Fruits and nuts

Fruits and nuts have been recognised as food from prehistoric times. The date palm was recorded as early as 7000 bc. Pomegranate, fig, olive and grape have also been mentioned in ancient literature. 

Fruits are usually fleshy and juicy and are eaten for their aromatic and refreshing taste. The fruit species are well represented in ecosystems (e.g. arid, semi-arid, tropical, subtropical and temperate), in the highlands as well as the lowlands the species can also be annual or perennial. Although there are thousands of fruit species in the world, only a few are cultivated and these include banana, mango, pineapple, papaya, avocado, citrus, grape, watermelons, peach, muskmelon, date, apricot, apple, pear, plum and strawberry. There are also many wild species that are not yet exploited 

Fruits and nuts are important in the human diet. They provide energy, protein, fats, vitamins and minerals, which help in the maintenance of health. Fruits and nuts are important commodities in the food market. The use of fresh fruit as a dessert is highly acceptable. Many fruits are soft and can be canned either whole or segmented and can increase the potential of fruit markets. Fruits, pulps and pastes can be processed into jams, jellies, baked goods, fruit juices (unaltered, concentrated or dried or as by-product), fruit syrup, dried fruit and candied fruit. 

Distilled products and wines can be obtained from fruits. Many byproducts are also produced from fruits, for example pectin from citrus and apples and fruit flavour (e.g. aromatic oil and aroma concentrates) are used in such products such as soft drinks, ice cream, desserts and many others. The residues from the processing are often used as good animal feed. 

Nuts and fruits with dry shells are eaten raw, roasted or cooked and also find uses in confectionery and in other foods as aromatic agents. Many nuts are (or can be) processed for vegetable oil and this is of benefit to those countries that are short of vegetable oil. The nut-producing countries have environmental spin-offs from nut trees as these can conserve soil and improve the environment. 

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Joseph Magliocco, president of Chatham Imports, which developed Marti Autentico, worked with two rum makers in die Dominican Republic to create his basic rum recipe, which emphasizes die notes of flower, fruit and nut that are typical of Cuban rums. 

If the objective were to maximize energy production in producing food, all efforts would go toward grain and bean production where five times the energy is produced as is used, or to the extreme, do all the tasks manually in which 30 to 40 times the energy is produced as used. In the later case, all the able-bodied men, women, and children would be needed to produce the food now available. In that scenario we would also deny our diet of the variety of leafy vegetables, fruits and nuts for fiber and vitamins, and animal and fish products for a variety of proteins. 

The total monetary loss resulting from weed competition in the cereal crops was 1.3 billion annually. The most frequently reported weeds were mustards (Brassica spp.) followed by wild oats (Avena fatua L.), bromes (Bromus spp.), and wild garlic (Allium vineale L.) (11). Losses in vegetables was 5% of the total while in fruit and nuts the loss was 7% of the total. Crabgrass, bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L. )... 

Thomas P. 1988. Radiation preservation of foods of plant origin. Part VI. Mushrooms, tomatoes, minor fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, and nuts. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 26(4) 313—358. 

Anonymous, Integrated Pest Management Practices on 1991 Fruits and Nuts, RTD Updates Pest Management, 1994, USDA-ERS, 8 pp. 

Holland, B., Unwin, 1. D., Buss, D. H. (1996). Vegetables, Herbs and Spices. Fruits and Nuts. Royal Soeiety of Chemistry, Cambridge, UK. 

Fosetyl. Fosetyl (aluminium ethyl phosphate Figure 4.32) is a specific downy mildewicide (Oomycetes) used to control Plasmopara viticola in vines and Phytophthora blights in various fruit and nut crops. 

Other field crops Fruits and nuts Vegetables Livestock and pets Residential Mosquito control Grain storage... 

By definition, ice cream is a frozen food product made from a mixture of dairy ingredients such as milk, cream, and nonfat milk that are blended with sugar, flavoring, fruit, and nuts. It contains a minimum of 10% milk fat and weighs not less than 4.5 lb/gal. 

At the close of the experience they usually went out to eat, often macrobiotic food, and ate heartily if they ate in, it was usually fruits and nuts. 

Liggins J, Bluck LJ, Runswick S, Atkinson C, Coward WA, Bingham SA. 2000a. Daidzein and genistein content of fruits and nuts. J Nutr Biochem 11 326-331. 

Just as atrazine is important in com, simazine is a pre-emergence triazine that provides broad-spectrum residual weed control in many of the important fruit and nut crops when applied either alone or in combination with a contact product such as glyphosate to control weeds at the time of application (Figure 1.5). 

Although simazine was the first triazine to be developed and marketed in corn as well as other crops, the more versatile atrazine quickly became the standard herbicide in corn. Simazine, however, has remained very valuable and is important on forage crops, ornamentals, turf, and several other vegetable, fruit and nut crops, including almond, apple, artichoke, avocado, berries, cherry, citrus, grape, hazelnut, peach, and walnut. There also remains a strong demand for simazine use in corn in some areas based on specific weed pressure. Simazine is manufactured and sold by several companies today in more than 25 countries around the world, with Brazil, the United States, Australia, and Japan ranked as the top four. 

Yield loss in fruit and nut crops caused by weeds that are not adequately controlled by available herbicides or weed management techniques was estimated at 450 million annually in the United States (Chandler et al., 1984). 

Lange, A.H. (1970). Weed control methods, losses and costs due to weeds, and benefits of weed control in deciduous fruit and nut crops. 

Triazine Herbicides for Weed Control in Fruit and Nut Crops... 

Deciduous fruit plants that lose their leaves each winter and become dormant include apple, pear, peach, prune, plum, cherry, apricot, fig, grape, bramble, and bush fruits. The deciduous nut crops include principally walnut, almond, pecan, pistachio, and hazelnut (filbert). Nearly 11 million tons (10 million metric tons) of fruit come from deciduous plants grown in 43 states in the United States. In 1998 in California alone, 8.9 million tons (8.1 metric tons) of fruits and nuts were harvested (Olds, 1998). Strawberry and pineapple, though not deciduous fruits, are included in this chapter because of triazine use on fruit crops. The major growing areas for the United States are shown in Table 17.1, and these same crops are grown in many countries throughout the world. 

Table 17.3 Summary of simazine use on US fruit and nut crops, average for the years 2002-2005 ...

US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (2007). Noncitrus Fruits and Nuts 2006 Summary. Washington, DC Agricultural Statistics Board. 

For the 2000 growing season, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) of the USDA surveyed adoption of individual IPM practices (USDA-NASS, 2001). A summary of results for the major field crops, fruits and nuts, and vegetables is presented in Table 32.5. The adoption of systematic scouting for pests (weeds, insects, or plant diseases) looks very promising. 

Table 32.5 Adoption of IPM practices in 2000 in field crops, vegetables, and fruit and nuts in the United States as adopted from USDA-NASS 2001 (a partial listing)...

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