may be cooked and eaten. In fact the peeled fruits can be cooked and eaten, first the grape-like aril, then the nutty seed, with no waste.

jagung

Maize ( /ˈmeɪz/ MAYZ; Zea mays L, from Spanish: maíz after Taíno mahiz), known in many English-speaking countries as corn, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a starch. The Olmec and Mayans cultivated it in numerous varieties throughout Mesoamerica, cooked, ground or processed through nixtamalization. Beginning about 2500 BC, the crop spread through much of the Americas.^[1] The region developed a trade network based on surplus and varieties of maize crops. After European contact with the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, explorers and traders carried maize back to Europe and introduced it to other countries. Maize spread to the rest of the world because of its ability to grow in diverse climates. Sugar-rich varieties called sweet corn are usually grown for human consumption, while field corn varieties are used for animal feed and as chemical feedstocks.
Maize is the most widely grown grain crop in the Americas,^[2] with 332 million metric tons grown annually in the United States alone. Approximately 40% of the crop — 130 million tons — is used for corn ethanol.^[3] Transgenic maize (genetically modified corn) made up 85% of the maize planted in the United States in 2009.^[4] While some natural strains of maize can grow 12 metres (39 ft) tall,^[5] most varieties commercially grown for grain have been bred for a standardized height of 2.5 metres (8.2 ft). Sweet corn is usually shorter than grain and silage corn varieties.

Words for maize

Many small male flowers make up the male inflorescence, called the tassel.

The word maize derives from the Spanish form of the indigenous Taíno word for the plant, maiz.^[6] It is known by other names around the world.
Corn outside Canada and the United States means any cereal crop, its meaning understood to vary geographically to refer to the local staple. In Canada and the United States, "corn" primarily means maize;^[7] this usage started as a shortening of "Indian corn".^[8] "Indian corn" primarily means maize (the staple grain of indigenous Americans), but can refer more specifically to multicolored "flint corn" used for decoration.^[9]
Outside Canada and the United States, the word corn often refers to maize in culinary contexts. The narrower meaning is usually indicated by some additional word, as in sweet corn, corn on the cob, popcorn, corn flakes, baby corn.
In Southern Africa, maize is commonly called mielie (Afrikaans) or mealie (English).^[10]
Maize is preferred in formal, scientific, and international usage because it refers specifically to this one grain, unlike corn, which has a complex variety of meanings that vary by context and geographic region.^[7] However, in bulk-trading, people use "corn" only to refer to maize.^{[citation needed]} Maize is used by agricultural bodies and research institutes such as the FAO and CSIRO. National agricultural and industry associations often include the word maize in their name even in English-speaking countries where the local, informal word is something other than maize; for example, the Maize Association of Australia, the Indian Maize Development Association, the Kenya Maize Consortium and Maize Breeders Network, the National Maize Association of Nigeria, the Zimbabwe Seed Maize Association.

ubi

Cassava (Manihot esculenta), also called yuca, mogo, manioc, mandioca, and kamoteng kahoy, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy, tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. It differs from the similarly-spelled yucca, an unrelated fruit-bearing shrub in the Asparagaceae family. Cassava, when dried to a starchy, powdery (or pearly) extract is called tapioca, while its fermented, flaky version is named garri.
Cassava is the third-largest source of food carbohydrates in the tropics.^[1][2] Cassava is a major staple food in the developing world, providing a basic diet for around 500 million people.^[3] It is one of the most drought-tolerant crops, capable of growing on marginal soils. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of cassava.
Cassava root is a good source of carbohydrates, but a poor source of protein. A predominantly cassava root diet can cause protein-energy malnutrition.^[4]
Cassava is classified as sweet or bitter. Like other roots and tubers, Cassava contains anti-nutrition factors and toxins.^[5] It must be properly prepared before consumption. Improper preparation of cassava can leave enough residual cyanide to cause acute cyanide intoxication and goiters, and may even cause ataxia or partial paralysis.^[6] Nevertheless, farmers often prefer the bitter varieties because they deter pests, animals, and thieves.^[7] The more-toxic varieties of Cassava are a fall-back resource (a "food security crop") in times of famine in some places.^[8]

