FIG (Anjur)

Botanical name: Ficus carica Family: Moraceae

Origin: Southern Arabia
Fig (Anjur) is belonged to be one of the oldest fruits. It is a deciduous small to medium
tree with short and twisted trunk. The edible fruit is a multiple fruit Syconium (a form of
inflorescence in which flowers are borne on the inner wall of a hollow receptacle). Fruit
consists of a fleshy hollow receptacle with a narrow aperture at the tip and numerous
small flowers lining in the inner surface. The fruits are tiny drupelets inside the cavity
of the fused peduncle.Fruits are extensively used in fresh and dried forms. It is a
nutritious fruit with a high sugar content (26%) and low in acidity. The fresh fruit is rich in
calcium, iron, and vitamin A and C. and it is also more alkaline containing high mineral
matter. Dried figs contain 50-65% sugar. They stimulate blood production and useful in
preventing anemia.Poona, Bangalore, Srirangapatnam, Bellary, Ananthapur and
Lucknow are the growing centres in India. However, the commercial cultivation of fig is
centered around Poona region.
Climate: It is a deciduous sub-tropical plant but does not require chilling to It is a
deciduous sub-tropical plant but does not require chilling to break dormancy and can
withstand low temperatures (-12OC) in western India. It can be grown in tropics and
subtropics, but doesn‘t do well in the low wet tropics and can be grown at higher
elevations and in areas of low rainfall during flowering and fruiting. Fig enters dormancy
during rainy season (August-Septemberit remains dormant during winter and puts up
new growth in October. For high quality fruits, climate should be slightly warm during
fruiting. Irrigated arid and semi-arid regions are considered better for fig. Temperature
above 39OC causes burning of fruits and they become insipid with tough skin and
premature ripening of fruits will also occur. At very low temperatures fruits split and
produce poor quality fruits. It can be grown up to 1500m elevation) in western India.
The essential conditions for success of fig cultivation are:
High temperature
Low humidity
Absence of rains during fruit development and ripening period
A dry locality with irrigation facilities
Soil: Fig trees grow well on a wide range of soils but do best in deep, non-alkaline clay
loams. Alluvial clay loams / medium black soils, which are well drained but retain
enough moisture, are good for fig cultivation. Soils with high lime content produce better
quality fruits and are suitable for drying. It is sensitive to sodium carbonate and boron
salts. On high alkaline soils fig develops high sugar content.
Varieties: The fig fruit as one sees immediately after emergence, is an inflorescence
containing large no. of flowers on the inner side. At the apex of the fig is a small opening
known an eye, which is usually covered by bracts.
There are four types of fig:
Capri fig: It bears both male and female flowers. The male flowers are located near the
opening, which is usually covered by bracts. The female flowers with short styles are
present inside. These short styled female flowers are adopted for the laying of eggs by
the wasp Blastophaga psenes. Hence, they are in edible. The other three types are
edible figs and they bear only female flowers with long styles. Capri figs give three crops
viz; profichi (April-June), mamnoni (November) and manme (November-April).The
important varieties of this group are: Stanford, Crosic, Samson, Roe ding etc.
Adriatic fig or Common fig: The fruits develop parthenocarpically Fruits won‘t produce
viable seeds. The fruit is hollow without kernel and embryo. However, when pollination
is done with the pollen from Capri fig by wasps, the seeds may be formed.Varieties:
Black Ischia, Turkish white, Marseilles, Kadota, Mission, Adriatic, Brown turkey,
Celeste, Conardia etc.
Smyrna fig: Trees generally produce main or summer crop only, although a few breba
may reach maturity by parthenocarpy. Main crop is non-parthenocarpic and needs
pollination and fertilization. It won‘t develop fruits without pollination. Develop fruits
when the flowers are pollinated with pollen from the male flowers of Capri fig through
blastophaga wasp. If not pollinated the ovaries shrivel and drop off.Varieties: Zide,
Taranimt.Calimyrna.
White Sanpedro: It combines in itself the characteristics of both Smyrna and Adriatic
types. This type has spring crop without the stimulus of flower pollination. However
main crop needs fertilization.Varieties: San Pedro, dauphine, Gentile, Blanguette, king
and Lampeira.In South India Marseilles, Black ischia, Kabul etc are the popular varieties
grown at an elevation of 1500m.
Propagation: Fig is commercially propagated by hard woodcuttings. In India, the
cuttings are taken from matured terminal branches, which are one year old with 11/2
to 2cm thickness and shorter internodes. Rooted cuttings of one year old are planted
in the field.Propagation by air layering, ring budding and side grafting on F.glomerata,a
nematode resistant is also possible.
Planting: Planting is done in pits of 60cm cube in square system prepared at 6m
spacing from June to October in the monsoon season. The spacing varies from place
to place, soil to soil, variety-to-variety etc. Spacing varies from 3x3m to 8x8m but 6x6m
looks appropriate.
Training and Pruning: Young plant should be trained properly to give proper head and
scaffold branches. It can be trained to single stem or multy stem. In Mysore, the plant is
trained into a bush by cutting the trunk near the ground level and selecting 6-7main
branches.Fig plants are headed back every year in Jan-February to about two buds on
each shoot of previous season‘s growth to obtain fruits in JulyJuly-October. It is best
performed in December-January. Notching is practiced to stimulate production of
laterals on vigorous upright branches (done on at least 8 month old shoots).
Inter cropping: Fig trees start bearing in 2-3 years and come into full bearing at 5-6
years age. Therefore, for good use of interspace green manuring and amenable
vegetable crops could be taken during rainy season.
Manures and fertilizers: Fig plants should be manured from the very beginning.
Oneyear-old tree should be given 10 kg of FYM and 170 g of Ammonium sulphate, and
about 7 kg of FYM and 170g of Ammonium sulphate should be increased progressively
every year up to 5 years.In N.India, the application of manures is done before the
growth starts in spring and fertilizers in March. In western and southern parts of India,
manure is applied in November. While applying manure in fig plant, care should be
taken to avoid exposure of roots, as it is harmful.
Manures and fertilizers are spread around the trunk between radial distance of 45-60cm
and mixed with the help of a spade by digging.
Irrigation: Fig is fairly drought tolerant, but during summer, when the fruits are
developing and ripening, irrigation twice a month is beneficial. This gives large and
sweet fruits. Excess of irrigation makes the fruit insipid. Some times excess of irrigation
during ripening of fruits causes cracking of fruits, therefore judicious watering
is desirable for high quality crop.
Fruiting: The fig bears The fig bears two crops in a year. The spring crop breba is
borne on the previous years shoots. The second crop is borne on the current season‘s
growth and is the main crop. In N.India the spring crop ripening in May is taken as main
crop. In Central and South India, the fig crops in July to September and February to
May. The latter crop is sweeter and more valuable.
Harvesting: Trees may start fruiting at 3 years of age but commercial bearing starts
from 5 years onwards and continues to bear up to 40 years of age.Fig fruits are
harvested when mature, which can be judged on the basis of colour development. The
mature fruit is of light green colour and little soft to touch. In N.India the spring crop
ripening in May is taken as main crops. Some times fruits are allowed to fall from the
tree of their own and allowed to dry and then collected.
Yield: A good harvest may give 300-500 fruits per tree per year and 12 tones/ha in
well managed orchards, which depends on the size of the tree and methods of training.
The fruits are harvested by twisting the neck at the stem end.