Babaco, a Promising Crop in New Zeland
Scientific Name: Carica pentagona
Family: Caricaceae
Regarded as one of the most
promising of the horticultural crops currently grown in New Zealand,
babaco, a member of the papaya family, could, it is felt, enjoy the
same success as kiwifruits on foreign markets in the years to come.
New
Zealand has a history of developing new fruit crops but although many
have shown promise in the initial stages, after careful evaluation they
have been rejected as unsuitable. Not so the babaco plant.
Introduced
from Ecuador in the early seventies, it has proved flexible and ideally
suited to conditions in New Zealand. It can grow from a small cutting
into a fruiting tree within a year and its relative freedom from
disease and pests makes it an easy crop to manage.
High yields
together with no loss make this fruit highly suitable for orchard
production, while harvesting (November to December) coincides with a
period when few fresh fruits are available on the market. It is also
ideal for export, its good keeping qualities allowing it to make full
use of cheaper seafreight rates to distant markets. But should the need
for airfreight arise, cargo space is freely available at that time of
year.
It has, however, not all been plain sailing for the
babaco. In fact, it is probably the most expensive plant introduction
in New Zealand's history. Frustrations in obtaining the initial plant
material necessitated several expeditions to South America.
And
the problems did not end there. There were more losses when virus
diseases struck 20 per cent of the remaining plants. Furthermore, the
slowness of propagation and the total lack of technical information
meant that a completely new concept of culture had to be devised.
Nursery facilities were built solely for the production of plants to
furnish the needs of the future. But now that these problems have been
largely overcome, the babaco seems to have a good future.
So
much for its potential - what does it actually look like? The babaco is
a slender single-stemmed perennial herbaceous shrub or tree reaching a
height of some two metres. Fruits are large (30 centimetres in length,
10 centimetres across and weighing up to one kilo) and have a
distinctive five-angled shape.
Each tree bears 25 to 35 fruits a
year and has an economic life of about eight years. Projected tonnage
is from 40 to 50 tonnes per hectare at a spacing density of 3000 trees.
The
fruit reaches full size about two months before maturity. The onset of
maturity is further recognised by the yellowing of the fruit, first in
patches then gradually extending over the whole surface during the
following two weeks. They ripen in progression from the lower fruits,
which are usually the heaviest, to those higher up the trunk.
The
babaco thrives in a cool sub-tropical climate, free of frosts. In New
Zealand it is felt the fruit growing areas of Northland, Auckland and
the Bay of Plenty will prove particularly suitable for commercial
production.
Good fertile soil and perfect wind protection are
required for maximum yields, so too is adequate rainfall or irrigation.
On exposed sites intercropping may be carried out using, for example,
corn or herb-like plants which persist during the winter months.
The
fruit is picked when the first signs of yellow coloration occur. The
stalk can be snipped off, using citrus clippers or simply pulled off by
lifting the fruit to a horizontal position and then pulling it away
from the stalk. There is, however, a danger in the latter method in
that injury may occur to the abscission surface, causing rots later in
storage.
When the fruit is picked off the tree, sap or latex
will exude from the severed cut and, when the fruit is placed on top of
other fruit in a picking container, latex is spilt on the other fruit
and messes it up. As a result, although the best type of picking
container has still to be decided on, there is a general consensus in
favor of trays holding a single layer of fruit. The heavy weight of
each fruit means in any case that no more than 10 to 15 fruits can be
handled at one time by a picker.
The fruits, although firm,
should be handled as little as possible. As far as packing for export
is concerned, tray-like containers holding eight fruits would seem to
be the ideal. Standard metric sizes to conform with containerisation
will also be essential. Furthermore, to avoid bruising, each individual
fruit will need to have a protective wrapping and obviously information
and recipe leaflets will have to be enclosed in each carton.
One
of the features of babaco which makes it particularly attractive for
overseas markets is its excellent keeping quality. Even without cold
storage the fruit has a shelf life of four weeks. Furthermore, fruit
that has been damaged will keep for a long time, since the damaged part
will not spread to healthy tissue. The breakdown area can simply be cut
off and the remainder eaten. Cold storage will obviously extend the
life of the fruit, the optimum temperature being six degrees celsius.
The
fruit is best eaten when fully ripe. The flesh is reported to be very
juicy and slightly acidic, sugar content is low. The flavor is unique,
although it may be described as a cross between strawberry, pineapple
and pawpaw. Being seedless, the whole fruit can be eaten including the
skin and it can simply be served on its own or as a tasty ingredient of
a fruit salad. Babaco juice is a popular drink in Ecuador where it is
served in the top hotels.
At this early stage in its
development, the number of babaco plants available is obviously limited
and the high cost of development and the low availability factor will
further restrict orchard plantings. However, now that commercial sales
have taken place - the first of these was on the Auckland City Market
in November 1980 - the fruit is no longer simply a tantalising
proposition, it is now a very real possibility.
Initial response
from the public has been very encouraging with babacos fetching up to
$4 each. It is, however, thought that a more realistic price level
would be around the $1 to $2 mark. It will, of course, be some time
before commercial shipments to Europe take place but when they do, New
Zealand will have a definite advantage in that there is little danger
of foreign competition.
The only other area where babaco is
grown commercially is Ecuador whose trading links with Europe are
limited to say the least. Certainly the babaco holds great potential
for the future. It is now a matter for the pioneers of this new
industry to translate that potential into yet another New Zealand
success story.
Back to Babaco Page
|