Native Home, Historical Back Ground Importance of Citrus Fruit in Pakistan

48 NATIVE HOME, HISTORICAL BACK GROUND IMPORTANCE OF CITRUS FRUIT IN PAKISTAN Niaz Ahmad Chaudhary*, Muhammad Nawaz Maken**, Malik Shabbir Ahmad** * Horticulturist, Citrus Research Station, Sargodha ** Assistant Research Officers, Citrus Research Station, Sargodha Scanty information has been of Nippur in Mesopotamia, which dates responsible for poor knowledge about back to 4000 BC. Probably citron might early history and origin of citrus fruits. have been known in Mesopotamia since Tanaka has reported that true citrus fruits ancient time. Citron was the first among appeared on the globe after Australia had citrus fruits emigrant to Europe. The been separated from the main continent Greeks found citron growing in Media during the upper Cretacious period at and Persia, hence the name C.medica. least 30 million year ago. While De Tolkowsky thought that citron was Condolle does not include the citrus introduced between 250 and 200 BC. It fruits in his list of those which have been seems to have spread to Greece and Italy in cultivation for 4,000 years, but there by the end of the third century. The seems to be evidence that some of them earliest description of citron dates to were cultivated at least that long in fourth century AD. In India citron is China. Hu states that Chines literature found under wild conditions particularly written as early as 2200 BC refers to the in Nilgiris, Assam and the lower cultivation of some citrus fruits in China. Himalayas. It seems probable that Establishing origin of citrus fruits Northwest of India is the place of origin has been a matter of countroversy. of citron. The sweet orange is believed However, most of the taxonomists have to have originated in Southern China or a general agreement that Himalayan Cochin China and thousands of years region and South China are the places of ago it has spread to India. However, with origin for most citrus fruits. Many citrus regard to its present form there are species have their origin in India. divided opinions. According to one it Hooker considered not less than 78 developed its present form in China and species of family Rutaceae as natives of then spread to India, while the other India. Bhattacharya and Dutta suggestd opinion is that it has developed its that at least two species of subgenus present form in India. Sweet oranges Eucitrus – Citrus indica and C. might have been introduced into Europe assamensis and three species of in the16th century by the Portuguese. subgenus Pepeda – C.ichangensis, Vasco de Gama found citrus fruits C.latipes and C.macroptera are definitely growing on the east coast of Africa, indigenous to Assam. Swingle and where it might have been introduced others maintained that Southern Arabia during the first century by Arabs from was the origin of citrus fruits while Von Persia and India. Vasco de Gama on his Frimmel considered Mesopotamia as the return trip from India took sweet oranges place of origin, because the seeds of to Portugal. Many regard this as the first citron, C. medica were found in the ruins introduction of sweet oranges into 49 Europe. There is another school of commonly designated as mandarins. thought about the introduction of sweet Though mandarin and tangerine are orange into Europe. Sweet orange was names used more or less interchangeably introduced into India during the to designate the whole group, tangerine thirteenth century from south-eastern is applied more strictly to those varieties Asian countries, when there was trade producing deep orange or scarlet fruits. between India and China and became The differences between these two well established in India, in time to be groups are very slight, the main visible taken to Europe much earlier to Vasco difference being the colour of the fruit, de Gama. Columbus has introduced usually considered Varietal in orange and lemon in the new world magnitude. As such from the during one of his voyages. Later horticultural standpoint, the Dancy and Portuguese and Spanish travelers took Beauty tangerins can be called as citrus to South America. mandarins. This is easily said than done because these two names got firmly ORANGES established in the world markets and The orange is supposed to have been cannot be easily erased. taken to Portugal in 1498 and from Inspite of their close relationship and Portugal to Malta Island which was having many characters in common, the Portugese colony. Blood red varieties of mandarin oranges can easily be oranges are reported to have arisen in separated into rather distinct-groups; in Malta as result of spontaneous bud fact certain investigators have proposed mutation. In the year 1517 or sometime to recognize these groups as distinct in the sixteenth century, were taken species. As such, King orange was given along with them by Columbus and his a name, Citrus