Fig tree (F. carica) traits

Here are the morphologic traits I’m considering for the database under construction.

For the trees as a whole:

  • Tree growth habit
  • Tree growth vigor

There are 3 possible crops:
Mamme (winter crop), sets in Fall, matures in early April (CA);
Profichi aka Breba (spring crop), matures in June (CA);
Mammoni aka Main (summer crop), maturing in late summer (CA).

Traits for each of the 3 possible crops:

  • crop productivity
  • crop quality
  • crop season
  • fruit size
  • fruit shape
  • fruit eye size
  • fruit male bloom
  • fruit skin color
  • fruit skin striped
  • fruit pulp color
  • fruit climate susceptibility

Note 1: “bloom” only applies to male crops.
Note 2: “fruit” has been used in place of syconium to protect the innocent.

Please understand that morphologic traits should never be used to determine what a fig cultivar is, but rather what it is not. For example, a black-skinned red-interior fig is not Kadota.

As of this writing I’m open to suggestions for additional traits.

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Would the flavor profile be considered a trait?

Sure, but I’m limiting the scope here to structural traits.

Previously I extracted trait parameters from two sources: Ira Condit and NCGR Davis.

Condit, in his “Fig characteristics useful in the identification of varieties” (1941) and “Fig varieties: a monograph” (1955) mentions 147 parameters. Note that Condit erroneously pursued cultivar identification by physical traits.

A half century later investigators at NCGR Davis compiled a shorter list of 40 parameters for two purposes: crop evaluation and possible correlation with genetic markers obtained circa 2009. These can be found among the F. carica accession records posted on GRIN.

I have reduced these further to 33 (currently), as itemized in the first post.

Does this include things like crack resistance? If not, I would recommend adding Crack Resistance as it is very relevant to growers in areas with high humidity and/or summer rain.

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Yes, that and splitting too. Condit documented these well for the figs in his collection. It also includes frost resistance – an important attribute for the Spring caprifig crop.

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