BookTalk: Five simple grafting techniques

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In Today’s book talk, I am going to discuss about my book “Five simple grafting techniques best suited for most exotic fruit plants”.

From Eden Gardens to God’s dining table! 😄

When I visited one of the Indian Hindu temples in California, I was given a ‘prasad’ (a portion of the food offered to the God), which was a bit of surprise to me. Normally the prasad distributed in India are sweets. But this prasad was spicy/sour and made of rice! It is called tamarind rice (called Puliogare in South India).

 

I wondered how the Hindu Gods developed a taste for this spicy rice! Actually, tamarind is such an essential ingredient in South Indian cuisine that a typical South Indian cannot think of cooking without tamarind!

But plant historians say that tamarind is not from India, but from Africa. They say that tamarind was known even before 500 B.C. in Egypt. 

It is believed that humans evolved from Africa. So is tamarind from Eden gardens where the Gods are supposed to have created Adam and Eve?! Probably that explains why it is God's favorite 😄

Do you know something? The very name tamarind comes from the Arab word ‘tamar hindi’ meaning Indian dates! The flesh resembles dates and there is even a sweet variety that tastes almost like dates. Even the botanical name Tamarindus indica suggests that the fruit is from India! Does it mean that the fruit moved straight from Eden Gardens to God’s dining table in India???  😄 😄

Fruits straight from Indian epic Ramayana!

Indians have such fascination for their great epic namely Ramayana that they see the epic characters live in almost everything!

They even have named a family of fruits each after some prominent character from Ramayana. For example, they have Ram Phal (named after the hero Ram, Phal means fruit), Laxman Phal (named after the second hero), Seetha Phal (named after the heroine), Hanuman Phal (named after their most obedient companion). I always wondered what likeness Seetha Phal has with the heroine! Or for that matter Hanuman Phal with the character Hanuman (who has a monkey like appearance).

But as always, there is whole lot of confusion. Indians use these names interchangeably to mean different fruits in the group or the same fruit. Most laymen call all these fruits as just Seetha Phal! 

Actually these fruits are fruits belonging to the same family ANNONACEAE. Ram Phal is the Custard Apple (Annona Reticulata), Laxman Phal is Atemoya (a man made cross between Annona Squamosa and Annona Cherimola), Seetha Phal is Sugar Apple (Annona Squamosa) and Hanuman Phal is Cherimoya (Annona Cherimola).

There is another member in this family that has recently become very prized one. A few years ago, there were no takers for this fruit (it is a bit sour), But recently, on rumors (?) that this fruit can cure/prevent cancer, overnight this fruit has become the most sought after fruit in India. This fruit is called by different names, Hanuman Phal, Laxman Phal, Mam Phal by Indians. Actually it is Sour Sop (Annona Muricata)

The interesting thing is that none of these fruits are originally from India (as per the plant historians). But what is more interesting is that in some Indian languages, say for example Konkani (a language spoken in Goa – a former Portuguese province, now in India), Andana (sounds like Annona) refers to either Seetha Phal or one of the fruits in this family. Also, I remember seeing this fruit carved in ancient Hindu temples like Ellora cave temples. So, did Seetha actually invent this fruit? – I am just kidding.

Sexy fruits!

I am not talking about any aphrodisiac fruit but only about fruit trees that exhibit varieties of sexual behavior.

Gender galore: While many wild fruit trees (also some cultivated) have male and female flowers in separate trees, some like Papaya are really sexy! Some varieties of Papaya bear male, female, male-female, neither completely male nor completely female flowers either on the same tree or on different trees. 

Occasional sex changers: Some papaya trees even change sex depending on weather conditions. A male tree becomes female and vice versa depending on weather! What is more – if you behead a male papaya tree (males don’t produce useful fruits), chances are that it would become female when new shoots grow from the stump! They say that if there is a lone male papaya tree with no female tree in the vicinity, it automatically becomes female! – But I am not sure about this last one.

Habitual sex changers: There are fruit trees such as Sugar apple (and others in the family) and Avocado, that have the habit of changing sex every now and then! A sugar apple flower which is otherwise bisexual acts like female for few hours and changes into a male the next day! Similar thing happens in Avocado. So if all flowers decide to change to same sex same time, there is no way you can expect any fruits from that tree!

Some need help: Some fruits such as Cherimoya cannot pollinate on their own. They need human intervention – manual pollination.

No to consanguineous unions: It is not just humans; even fruit trees such as some varieties of Apples, Avocado, and so on shun consanguineous unions. To bear fruit, you need at least two different varieties in the same garden, even if trees bear bisexual flowers. Some are even choosier. They need a specific variety for cross pollination!

If you ponder over why all these gimmicks, you probably understand the complete philosophy behind union and procreation.

Fruit first or flower first?

No, it is not yet another chicken and egg paradox. Normally a flower appears first and then the flower turns into a fruit. But not so in fig and other fig relatives. Many Indian folklores tell you that no one can ever see flowers of a fig tree suggesting that it is actually a miracle tree – bearing fruits without flowers!

Actually, fig trees do put off flowers, but inside the fruit! What you call as fig is actually not a fruit but only a receptacle that encloses the flowers inside.

This receptacle has a one-way (?) hole at the bottom that allows pollinating insects to enter in. They enter, pollinate the flowers and even lay eggs inside. 

But unfortunately they may get trapped inside since they cannot come out! They finally die and get absorbed in the fruit itself (vegetarians among you may find it a bit nauseating – but don’t worry it is too small to notice!). 

In due course, the eggs laid by the insect hatch and the worms come out. That is why you sometimes see worms inside figs and other related fruits. But not all fig flowers get pollinated and so the tiny seeds that are formed will normally be hollow shells.

Fruit wonders

In previous posts we discussed varieties of issues. For another couple of posts I will write some interesting facts about fruits. I just love fruits and more than eating them, I am fascinated by fruit marvels!.

Fruit that is not a fruit!

I am not posing a riddle. Some of you who are fruit savvy might have guessed. Yes, I am talking about cashew. Did you know that cashew is not actually a fruit? What we call as cashew nut is the actual fruit and the so called cashew apple is just the stem of the fruit that becomes plump and juicy!

Cashew is supposedly from South America spread by Portuguese to other parts of the world especially to India where today it supports a big industry – cashew nut industry. But it is called ‘Kaaju’ in many Indian languages as it is in Portuguese. I wonder whether Portuguese brought it to India or took it from India! There are at least two other related species wild in India, that are also recognized as cashew in some of the local Indian languages.

What is interesting is that originally the trees were planted neither for fruits nor the nuts but to prevent soil erosion on the coasts. In some South American countries the nuts were just thrown away and only the cashew apples were eaten or fermented to make wine. It was probably the Indians who found the ingenious technique to peel off the husk - that oozes corrosive juice - to take out the tasty and prized nuts. And today cashew nut industry is a major industry in India. Unfortunately, in contrast to their South American counterparts, the cashew apples are mostly discarded in India! Of course, in coastal Indian state of Goa they make a popular wine called Feni from these apples.