nobilis, and Satsuma successors to South America. The oranges are named as C. unshiu while seedless Navel type of seedling orange Swingle considered them as natural rose as a bud sport at Bahia in varieties of mandarin oranges. Webber Brazil.This variety then known as Bahia has separated the mandarin oranges into Navel was later taken to North – I- King group ii- Satsuma group, iii- America and planted at Riverside and Mandarin group iv- Tangerine group v- Washington and named as Riverside Mandarin – lime group and finally vi- Navel or Washington Navel. Similarly Mitis group. However, till the taxonomic some time in the later part of the investigations are completed, it seems sixteenth century oranges were advisable to retain the name mandarin as introduced into St. Helena and there group name to all the loose – skinned from to South – Africa. The common oranges. tight skinned early orange called The most important mandarin in Mosambi was imported into Indo – India, undoubtedly is the Santra (Citrus Pakistan sub continent from reticulata) which includes varieties such Mosambique in Africa which also as Nagpur santra, Coorg Santra, and developed as a bud sport. Khasi orange. MANDARIN GRAPE FRUIT Loose – skinned oranges, belonging The origin of the grapefruit is not to species Citrus reticulata Blanco are definitely known. Those who have made 50 a careful study of the problem state that known in those areas until much later is apparently did not come from China than his time. or adjacent areas in the southeastern Phillippe gave seeds from his grove portion of Asia where some citrus fruits to many of his neighbors, and many of are native, or from any of the European the old seedling grapefruit trees in citrus growing areas. Grapefruit has been Florida are said to have come from this introduced and grown in Europe only in source. comparatively recent years. Tussac (1808-27) described a variety Sloane (1696, 1707) described the of shaddock as a fruit not larger than a shaddock as growing in Jamaica by 1696 good orange, which was borne in and in Barbados by 1707, but he did not bunches like grapes and which was mention the “forbidden fruit”, or designated as the “forbidden fruit” or grapefruit. Hughes (1750) was the first “smaller shaddock.” Apparently, the to mention it as being found in variety known to the early writers as the Barbados, and Browne (1789) reported it “forbidden fruit” was known also, at from Jamaica under the names least in Jamaica, as the “grapefruit.” It “forbidden fruit” and “smaller thus appears reasonable to assume that shaddock.” Marloth (1952), who the name “grapefruit” originated in discussed briefly the origin and early Jamaica, and has been used since 1814. distribution of citrus fruits, said that some grapefruit trees were growing in ORIGIN OF SOME VARIETIES South Africa as early as 1661. The Marsh White, with no pink About 1809, a Spanish nobleman. coloration in its fruit, is well “Don Phillippe” [Felipe], migrated to authenticated as having arisen as a Florida and settled near what is now seedling or a root sprout from a seedy locally known as Green Springs, in white grapefruit in Florida (Webber, Pinellas Country. He was said to have 1943; Waibel, 1953). It is the most brought grapefruit seeds with him, and common, nearly seedless, commercial from them to have developed a small grapefruit in the United States and in grove, the first grapefruit planting in the most other grapefruit-producing areas. state (Hume, 1926). Just where Phillippe The Foster (Foster Pink) originated obtained his seeds, and the exact date of in Florida as a limb sport on a tree of the planting, were not stated. There appear Walters variety, which is a white, seedy to be at least 2 explanations as to the type. The Foster, discovered in 1906, is source of the seeds. A citrus fruit called also a seedy type, and was the first the “grapefruit” was growing in Jamaica Pigmented grapefruit variety of record in (Lunan, 1814), and this may have been Florida (Webber and Batchelor, 1943). the source. On the other hand, Duncan Hodgson (1955) said that the (1892), a pioneer grower in the same Thompson (Marsh Pink) originated as a county, who named and introduced the limb sport on a Marsh tree in Florida, Duncan grapefruit, stated that “fifty was discovered in 1913, and introduced years ago Phillippe planted seeds ‘of in 1924. The pink color in the Thompson grapefruit’ which came from Cuba.” At is limited to the pulp; that is, it shows no any rate, he could not have obtained his color in the rind as indicated by the seeds from Europe or Asia since, as absence of color in the membranes, stated above, the grapefruit was not measocarp, and external fruit surface. 51 The Thompson, in common with the develop external rind coloration under Marsh, is nearly seedless and, according Florida growing conditions.

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