Tropical fruits

Fruits grown in countries of the tropics (on either side of the equator), or in hot and humid conditions. Tropical fruits include a great many species, such as mangoes, pineapples, pomegranates, bananas, papayas, lychees, guavas, and tamarinds — prized for vivid flavours, colours, and vitamin content. Their postharvest physiology demands care: many are chilling-sensitive yet highly perishable, needing precise temperature management, and several (banana, mango, papaya) ripen climacterically with ethylene. Phytosanitary treatments — hot-water dips, irradiation — enable export past fruit-fly quarantines, bringing tropical flavour to temperate markets.