History

Yuca in Moche culture, 100 AD, Larco Museum Collection

Wild populations of M. esculenta subspecies flabellifolia, shown to be the progenitor of domesticated cassava, are centered in west-central Brazil, where it was likely first domesticated more than 10,000 years BP.^[10] By 6,600 BC, manioc pollen appears in the Gulf of Mexico lowlands, at the San Andrés archaeological site.^[11] The oldest direct evidence of cassava cultivation comes from a 1,400-year-old Maya site, Joya de Cerén, in El Salvador,^[12] but the species Manihot esculenta likely originated^{[citation needed]} further south in Brazil and Paraguay. With its high food potential, it had become a staple food of the native populations of northern South America, southern Mesoamerica, and the Caribbean by the time of the Spanish conquest, and its cultivation was continued by the colonial Portuguese and Spanish. Forms of the modern domesticated species can be found growing in the wild in the south of Brazil. While several Manihot species are wild, all varieties of M. esculenta are cultigens.
Cassava was a staple food for pre-Columbian peoples in the Americas and is often portrayed in indigenous art. The Moche people often depicted yuca in their ceramics.^[13]
Since being introduced by Portuguese traders from Brazil in the 16th century, maize and cassava have replaced traditional African crops as the continent's most important staple food crops.^[14] Cassava is sometimes described as the 'bread of the tropics'^[15] but should not to be confused with the tropical and equatorial bread tree (Encephalartos), the breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) or the African breadfruit (Treculia africana).

pisang

Banana is the common name for monocarpic flowering plants of the genus Musa, for the species Ensete ventricosum, and for the fruit they produce. They are some of the oldest cultivated plants. Musa species are native to tropical South and Southeast Asia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea.^[1] Ensete ventricosum is native to northeastern Africa. Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics.^[2] They are grown in at least 107 countries,^[3] primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine and as ornamental plants. Its fruits, rich in starch, grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. They come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red.
Almost all modern edible parthenocarpic bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana or hybrids Musa acuminata × balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific names Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca are no longer used.
In popular culture and commerce, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called plantains or "cooking bananas". The distinction is purely arbitrary and the terms "plantain" and "banana" are sometimes interchangeable depending on their usage.

Description

The Cavendish banana is the most common banana type sold.

Banana inflorescence, partially opened.

The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) have petals and other flower parts at the tip of the ovary (the ovary is "inferior")

The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant.^[4] The plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy and are often mistaken for trees, but their main or upright stem is actually a pseudostem that grows 6 to 7.6 metres (20 to 24.9 ft) tall, growing from a corm. Each pseudostem can produce a single bunch of bananas. After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots may develop from the base of the plant. Many varieties of bananas are perennial.^{[citation needed]}
Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres (8.9 ft) long and 60 cm (2.0 ft) wide.^[5] They are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.^[6]
Each pseudostem normally produces a single inflorescence, also known as the banana heart. (More are sometimes produced; an exceptional plant in the Philippines produced five.)^[7] The inflorescence contains many bracts (sometimes incorrectly called petals) between rows of flowers. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem (closer to the leaves) from the rows of male flowers. The ovary is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other flower parts appear at the tip of the ovary.^[8]
The banana fruits develop from the banana heart, in a large hanging cluster, made up of tiers (called hands), with up to 20 fruit to a tier. The hanging cluster is known as a bunch, comprising 3–20 tiers, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh from 30–50 kilograms (66–110 lb).
Individual banana fruits (commonly known as a banana or 'finger') average 125 grams (0.28 lb), of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter. There is a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with numerous long, thin strings (the phloem bundles), which run lengthwise between the skin and the edible inner portion. The inner part of the common yellow dessert variety splits easily lengthwise into three sections that correspond to the inner portions of the three carpels.^{[citation needed]}
The fruit has been described as a "leathery berry".^[9] In cultivated varieties, the seeds are diminished nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit.^{[citation needed]}
Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive,^[10][11] more so than most other fruits, because of their potassium content and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found in naturally occurring potassium.^[12] Proponents of nuclear power sometimes refer to the banana equivalent dose of radiation to support their arguments.^[13]

