Muhammad Luqman

The fruit with loquat’s yellow colour and size is a new attraction in the home gardens of Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore. It is the latest exotic fruit after strawberry and lychee were successfully cultivated in this part of the world. 

“I have always been fond of having some exotic fruits in my home garden; cultivating Chinese fruit kumquat is a good experience,” Seema Khuled, who lives in southern Lahore’s upscale locality, told WealthPK. Kumquats are small fruit trees, bearing edible fruit that closely resembles loquats as well as oranges in colour and shape, but are much smaller, about the size of a large olive. Kumquat, despite being sour in taste, can be consumed directly or in the form of juice.

“In both cases, the taste of kumquat is marvelous,” said Khuled. Kumquat is a good source of vitamin C and calcium, according to experts, and is good for human health. “It protects heart health besides strengthening the immune system,” Dr Ali Haider, a nutritionist, told WealthPK. According to horticulture experts, kumquat plant is native to southern China. The earliest historical reference to kumquats appears in the imperial literature from the 12th century.

They have long been cultivated in other parts of East Asia like Japan, South Asia like India, and Southeast Asia, especially the Philippines. China is still the world’s leading producer of kumquats. “We have successfully cultivated the fruit and are now working to develop its commercial varieties so that the fruit becomes available to Pakistanis in abundance,” said Inamul Haque, a horticulture expert at Barani Agriculture Research Institute, located in the central Pakistan town of Chakwal.

He said besides Punjab, kumquat can be cultivated in other parts of Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. After about a year of maturing, the fresh, ripe kumquat fruits can be picked from the tree. Unlike other citrus plant, kumquat fruition season is comparatively longer. December to May is an exciting time when kumquats are in season. They are more temperature-resistant and have a longer shelf-life.

Due to the absence of any commercial variety of kumquat, the plant is available at a few nurseries in Lahore at the moment, forcing horticulture lovers to get the sapling from their home gardens. Before kumquat made its way to Pakistan, horticulturalists successfully experimented with the local cultivation of exotic fruits like olives, papayas, figs, lychee, strawberries, avocados, and kiwis that had earlier been imported from different countries for millions of dollars every year.

But plant pathologists warn that introduction of any exotic fruit should be made with extreme caution as it can bring new pathogens and pests with it. “In the past, some exotic varieties of crops like wheat and cotton led to the introduction of new pests in Pakistan; we need to be more cautious in the case of fruits and vegetables,” Dr Amer Hayat Bhandara, an expert, told WealthPK.

However, horticulturalists believe that the cultivation of exotic fruits and vegetables lends more benefits than disadvantages, generally warned by the agriculture experts. “It is always good to have a fruit plant in your home garden instead of eucalyptus and other highly water-consuming trees,” Bhandara said.

Credit: INP-WealthPk