A List of Fruits of Pakistan

In horticulture, a fruit is defined as the ripened ovary produced from the ovary of the carpel. So many of the species considered as vegetables so far in our daily life; they are regarded as 'fruits' in horticulture. And the production of fruits in farms and orchards is called Pomology.

Pomology is an art as well as science. In Pakistan the overall fruit production around the calender is enough to fulfill nutrition requirements of the population, most of the highest quality fruit produced is exported. And the fruits of Pakistan origin are very much popular around the globe for their taste.

The following table enlists almost all of the fruits (horticulture) being produced and cultivated throughout Pakistan.

Table: List of Fruits of Pakistan 

(in alphabetical sequence of Plant Families)

S.no.	FAMILY	FRUITS
01	ANACARDIACEAE-sumac family	1.     Mango 2.     Cashew nut
02	ANNONACEAE-custard apple family	3.     Annanas 4.     Sugar apple
03	APIACEAE – Carrot family	5.     Coriander 6.     Fennel
04	ARECACEAE-palm family	7.     Date palm 8.     Betel nut 9.     Coconut palm
05	CARICACEAE-papaya family	10.Papaya
06	CUCURBITACEAE	11.Bitter gourd 12.Bottle gourd 13.Giant pumpkin 14.Muskmelon 15.Cucumber
07	ERICACEAE – Heath family	16.Blueberry
08	FABACEAE – Pea family	17.Ground nut 18.Garden pea 19.Tamarind
09	JUGLANDACEAE – Walnut family	20.Walnut
10	LAURACEAE-Laurel family	21.Avocado
11	MALVACEAE	22.Ladyfinger
12	MORACEAE-mulberry family	23.Jackfruit 24.Mulberry 25.Fig
13	MUSACEAE-banana family	26.Banana
14	MYRTACEAE-myrtle family	27.Guava
15	NELUMBONACEAE–lotus family	28.Lotus
16	PASSIONFLORACEAE-passionflower family	29.Passion fruit
17	POACEAE-grass family	30.Wheat 31.Rice 32.Maize 33.Barley
18	PROTEACEAE-protea family	34.Macadamia nut
19	PUNICACEAE-pomegranate family	35.Pomegranate
20	RHAMNACEAE – Buckthorn family	36.Jujube
21	ROSACEAE-rose family	37.Loquat 38.Strawberry 39.Apple 40.Pear 41.Peach 42.Plum 43.Cherry 44.Raspberry 45.Almond 46.Apricot
22	RUTACEAE-rue family	47.Sour orange 48.Sweet orange 49.Mandarin 50.Lemon 51.Rough lemon 52.Lime 53.Rangpur lime 54.Grape fruit 55.Pummelo 56.Trifoliate orange 57.Elephant apple 58.Wood apple
23	SAPINDACEAE-soapberry family	59.Litchi 60.Longan 61.Rambutan
24	SAPOTACEAE – Sapodilla family	62.Sapodilla
25	SOLANACEAE-potato family	63.Brinjal 64.Tomato
26	TILIACEAE-linden family	65.Phalsa
27	VITACEAE-grape family	66.Grapes

Introduction to Citrus in Pakistan and List of Local Varieties

INTRODUCTION

Citrus are the fruits belonging to the Rutacease family and mostly from the genus Citrus which are usually mix of sweet and acidic fruits. They are widely cultivated fruits in the world with areas under cultivation and production increasing greatly from 2000 - 2010. Citrus is ranked world number 2 1st in Pakistan w.r.t its area and production among fruits. There is a huge demand from both the fresh and processed oranges by the consumer.

Citrus varieties

PRODUCTION STATS

According to FAO, Brazil is the largest producer of citrus in the world, followed by China and USA, data for Pakistan is not available. In Pakistan, it is cultivated its 95% area of cultivation is in Punjab because of favorable temperature and environmental conditions and the total production according to approx. 1.8 annually on an estimated area of 194,000 ha with the per acre yield standing at 4.6 tons.

IMPORTANCE AND USES

a) Sweet orange, mandarin and grapefruit are eaten fresh or processed for squash (sweetened fruit juice) and juice preparation. 

b) Lemon and lime are acidic in nature and largely used in preparation of culinary products such as pickles and for flavouring food items. They are also processed for juice, squash and lemonade. 

c) Citrus fruits are a rich source of sugar, citric acid and vitamin C, and they possess valuable medicinal properties, being used in the prevention of colds and malaria and to promote blood coagulation.

CLASSIFICATION

Taxonomy and sytematics of the citrus are very complex due to a large number of hybrids and the total number of species for citrus are also unclear. The system given by Swingle is common, which classify citrus into 3 genus, Citrus, Poncirus and Fortunella. He puts 16 species under Citrus, 4 under Fortunella and only 1 under Poncirus.

MAJOR CITRUS GROWING AREAS IN PAKISTAN

PUJAB

Districts of Sargodha, Jhang, Sahiwal, Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Mianwali

SINDH

Districts of Sukkur, Nawabshah, Khairpur

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Hazzara, Nowshera, Swabi

BALOCHISTAN

Sibbi, Makran, Kech

CITRUS SPECIES BEING CULTIVATED IN PAKISTAN

1. Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macfad.)

Local Varieties: Mash Seedless, Duncan, Foster and Shamber

Citrus paradisi Macfad.

2. Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco)

Local Varieties: Fuetrells Early and Kinnow

Citrus reticulata Blanco

3. Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck)

Local Varieties: Mausami, Washington Navel, Succri, Red Blood, Jaffa, Ruby Red and

Valencia Late.

Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck.

4. Bitter Orange (Citrus aurantium L.)

also called, Seville orange, Sour Orange, Marmalade orange or bigarade orange

Citrus aurantium L.

5. Lime (Citrus aurantifolia (Christm.) Swingle)

also called, Key Lime, Bartender's lime, Omani lime or West Indian lime

Local Varieties: Sweet Lime and Kaghazi Lime

Citrus aurantifoulia (Christm.) Swingle

6. Lemon (Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.) 

Local Varieties: Eureka and Lisbon Lemon

Citrus limon (L.) Burm. f.

7. Rough Lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush.)

It is the most common rootstock for propagation of citrus in the subcontinent.

Citrus jambhiri Lush.

8. Kinnow (it is a Hybrid of Citrus nobilis and Citrus deliciosa)

It was first developed at the Citrus Research Center at the University of California in 1935 and then Punjab Agriculture College and Research Institute Faisalabad (then, Lyallpur) Pakistan, introduced it in the sub-continent in 1940.

Kinnow 

It is a very famous citrus plant know for delicious juicy fruit. Environmental and soil conditions are ideal for kinnow in Punjab. Hence the kinnow is a prime export fruit of Pakistan which is in great demand due to its juicy, soft, scented and refreshing fruit not found anywhere else in the world. Seedless kinnow is also very popular.