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Fruit growing in the tropics - Part 3

3.1 Form and function Single-stemmed and branched fruit crops There are a few fruit crops that come to the fore wherever the growing conditions permit their cultivation: papaya, coconut, pineapple and banana. The growth habit of all these plants resembles a single, giant shoot. That is why we call them single-stemmed plants | 3 Form and function 3.1 Single-stemmed and branched fruit crops There are a few fruit crops that come to the fore wherever the growing conditions permit their cultivation papaya coconut pineapple and banana. The growth habit of all these plants resembles a single giant shoot. That is why we call them single-stemmed plants although strictly speaking this is not correct - see Box . This shoot grows continuously the growing point at the shoot tip forming leaves and inflorescences in orderly succession. Papaya and coconut form flowers in the axil of every leaf pineapple and banana flower at the shoot tip after sufficient leaves have been produced to sustain fruit growth. The form of these single-stemmed crops implies that if they grow faster they will also flower and fruit sooner. Moreover leaves and fruit grow to a larger size when growing conditions are favourable. For the grower these are relatively simple crops because they respond well to crop care watering manuring crop protection . If only you make sure that the plants grow well they will produce high and predictable yields. Because the growing point is always active fruit can be harvested at any time of the year. So it is not surprising that these crops are grown wherever possible they are important to rich and poor. Different forms of branching Banana and pineapple form suckers which are in fact branches. However suckers do not much affect form and functioning of the mother shoot so here we just consider both crops and suckering palms such as date palm and peji-baye as single-stemmed plants. You may have seen papaya plants that through some mishap have formed a few branches. Because each of these branches resembles the unbranched papaya in form and functioning we still include such plants in the single-stemmed category. Branching of the true branched fruit crops is of a different order. They branch to adapt their form to the available space branches grow towards the light . Vines are the champions in this .