Ten Tropical Fruits of Potential Value for Crop Diversification in Hawaii

Published by the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Andrew G. Hashimoto, Director/Dean, Cooperative Extension Service/CTAHR, University of Hawai‘i at Mänoa, Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96822. An equal opportunity/affirmative action institution providing programs and services to the people of Hawai‘i without regard to race, sex, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, marital status, arrest and court record, sexual orientation, or status as a covered veteran. CTAHR publications can be found on the Web site . More than 700 edible fruits are native to humid tropical areas of the world. Approximately 200 of these have been imported and test-grown in Hawaii since the estimated arrival of the first Polynesian voyagers about 1000 years ago. About 30 tropical fruits are cultivated and marketed on a commercial scale around the world. Ten of the most important tropical fruits chosen for discussion here are listed in Table 1 and described and discussed in some detail under separate headings. Ten additional fruits considered to have good potential for improvement and increased development are listed in Table 2. Sixteen botanical families are represented. This wide spectrum of different families includes one palm, one vine, two herbaceous plants, and 16 woody dicotyledenous trees, totaling 18 dicots and two monocots. There is a fairly wide range of adaptability among these fruits. although all are native to the humid tropics. Six of the 20 species can also be grown successfully under irrigation in frost-free subtropical areas. These are avocado, guava, papaya, yellow passion fruit, banana, and pummelo. Durian, breadfruit, peach palm, and rambutan, on the other hand, grow and produce best in warm, humid tropical climates. In addition to the 20 important fruits listed in Tables 1 and 2, there are 700 to 740 other edible fruits native to the humid tropics. Most of these are considered minor fruits because they are not widely known and are grown and used principally Ten Tropical Fruits of Potential Value for Crop Diversification in Hawaii