Types of Fruits
Apples
Size
Apple varieties range in size from a little larger than a cherry to as large as a grapefruit.
Description
The top apple producing states are Washington, New York, Michigan, California, Pennsylvania and Virginia, which will produce over 83 percent of the nation’s 2001-crop apple supply. Most apples can be grown farther north than most other fruits because they blossom late in spring, minimizing frost damage. The tree is subject to several insect and fungus pests, for which the orchards are sprayed.
Mangos
Size
The fruits are 2 to 9 inches long and may be kidney shaped, ovate or (rarely) round. They range in size from 8 ounces to around 24 ounces.
Description
The mango must have warm, dry weather to set fruit. The leathery skin is waxy and smooth, and when ripe entirely pale green or yellow marked with red. Mango trees make handsome landscape specimens and shade trees. Scale, mealy bugs and mites are frequent pests in the greenhouse and orchard. Bacterial spot distorts and turns developing leaves black and disfigures developing fruit. Exposed fruits sunburn in high temperatures.
Pear
Size
The fruit is juicier than the apple, and varying from apple-shaped to teardrop-shaped.
Description
The pear grows in a cool, humid, temperate regions throughout the world. Among different varieties, the thin skin varies in color from light yellow and green through red and brown. The thick flesh varies in flavor among different varieties. The best North American pear-growing districts are in California, Washington, and Oregon. Pear or fire blight is the tree's most serious disease; it is also attacked by several insect pests.
Kiwi
Size
The fruit is up to 2-1/2 inches long, with russet-brown skin densely covered with short, stiff brown hairs.
Description
The small, oval fruit has a thin brownish-green skin with a fuzzy surface. The flesh, which is a distinctive green, with tiny purplish seeds surrounding a white core, may be eaten raw or cooked. Kiwifruit will tolerate part shade but prefer a sunny location where they can ramble across some type of trellising system. Kiwifruit prefer somewhat acid (pH 5 - 6.5), well-drained soils that are rich in organic matter. The leaves may show nitrogen deficiency if the soil is too basic. The plants do not tolerate salty soils. Kiwifruit plants are relatively free from problems, possibly due to their lack of heavy planting into areas so that pests begin to take a liking to the leaves, trunk, or roots. Garden snails can also be a problem on younger plantings.
Orange
Size
The orange is the size of an apple, and it's large seedless fruit, that's juicy and sweet with thick skins that make it easy to peel and section for eating.
Description
The orange now grows in the warm parts of all continents. The rind is thin and leathery, the interior bright orange, with a high juice content and sweet flavor. In the United States the principal orange-producing states are Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona. The orange is attacked by many insects and fungus diseases and is quite sensitive to frost. The yellow wood, which is hard and close-grained.
Tangerine
Size
The tangerine resembles the orange but is smaller and oblate in shape and has a more pungent odor.
Description
The Tangerine has a mild sweet flavor, full of juice, virtually no seeds, pebbly in texture and the interior is a bright orange. It grows in the warm parts of all continents. The Tangerine is attacked by many insects and fungus diseases and is quite sensitive to frost.
Mandarin
Size
The mandarin is smaller than an orange, but a little bigger than a kiwi.
Description
The mandarin orange is native to southeastern Asia and has been widely cultivated in orange-growing regions of the world. The mandarin has a mild sweet flavor, full of juice, virtually no seeds, pebbly in texture and the interior is a bright orange. This fruit peels and segments easily. The Mandarin is attacked by many insects and fungus diseases and is quite sensitive to frost.
Apricots
Size
The fruit is smaller than a peach, colored orange-yellow when ripe, and with a drier flesh.
Description
California is the leading producers in the United States. Apricots require a warm Mediterranean climate, needing cool to cold winters to break dormancy and warm to hot dry summers to mature fruit with minimal disease problems. Fruit is subject to cracking in wet or humid weather. Apricot trees flower early, exposing them to damage from spring frosts in many of the areas they are grown. Apricots grown on apricot rootstock require well drained soils. In soils where drainage is restricted and pounding occurs after irrigation or rainfall (cherry) plum stocks are needed. Apricots seem well adapted to soils of around pH 6-8. The species is fairly tolerant of alkaline conditions but is very sensitive to high salt levels in the soil. The fruit which ripens in the Southern Hemisphere between November and January depending on variety and growing region is a drupe. It has a thin outer, downy skin enclosing edible yellow flesh. Skin of the fruit often has a red blush.
