Fruit Trees in Brazil

By Gary Wyatt, Jeff Coulter, and Suzanne Driessen

There are many edible fruit trees and shrubs in Brazil, which serve as a valuable food and income resource in small gardens to large plantations. Below is a review of a few of the fruit and food producing plants we saw and ate on our tour of southern Brazil.

Orange: The 9,000 acre orange plantation we visited was selling all of their oranges to a juice processor. This plantation had over 1.5 million trees, and is the second largest orange plantation in the world. The orange tree can begin producing at 3 years of age and continue to produce for up to 20 years. The plantation had 200 full time employees and hires up to 4,000 workers to help hand harvest the oranges during November and December. This plantation uses integrated pest management practices to identify insect and disease thresholds which indicate proper and timely control measures. Three varieties of orange trees are present on this plantation, as suggested by the juice processor. Bees are needed for pollination during August and September, so independent bee keepers bring their bee hives into the plantation during this time. Both businesses benefit from each other. In addition, windbreaks separate fields and provide a natural barrier to reduce the spread of disease and insect infestations.

Banana: Bananas are grown in many parts of Brazil. Bananas are a very common food served in many ways throughout the day. They are not just for breakfast. For example, we had fried, caramel bananas for dessert at lunch and dinner. Bananas grow in bunches, with 60 to 80 bananas per bunch. They are picked year round in large plantations. The main insect which affects bananas is the fruit fly.

Mango: There is a large mango export market in Brazil. They pick the fruit green, export it, and ripen it with ethylene gas at the destination. Mangos are slightly bigger than a softball and are usually yellow inside. Their taste resembles ripe peaches. There are two major types of mango: Tomi (commercially grown) and Coquinho (smaller).

Jaca: One day, our interpreter stopped the bus at a roadside stand. He brought back a strange looking, large football shaped fruit called Jaca. After cutting it he encouraged us to eat the yellow part around the large seeds. It had a rubbery citrus taste. It is not commercially grown but it is eaten and found in local markets.

Jaboticaba: This is called the blackberry tree. The large quarter sized berries are attached to the tree limbs and trunk, something that is not common in the U.S. Berries have 1 to 2 seeds and are used for jams, liquors, and fresh fruit. It is not commercially grown.

Acerola: This is a red berry that grows from a shrub. One berry contains as much vitamin C as 4 oranges. The berries are harvested and made into frozen concentrate. We noticed at the grocery store that a Tic Tac breath mint flavor was made from acerola.

Coconut: Plantations are usually found in the warm tropical region with sandy soils. Green coconuts are harvested for coconut water. It was offered at one of the restaurants as a supplemental drink at lunch. One tree bears up to 100 fruits that are harvested once each year.

Papaya: Papaya fruit was served for breakfast in almost all of our hotels. It was sliced and quartered like melon slices with its seeds on top. It is also served in a fruit syrup mix with other fruits.

Fig: Figs are usually grown in northern Brazil but were served as dessert in many restaurants. Figs are grown on bushy trees that are 30 to 50 feet wide. Figs are usually not eaten raw, and they are served in sweet syrup. Their seeds are smaller than those of strawberries.

Grapes: Grapes are grown to produce wine, in many parts of Brazil.

Although not a fruit, Cassava is a very important food source in Brazil. Cassava is a tuberous root vegetable like plant resembling horse radish with a brown skin and white inside. It is largely grown for flour, but it is also fried like French fries. However, it is cooked before it is fried. There are several tubers per plant.

A Flordia nursery has photos and descriptions of the tropical fruit we saw and tasted in Brazil on their website: http://www.tropicalfruitnursery.com/fruitproducts_gl.htm Some of these fruits can be grown in Flordia.

Posted by driessen at 10:26 AM| Permalink | Comments (2)

Agroforestry and Trees in Brazil

By Gary Wyatt, Jeff Coulter and Suzanne Driessen

The semi-tropical and tropical climate in Brazil offers an array of beneficial species of trees and shrubs which can be used for food, fiber, paper, wood products, windbreaks and aesthetic value. The soil in Brazil is red in color, and varies considerably in soil texture. In the state of Sao Paulo, soils were often composed of 60% sand, but in the state of Panara the soils are predominantly clay loam. Soils in Brazil are of volcanic origin and developed under forest. This, along with the warm annual temperatures and high rainfall contribute to the low organic matter levels in these soils. Annual rainfall in the southern region of Brazil is approximately 40 to 50 inches annually. Producers in Brazil can grow crops in both the winter and summer seasons. There is also considerable crop diversity, as it is common to see soybean, banana, rubber, and orange plantations adjacent to each other.

Agroforestry is common in much of southern Brazil. The BMV Agro-Industrial Cooperative (www.agroluta.com.br) we visited uses wood from the eucalyptus tree as a fuel for drying harvested corn to grain moisture levels that are suitable for storage. Specifically they use approximately 1 cubic meter of wood to dry 500 bushels of corn from 20% to 14% moisture. Their cost is $18 per cubic meter. Other sources of fuel are too expensive, and they do not have the option of using propane because they lack the infrastructure for propane transport and storage. The eucalyptus tree is a fast growing tree which was introduced from Australia and can be harvestable in 5 years. In addition to its use as a fuel source, it is also used for fiber, paper, and various other products.

Crown of thorns, a floral house plant in Minnesota, is grown as a vegetative fence and windbreak in Brazil. It is commonly found along property boundaries and grows in a thick, dense, and thorny thicket. However, it can be pruned as a hedge, and it blooms most of the year, thereby adding beauty to the landscape.

We also visited the second largest orange plantation in the world, which was 9,000 acres. In this plantation, windbreaks of trees were used as a physical barrier between orange fields to help reduce or minimize the movement of insect infestations.

Another visit was to a rubber tree plantation with over 200,000 rubber trees. This plantation not only increased diversity to the landscape, but it also increased rural income. The trees can begin production as early as 8 years of age. Tiny diagonal slits are made and the bark is removed each week to produce the white rubber (latex) which is collected in a container attached to the tree.

Overall, the wide range of diversity in tree species and Agroforestry in Brazil contribute to a sustainable multifunctional landscape, where trees have economic, social, aesthetic, and environmental impacts.

Posted by driessen at 11:48 AM| Permalink | Comments (0)