COURIER

14 Courier 2 | 11 fruit Cultivation
fruit Cultivation 2 | 11 Courier 15
Cultural history of Citrus
The Golden Apples
of the Hesperides
These days, people eat more citrus fruits than bananas or apples.
That wasn’t always the case – particularly in the europe of yesteryear.
One of the most popular of all mythological
stories tells the tale of the Garden of the
Hesperides, the fruit of which promised immortality
and eternal youth (colored engraving
after Guido Reni from “The Hesperides, or
the cultivation of the golden apples” by G. B.
Ferrari, Rome, 1646)
Fifteen lemons and seven
oranges. This selection could find its
way into the shopping basket during any
trip to the supermarket. But it was an
exotic catch in the England of 1289. The
fruits arrived at Portsmouth on board a
Spanish ship – and then went directly to
the Royal Court. They were apparently
intended to comfort Eleanor of Castile,
King Edward the First’s queen, to help
her overcome her homesickness for her
native Spain. But it would be a good few
hundred years before the common English
populace could enjoy citrus fruits.
Until comparatively recently, citrus
fruits were considered something special
in a large part of the world – symbols of
luxury and riches. So it’s not surprising
that a fashion developed among European
princes during the Baroque era to
create orangeries – exotic fruit gardens
that served mainly to demonstrate affluence.
It was also around that time that the
term “Hesperides” started to be applied
to the fleshy berry fruits with a leathery
peel. Botanists such as Carl von Linné
and Giovanni Baptista Ferrarius helped
to establish the term, which was a reference
to Greek mythology, according to
which the daughters of Atlas – the Hesperides
– had the job of tending a golden
apple tree whose fruits gave the Gods
nothing less than eternal youth. Ferrarius
and Linné were obviously reminded
of the golden apples of the Hesperides
by citrus fruits’ bright appearance. And
this is how the name came to be used in
connection with parks with citrus fruit
groves, such as the Garden of the Hesperides
in Nuremberg.
Long before people learned to appreciate
the culinary value of citrus fruits,
they were being used for the scent of
their essential oils. Take for example
eau-de-cologne – the recipe for which
has included Bergamot orange right
from the beginning. Citrus fruits were
also used in medicine and as protection
against insects.
It was during the 17th century that the
edible, sweet citrus fruits first became
widely available. One of the main beneficiaries
was the shipping community.
James Cook is supposed to have been
the first to bring the fruit (with its high
vitamin C content) on board, in order to
protect his crew from scurvy.
At some point then, citrus fruits began to
be recognized as the tasty food item we
know them as today. And they continue
to grow in popularity. Global production
has increased nearly six-fold over the
last 50 years. According to the FAO, 25
million tonnes were harvested globally
in 1961: in 2009, the corresponding figure
was more than 120 million tonnes,
sixty-eight million tonnes of which was
oranges. This shows that citrus fruits
are now well to the fore of bananas (97
million tonnes) and apples (71 million
tonnes).
However, like other agricultural products,
the citrus harvest isn’t something
that can be taken for granted. Citrus
farmers have to deal with various potential
sources of damage to their crops.
One particularly problematic factor on
the American continent at the moment
is the Huang long bing disease (see page.
18). Because no products are available
yet to control the deadly causal agent
directly, the only option left is to control
the vector. Here, Bayer CropScience
is able to offer considerable support
to both professional growers and private
gardeners. A major contributor is
the new insecticide Movento®, which
is becoming an increasingly important
tool for citrus farmers around the
world (see page 16). Another product
has been at the centre of an interesting
pilot study involving the participation
of citrus farmers in Spain: this is Decis®
Trap, which was used for the first time
in an effort to control the Mediterranean
fruit fly. The advantage here is that the
active substance no longer needs to be
sprayed. Instead, it is used in the traps,
towards which the flies are persuaded to
move, enticed by a suitable attractant
(see page 03).
But back to history: although things
have changed significantly over recent
centuries, there is still no professional
citrus growing on the British Isles today.
But for all that, the United Kingdom is
among the ten largest importers of citrus
fruits in the world. Nearly 44,000 tonnes
of grapefruit, 100,000 tonnes of lemons
and limes, 275,000 tonnes of mandarins
and 300,000 tonnes of oranges were
imported into the British Isles in 2008.
This is all on a rather larger scale than
the 22 fruits presented to Queen Eleanor
in 1298. t