Cherry
Size
The small, round red to black fruits are botanical designated drupes, or stone fruits
Description
Cherries are grown in many parts of the United States. Sweet cherries, more difficult to grow, are cultivated mainly in California, and sour cherries are common in the East. Both tart and sweet cherries ripen in July; the third week of July is usually the peak of the harvest. Their ruby-red color and tangy taste. Tart cherries, which are sometimes called pie cherries or sour cherries, are seldom sold fresh; they generally are canned or frozen shortly after harvesting for use in products throughout the year. Sweet cherries primarily are grown in the Pacific Coast states, but Michigan joins the top four producers, harvesting about 20 percent of the crop each year. Michigan produces about 50 million pounds of sweet cherries.
Grapes
Size
Grapes are are about the size of a cherry.
Description
There are thousands of varieties of Grapes throughout the world. They can be classified as either European or American. European grapes have tight skin while American has loose skin. Grapes can be either seedless or without seeds. Grapes can be grown in any climate. Diseases, summer bunch rot, insects, mites, nematodes, and weeds. California produces some two thirds of the grapes grown in the United States, and New York state ranks second in output.
Nectarines
Size
Nectarines are about the size of a peach.
Description
Nectarines are essentially the same fruit as Peaches, the primary difference is that nectarines are smooth-skinned and peaches are fuzzy. Most recommended varieties have red-and-yellow skins with yellow or white flesh. It is cultivated in north temperate zones of both hemispheres, in America chiefly in the mild Pacific coastal area. It's prey is frost, insects, and various fungi.
Peaches
Size
Peaches are about the size of an orange to a nectarine.
Description
They are cultivated throughout warm temperate and subtropical regions of the world. In the peach fruit, the stone is covered with a fleshy substance that is juicy, melting, and of fine flavor when matured and mellowed. The principal peach-growing state is California. The tree is prey to frost and is attacked by various fungi, virus diseases, and insect pests, against all of which careful precautions must be taken by growers.
Figs
Size
The fig is about the size of a watermelon.
Description
In the United States, the major centers for commercial production of cultivated figs are California and Texas. The fig grows best and produces the best quality fruit in Mediterranean and dryer warm-temperate climates. Fig tree roots are a favorite food of gophers, who can easily kill a large plant. Mitadulid and Carpophilus dried fruit beetles can enter ripening fruit through the eye and cause damage by introducing fungi and rots Mosaic virus, formerly considered benign, probably causes crop reduction. Fig canker is a bacterium which enters the trunk at damaged zones, causing necrosis and girdling and loss of branches.
Pineapple
Size
A ripe Pineapple is fragrant, heavy and symmetrical in size. In size the fruits are up to 12 in. long and weigh 1 to 10 pounds or more.
Description
It produces a spiny, sweet, and juicy fruit for which it is grown throughout warmer regions especially in Hawaii. The best soil for the pineapple is a friable, well-drained sandy loam with a high organic content. The pH should be within a range of 4.5 to 6.5. Soils that are not sufficiently acid can be treated with sulfur to achieve the desired level. The plant cannot stand water logging and if there is an impervious subsoil, drainage needs to be improved. Mealy bugs spread by ants can be a problem. Controlling the ants will control the mealy bugs. In most commercial growing areas, nematodes, mites and beetles can also be damaging, but these have not been a problem in California.
Pomegranate
Size
The Fruit, nearly round, 2-1/2 to 5 in. wide, is crowned at the base by the prominent calyx.
Description
The tough, leathery skin or rind is typically yellow overlaid with light or deep pink or rich red. The pomegranate is now cultivated in most warm climates, to a greater extent in the Old World than in America; in North America it is grown commercially chiefly from California and Arizona south into the tropics. The fruit has long been a religious and artistic symbol. In Christian art, it is a symbol of hope. In this country it is grown for its fruits mainly in the drier parts of California and Arizona.
Grapefruit
Size
Grapefruits vary from 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) in diameter and consist of a juicy, acid pulp surrounded by a leathery rind.
