Chapter 9: Crop Plants and Exotic Plants


Chapter 9: Crop Plants and Exotic Plants


CARAMBOLA
Averrhoa carambola L., family Oxalidaceae

Carambola is a crop of no importance in continental United States. Knight (1965) stated that there was one commercial planting in production in Sarasota County, Fla., but otherwise production was limited to dooryard plants of southern Florida.

Plant:

The carambola is a many-branched, frost-susceptible evergreen tree to 30 feet (Bailey 1949*). It is grown for its waxy-yellow, 2- to 5-inch long fruit, which are characterized by four or five sharp ribs. When the fruit is sectioned, the star-shaped pieces are used ornamentally in salads and punch bowls. The juice is rich in vitamin C. The fruit may also be stewed, preserved, or made into jams and jellies. A fruit has from 1 to 15 pendulous seeds in each rib or segment, depending upon the completeness of pollination.

Inflorescence:

The clusters of fragrant whitish to rose-colored flowers are borne in the leaf axils. They are about five-eighths inch across. There are five petals and 10 stamens in at least two whorls alternating long and short, five without anthers. The ovary has four or five cells with two to four ovules per cell (Ochse et al. 1961*, Purseglove 1968*).

Pollination Requirements:

The flowers are self-incompatible, and not wind pollinated; therefore, insects are necessary in the production of fruit (Knight 1965). Honey bees visit the flowers freely. Nand (1971 ) stated that honey bees, flies, and other insects are the chief pollinating agents of this completely cross-pollinated plant.

Pollination Recommendations and Practices:

None.

LITERATURE CITED:

KNIGHT' R. J. JR.
1965. HETEROSTYLY AND POLLINATION IN CARAMBOLA. Fla. State Hort. Soc. Proc. 76: 375 - 378.

NAND, D.
1971. POLLINATION, FRUIT SET, AND DEVELOPMENT IN CARAMBOLA (AVERRHOA CARAMBOLA LINN.). Indian Jour. Hort. 28: 278-284.


Capturé par MemoWeb ŕ partir de http://www.beeculture.com/content/pollination_handbook/carambola.html  le 10/03/2006