Tropical and Subtropical Fruits

Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging

Muhammad Siddiq

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9780813811420
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781118324110
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Tropical and sub-tropical fruits have gained significant importance in global commerce. This book examines recent developments in the area of fruit technology including: postharvest physiology and storage; novel processing technologies applied to fruits; and in-depth coverage on processing, packaging, and nutritional quality of tropical and sub-tropical fruits. This contemporary handbook uniquely presents current knowledge and practices in the value chain of tropical and subtropical fruits world-wide, covering production and post-harvest practices, innovative processing technologies, packaging, and quality management.

Chapters are devoted to each major and minor tropical fruit (mango, pineapple, banana, papaya, date, guava, passion fruit, lychee, coconut, logan, carombola) and each citrus and non-citrus sub-tropical fruit (orange, grapefruit, lemon/lime, mandarin/tangerine, melons, avocado, kiwifruit, pomegranate, olive, fig, cherimoya, jackfruit, mangosteen). Topical coverage for each fruit is extensive, including: current storage and shipping practices; shelf life extension and quality; microbial issues and food safety aspects of fresh-cut products; processing operations such as grading, cleaning, size-reduction, blanching, filling, canning, freezing, and drying; and effects of processing on nutrients and bioavailability. With chapters compiled from experts worldwide, this book is an essential reference for all professionals in the fruit industry.

Part I

Overview, Innovative Technologies and Quality Management

1

Introduction and Overview

Adel Kader and Muhammad Siddiq

INTRODUCTION

Although several books on postharvest biology and technology of horticultural perishables, including some of the subtropical and tropical fruits (Table 1.1), have been published during the past 20 years (Seymour et al., 1993; Salunkhe and Kadam, 1995; Shaw et al., 1998; Kader, 2002; Knee, 2002; Chakraverty et al., 2003; Thompson, 2003; Gross et al., 2004; Kays and Paull, 2004; Ben-Yehoshua, 2005; Lamikanra et al., 2005; Wills et al., 2007;Nunes, 2008; Paliyath et al., 2008; Florkowski et al., 2009; Valero and Serrano, 2010), only two focused on tropical and subtropical fruits (Mitra, 1997; Yahia, 2011). Books dealing with specific tropical and subtropical fruits include those on avocado (Whiley et al., 2002), banana and plantain (Robinson and Galan-Sauco, 2010), citrus fruits (Wardowski et al., 2006; Ladaniya, 2008), durian (Ketsa and Subhadrabandhu, 2001), lychee/litchi and longan (Menzel and Waite, 2005), mango (Litz, 2009), olive (Therios, 2008), pineapple (Bartholomew et al., 2002), and pomegranate (Seeram et al., 2006). This book focuses on tropical and subtropical fruit processing and packaging for maintaining quality and safety between harvest and consumption. In this chapter, we provide an overview of current trends in production, consumption, and marketing of tropical and subtropical fruits. Also included is a brief discussion of current trends in postharvest technology research and development and of strategies for reducing postharvest losses of foods of plant origin.

Table 1.1 Scientific names of subtropical and tropical fruit.

Common Name	Scientific Name
Acerola (West Indian cherry)	Malpighia glabra
Annona fruits
Cherimoya	Annona cherimola
Custard apple	Annona reticulata
Atemoya	Annona atemoya (A. cherimola × A. squamosa)
Soursop	Annona muricata
Sweetsop, sugar apple	Annona squamosa
Avocado	Persea americana
Banana	Musa paradisiaca var sapientum
Breadfruit	Atrocarpus altilis, A. communis
Canistel	Pouteria campechiana
Carambola (star fruit)	Averrhoa carambola
Carob	Ceratonia siliqua
Cashew apple	Anacardium occidentale
Citrus fruits
Grapefruit	Citrus paradisi
Kumquat	Fortunella spp.
Lemon	Citrus limon
Lime	Citrus aurantifolia
Mandarin/tangerine	Citrus reticulata
Orange	Citrus sinensis
Pummelo	Citrus maxima
Coconut	Cocos nucifera
Date	Phoenix dactylifera
Durian	Durio zibethinus
Feijoa (pineapple guava)	Feijoa sellowiana
Fig	Ficus carica
Guava	Psidium guajava
Jackfruit	Atrocarpus heterophyllus
Jujube, Chinese (Chinese date)	Zizyphus jujuba
Jujube, Indian (Ber)	Zizyphus mauritiana
Kiwifruit	Actinidia deliciosa
Lanson, langsat	Lansium domesticum
Longan	Euphoria longana
Loquat	Eriobotrya japonica
Lychee (litchi)	Litchi chinensis or Nephelium litchi
Mango	Mangifera indica
Mangosteen	Garcinia mangostana
Olive	Olea europea
Papaya	Carica papaya
Passion fruit	Passiflora edulis
Pejibaye	Bactris gasipaes
Pepino	Solanum muricatum
Pineapple	Ananas comosus
Pitaya (pitahaya, dragon fruit)	Hylocereus undatus
Prickly pear (tuna)	Opuntia spp. (including ficus-indica, robusta, etc.)
Plantain	Musa paradisiaca var paradisiaca
Pomegranate	Punica granatum
Rambutan	Nephelium lappaceum
Sapotes
Mamey sapote	Calocarpum mannosum
Sapodilla or chicozapote	Manilkara zapota
Black sapote	Diospyros ebenaster
Zapote = mammee apple	Mammea americana
Spondias (Wi apple)	Spondias cytherea
Tamarillo (tree tomato)	Cyphomandra betacea
Tamarind	Tamarindus indica

The significance of tropical and subtropical fruits can be seen from the data presented in Table 1.2, which lists these fruits, by rank, in the top 20 commodities produced in a specific world region. It is to be noted that Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) data on top 20 commodities not only includes all fruits but is composed of all vegetables, field crops, dairy, livestock, and any other specialty crop. Banana, plantain, mango, pineapple, oranges, coconut, olive, and avocado are of commercial importance for many regions of the world. In addition to tropical and subtropical fruits’ significance in local economies, in many cases, these fruits are a source of foreign exchange earnings.