jambu

Syzygium aqueum is a species of brush cherry tree. Its common names include Water Cherry, Watery Rose Apple, and Lau Lau; names like "water apple" and "bell fruit" may refer to any species of Syzygium grown for its fruit. In Malay, it is known as jambu air meaning "water guava". The tree is cultivated for its wood and edible fruit. The fruit is a fleshy yellow or red berry which is bell shaped, waxy and crisp. Syzygium aqueum is sold in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The tree requires heavy rainfalls and can survive in tropical habitats, up to 1600m from sea level^[1]. The wood is hard and can be used to make tools. The bark of the tree is sometimes used in herbal medicines. It is grown in orchards and gardens and parks as an ornamental plant. The leaves are edible and are sometimes used to wrap food.
The fruit has a very mild and slightly sweet taste similar to apples, and a crisp watery texture like the inside of a watermelon. It is a staple of Southeast Asian fruit stands, where it is inexpensive while in season. It does not bruise easily and may be preserved for months in a household refrigerator.

kelapa

The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae (palm family). It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos.^[2] The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which, botanically, is a drupe, not a nut. The spelling cocoanut is an archaic form of the word.^[3] The term is derived from 16th century Portuguese and Spanish cocos, meaning "grinning face", from the three small holes on the coconut shell that resemble human facial features.
Found throughout the tropic and subtropic area, the coconut is known for its great versatility as seen in the many domestic, commercial, and industrial uses of its different parts. Coconuts are part of the daily diet of many people. Coconuts are different from any other fruits because they contain a large quantity of "water" and when immature they are known as tender-nuts or jelly-nuts and may be harvested for drinking. When mature they still contain some water and can be used as seednuts or processed to give oil from the kernel, charcoal from the hard shell and coir from the fibrous husk. The endosperm is initially in its nuclear phase suspended within the coconut water. As development continues, cellular layers of endosperm deposit along the walls of the coconut, becoming the edible coconut "flesh".^[4] When dried, the coconut flesh is called copra. The oil and milk derived from it are commonly used in cooking and frying; coconut oil is also widely used in soaps and cosmetics. The clear liquid coconut water within is a refreshing drink. The husks and leaves can be used as material to make a variety of products for furnishing and decorating. It also has cultural and religious significance in many societies that use it.

Plant

Cocos nucifera is a large palm, growing up to 30 meters (98 ft) tall, with pinnate leaves 4–6 meters (13–20 ft) long, and pinnae 60–90 cm long; old leaves break away cleanly, leaving the trunk smooth. Coconuts are generally classified into two general types: tall and dwarf.^[5] On very fertile land, a tall coconut palm tree can yield up to 75 fruits per year, but more often yields less than 30 mainly due to poor cultural practices.^[6] In recent years, improvements in cultivation practices and breeding has produced coconut trees that can yield more.^[7][8]

Fruit

Botanically, the coconut fruit is a drupe, not a true nut.^[9] Like other fruits, it has three layers: the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp. The exocarp and mesocarp make up the "husk" of the coconut. Coconuts sold in the shops of nontropical countries often have had the exocarp (outermost layer) removed. The mesocarp is composed of a fiber, called coir, which has many traditional and commercial uses. The shell has three germination pores (stoma) or "eyes" that are clearly visible on its outside surface once the husk is removed.
A full-sized coconut weighs about 1.44 kilograms (3.2 lb). It takes around 6000 full-grown coconuts to produce a tonne of copra.^[10]