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Of the minor fruit trees the following are very common and popular: Black Plum or Black Berry (kalo jam), a large fruit tree; fruits when ripe are almost black, elongated, marble-sized having seed almost half the size of the fruit; fruit is harvested in July. Sapodilla (sopheda), a medium-sized beautiful evergreen tree with upright dense canopy, introduced from tropical America, is being extensively cultivated in the Faridpur and Dhaka regions. The other common minor fruits are Tamarind (tentul), Palmyra Palm (tal), Monkey Jack (dewa), Indian Olive (jalpai), Carambola or Star fruit (kamranga), Star Apple (jamrul), Mangosteen (kaw), Burmese Grape (latkan), Flacoutia (paniala), Star Gooseberry (arbaroi), Elephant Apple (chalta), River Ebony (gab), Otaheita Apple (bilati amra), Velvet Apple (bilati gab), Wood Apple (kathbel), Indian Apple (bel), Custard Apple (ata), and Indian Goose Berry (amlaki).
Fruit production Different fruits grow in Bangladesh round the year because of favourable climatic conditions.
Some fruit plants are herbs or creepers. Of the fruits obtained from non-tree plants, three are important- pineapple, banana and melon
Pests of fruits and fruit trees Over 150 arthropod species are reported to attack fruit trees and cause enormous economic loss. Over two dozens of insect pests attack mango in the country, but only a few are considered as major pests. Of these, three species of hoppers, Amritodus atkinsoni, Idioscopus clypealis, and I. niveosparsus, are the most damaging pests of mango all over the country.
Five insect and one mite pest species have so far been reported to attack fruit, stem, leaf and inflorescence of litchi. Among these, mite, Aceria litchi, trunk borer, Zeuzera coffeae, bark borer, Indarbela tetraonis (Moore) and fruit borer, Argyroploce illepida are major pests. The litchi mites and litchi fruit borers are the most serious pests in the country.
Six insect pest species are reported to attack guava. Among these, guava mealy bug, Phenococcus sp., guava mealy scales, Chloropulvinaria psidii, C. floccifera cotton aphids, Aphis gossypii, leaf weevil, Myllocerus discolor attack leaves, while the trunk borer, Aeolesthes holosericea and fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis attack the trunk and fruit, respectively.
Four insect pests, such as leaf and fruit beetle, Nodostoma viridipenis, grasshopper, Aularches miliaris, stem weevils, Cosmopolites sordidus and Odoiporus longicollis have been recorded to attack the stem, leaf and fruit of the banana. However, the banana leaf and fruit beetle, N. viridipenis is the major pest that attacks the leaf and young fruits.
Many insect species attack ber, Zizyphus jujuba. Among these, caterpillars of the Tarucus theophrastus, Thiacidas postica, and Euproctis fraterna and weevils, Amblyrrhinus poricollis and Myllocerus sp. feed on ber leaves and inflorescence.
Among the insect pests that are recorded from pomegranate, caterpillars of Punica granatum, Porthesia scientillans, and Achaea janata feed on leaves. Scale insect, lcerya purchasi sucks plant sap. The fruit borer, Virachola isocrate, is the most destructive pest of pomegranate in all parts of the country.
Caterpillars of the Elymnias undularis and Nephantis serinopa feed on leaves and are considered as minor pests. Rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros and the red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus are the two most damaging pests of the coconut tree in the country.
Three insect pests have been recorded from the jackfruit. Grubs of trunk borer, Apriona germari, bore trunks, and bud weevil, Ochyromera artocarpi are considered as minor pests. Jack fruit borer, Margaronia caesalis is the major pest.
Several types of citrus fruits such as lemon, lime, pomelo, malta and orange are grown in Bangladesh. Over 20 insect and mite pests are known to infest the citrus fruits. Insects that attack the stem and shoot of citrus fruit trees include the orange tree borer, Monohammus versteegi, orange trunk borer, Chloridolum alcemene, orange shoot borer, Indarbela tetraonis, and citrus stem borer, Chelidonium cinetum.
[M Ibrahim Ali]