Table 1.2 Regional significance of tropical and subtropical fruits: Fruits in the top 20 commodities produced.1

Source: Adapted from FAO (2011).

Region	Tropical and Subtropical Fruits in Top 20 Commodities Produced
Africa
Eastern Africa	Plantain (5), banana (6), mango (17)
Middle Africa	Plantain (3), banana (4), palm Oil (15), mango (18)
Northern Africa	Olive (6), date (11), orange (13)
Southern Africa	Orange (11)
Western Africa	Citrus, minor (7), plantain (9), palm oil (18)
Americas
North America	Orange (16)
Central America	Banana (5), mango, mangosteen, guava (10), orange (12), avocado (14), lemon and lime (16), pineapple (17)
Caribbean	Mango, mangosteen, guava (5), banana (7), plantain (10), avocado (13), orange (16)
South America	Banana (8), orange (11)
Asia
Central Asia	Watermelon (20)
Eastern Asia	Watermelon (17)
Southern Asia	Mango, mangosteen, guava (6), banana (8)
South-Eastern Asia	Palm Oil (2), banana (7), coconut (9), mango, mangosteen, guava (10), palm kernel (15), pineapple (20)
Western Asia	Olives (7), date (12)
Europe
Eastern Europe	—
Northern Europe	—
Southern Europe	Olive (1), orange (12), tangerine, mandarin, clementine (19)
Western Europe	—
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand	Kiwifruit (13), Orange (20)
Melanesia	Banana (3), palm oil (5), coconut (6), palm kernel (18)
Micronesia	Coconut (1), banana (3), watermelons (14), plantain (20)
Polynesia	Coconut (1), banana (3), mango, mangosteen, guava (11), pineapple (12)
1Numbers in parentheses are commodity ranks for respective regions.

TRENDS IN PRODUCTION AND MARKETING

Tropical fruits include acerola, banana, breadfruit, carambola, durian, guava, jackfruit, longan, Mamey sapote, mango, mangosteen, papaya, passion fruit, pineapple, prickly pear, rambutan, sapodilla, soursop, and sweetsop (Table 1.1). A few of these fruits are also grown in subtropical regions. Only four of these fruits, i.e., banana, mango, papaya, and pineapple, are important in international commerce. However, other tropical fruits are becoming more significant in international trade. Most of the tropical fruits are consumed in and/or close to their production areas. The top ten producing countries of tropical fruits are India, the Philippines, China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, Brazil, Pakistan, Colombia, and Mexico (FAO, 2011).

Subtropical fruits include avocado, carob, cherimoya, citrus fruits, dates, figs, jujubes, kiwifruit, loquat, lychee, olive, persimmon, and pomegranate. Some of these fruits are also grown in tropical areas. The top ten producing countries of citrus fruits areBrazil, the United States, India, Mexico, China, Spain, Iran, Italy, Indonesia, and Egypt (FAO, 2011).

About 50% of the tropical and subtropical fruit production is consumed fresh, and 50% is used in various processed forms (canned, dried, freeze-dried, frozen, juiced). The value of US imports of all fruits exceeded $8.9 billion in 2009–2010 (USDA-ERS, 2010), and the value of US exports of fruits was about $5.9 billion in 2009–2010.

World and regional production of major tropical and subtropical fruits has seen a monumental growth in the last two decades. Discussion on selected fruits follows; for data on most other fruits, the reader is directed to chapters on individual fruits in this book.

Banana

The world production of banana in 2010 was 102.11 million metric tons (MT). The 1990–2010 regional and world banana annual production is shown in Fig. 1.1. From 1990 to 2010, banana production more than doubled, from 46.81 million MT to 102.11 million MT. The Asian region contributed the most to this growth and saw an increase of 220.30%, followed by Oceania, Africa, and the Americas (North, Central, and South), with increases of 106.83%, 67.69%, and 38.16%, respectively. The top ten banana-producing countries in 2010 were India, China, the Philippines, Ecuador, Brazil, Indonesia, Tanzania, Guatemala, Mexico, and Colombia (FAO, 2011).

Pineapple

The world production of pineapple in 2010 was 19.42 million MT. The 1990–2010 regional and world pineapple annual production is shown in Fig. 1.2. From 1990 to 2010, world production increased by 67.61%, from 11.59 million MT; years 2008–2009 saw some decreases in pineapple production. Overall, the Americas (North, Central, and South), Asia, and Africa had significant increases in pineapple production during the last two decades (100.49%, 62.33%, and 29.97%, respectively), w...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contributors
• Preface
• Part I: Overview, Innovative Technologies and Quality Management
• Part II: Tropical Fruits
• Part III: Subtropical Fruits—Citrus Group
• Part IV: Subtropical Fruits—Noncitrus Group
• Part V: Lesser Known Tropical and Subtropical Fruits
• Index