Description
The dense foliage consists of shiny, dark-green leaves with winged petioles. The large white flowers produce yellow, globe-shaped fruit in grapelike clusters. The color of the pulp is normally light yellow, but a few pink-pulped varieties have been developed. Grapefruit is a cross between a sweet orange and a pummelo. Practically all grapefruit in the United States is grown in Florida, California, Arizona, and Texas.
Persimmon
Size
The edible fruit is a large berry about the size of an apricot, with a tomato like skin.
Description
The common persimmon is native to the eastern United States, growing wild from Connecticut and Iowa south to Florida and Texas. Persimmon is cultivated in the warm sections of the United States, particularly in California, for its fruit. The fruit is distributed in warmer climates and in the tropics. The unripe fruit contains tannic acid, a powerful astringent. Persimmon wood has a limited use in the manufacture of objects (golf club heads) requiring hard wood.
Bananas
Size
The fruit (technically a berry) turns from deep green to yellow or red, and may range from 2-1/2 to 12 inches in length and 3/4 to 2 inches in width.
Description
Bananas are today grown in every humid tropical region and constitutes the 4th largest fruit crop of the world. The flesh, ivory-white to yellow or salmon-yellow, may be firm, astringent, even gummy with latex when unripe, turning tender and slippery, or soft and mellow or rather dry and mealy or starchy when ripe. Bananas require as much warmth as can be given them. Bananas will grow in most soils, but to thrive, they should be planted in a rich, well-drained soil. They prefer an acid soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5. The banana is not tolerant of salty soils. Bananas have few troublesome pests or diseases outside the tropics. Root rot from cold wet soil is by far the biggest killer of banana plants in our latitudes. California is extremely fortunate in not having nematodes that are injurious to the banana. Gophers topple them, and snails and earwigs will crawl up to where they can get continuous water, but these pests do not bother the plant.
Lemon
Size
The lemon is larger than the lime and has a more upright growing habit.
Description
The fruit is even more elongated than those of limes, with a much thicker rind. In case of full maturity, the flesh is deep yellow in color with a typical acid taste, also the smell of the essential oils is not that 'sweet' as those of limes, more 'fresh'. It requires a mild, equable climate.
Lime
Size
The bright green fruit is smaller than the lemon, more globular, more acid, and with a thinner rind.
Description
Sharp-tasting green or greenish-yellow citrus fruit of the small thorny lime bush, native to India. The white flowers are followed by the fruits, which resemble lemons but are more round in shape; they are rich in vitamin C. Limes can get yellow, but the internal fruit never gets bright clear yellow, more a greenish yellow. The peel is smooth and thin, the flesh is acid with the typical taste, different than that of lemons. The lime requires a mild, equable climate.
Papaya
Size
Papayas are no bigger than a watermelon. They may weigh up to 10 pounds and be more than 15 inches long.
Description
Papayas have exacting climate requirements for vigorous growth and fruit production. They must have warmth throughout the year and will be damaged by light frosts. There are two types of papayas, Hawaiian and Mexican. Mexican papayas are much larger than the Hawaiian types. The flesh may be yellow, orange or pink. These pear-shaped fruit generally weigh about 1 pound and have yellow skin when ripe. Papayas need a light, well-drained soil. They are easily killed by excess moisture. The soil needs to be moist in hot weather and dry in cold weather. Since this is the opposite of California's rain pattern, in addition to good drainage, plastic coverings to prevent over-wetting in winter may also be worthwhile. Papayas do not tolerate salty water or soil. Mites and white flies as well as In red spider and fruit spotting bugs are potential problems in some areas. The plants may also be attacked by mildew, anthracnose, root rot and various virus diseases Fruit flies often ruin the fruit in Florida and Hawaii. Nematodes can attack the roots and are often a factor in the decline of individual plant. Gopher damage can be avoided by planting in wire baskets. Papaya plants should probably be replaced every 4 years or so.
Plum
Size
Plums are hard-pitted fruits like peaches, cherries, almonds, and apricots.
Description
About 12 plum species are cultivated throughout temperate regions for their fruit and as flowering ornamentals. Fruits of varieties of this species range in color from yellow or red to green, but purplish-blue is most common. Dried plums, or prunes, are made from the varieties that are richest in sugar and solids. The plum is generally cultivated in the temperate zones.