
INTRODUCTION
                              B-1591

               TEXAS AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION SERVICE
                  The Texas A&M University System

                   HOME FRUIT PRODUCTION - FIGS

             Calvin G. Lyons and George Ray McEachern
                     Extension Horticulturists


Figs have been a part of Texas homesteads since the early
development of the state.  Dooryard trees can be grown in any
section of Texas.  Figs grow extremely well along the Texas Gulf
Coast.  However, trees require cold protection in the far northern
and western areas and supplemental irrigation in the state's drier
areas.

The fig fruit is unique.  Unlike most fruit in which the edible
structure is matured ovary tissue, the fig's edible structure is
actually stem tissue.  The fig fruit is an inverted flower with
both the male and female flower parts enclosed in stem tissue. 
This structure is known botanically as a syconium.  At maturity
the interior of the fig contains only the remains of these flower
structures, including the small gritty structures commonly called
seeds.  Actually, these so-called seeds usually are nothing more
than unfertilized ovaries that failed to develop.  They impart the
resin-like flavor associated with figs.


SITE AND SOIL REQUIREMENTS

Plentiful sunlight is a key to maximizing fruit production. 
Choose an area that is in the sun most or all of the day. 
Otherwise, expect reduced performance from the trees.  Early
morning sun is particularly important to dry dew from the plants;
thereby, reducing the incidence of diseases.

Good drainage is a more important consideration than soil
fertility.  Avoid soils and sites where water stands for more than
24 hours after a rain.  In areas of poor drainage, roots receive
insufficient oxygen and will die, resulting in stunted growth and
eventual death of the tree.


FIG TYPES

Four distinct horticultural types of figs are described in this
publication.

Caprifig.  The Caprifig produces a small non-edible fruit;
however, the flowers inside the Caprifig fruit produce pollen. 
This pollen is essential for fertilizing fruit of the Smyrna and
San Pedro types.  The pollen is transported from the Caprifig to
the pollen-sterile types by a Blastophaga wasp.  Commercial
growers hang baskets of Blastophaga-infested Caprifigs so that the
wasps can effectively fertilize the fruit.  Caprifigs were grown
successfully at Del Rio before 1901.

Smyrna.  The Smyrna fig varieties produce large edible fruit with
true seeds.  The Blastophaga wasp and Caprifigs are required for
normal fruit development.  If this fertilization process does not
occur, fruit will not develop properly and will fall from the
tree.  Smyrna-type figs are commonly sold as dried figs.

San Pedro.  These figs can bear two crops of fruit in one season
-- one crop on last season's growth and a second crop on current
growth.  The first crop, called the Breba crop, is parthenocarpic
and does not require pollination.  Fruit of the second crop is the
Smyrna type and requires pollination from the Caprifig.  Breba
produces early in the spring on last season's wood.  However, the
second crop of the Smyrna type may fail to set because of lack of
pollination from Blastophaga and Caprifig.  This second crop fruit
drop discourages homeowners.

Common Fig.  These figs develop parthenocarpically without
pollination and are by far the most prevalent fig grown in Texas. 
The fruit does not have true seeds and is primarily produced on
current season wood.  Varieties recommended for Texas are of
common fig type.


VARIETIES

Celeste (Malta).  The Celeste fig is small, brown to purple in
color and adapted to all areas of Texas.  Celeste is the most cold
hardy of all Texas fig varieties.  The tree is large, vigorous and
very productive.  Celeste usually does not have a Breba crop; the
main crop ripens in mid-June before the main crop of other Texas
fig varieties.  Celeste fruit has a tightly closed eye which
inhibits the entry of the dried fruit beetle.  The fruit does not
have excessive souring on the tree.  Celeste has excellent fresh
dessert quality with a rich sweet flavor.  It is an excellent
processing fig, either frozen or processed as fig preserves.  Do
not prune mature Celeste trees heavily because this can reduce the
crop.

Texas Everbearing (Brown Turkey).  Texas Everbearing is a
medium-sized fig adapted to central and east Texas.  It is the
most common variety in central Texas.  The tree is vigorous, very
large and productive.  The early crop ripens in May; the main crop
ripens in late June and continues to ripen into August.  The fruit
has a short, plump stem and moderately closed eye which reduces
fruit souring on the tree.  The fruit is nearly seedless and has a
mild sweet flavor.  Early crop fruit is very large, sometimes 2
inches in diameter.

Alma.  Alma is a new common fig variety released by the Texas
Agricultural Experiment Station in 1974.  Alma resulted from a
cross between the female Allison and the male Hamma Caprifig.  It
is a late season variety with very high fruit quality.  The fruit
skin is rather unattractive; however, the flesh has an excellent
rich, sweet flavor.  The tree is moderately vigorous, very
productive and comes into production at a very early age.  The eye
of Alma fruit is sealed with a drop of thick resin that inhibits
the entry of the dried fruit beetle, thus reducing on-the-tree
fruit souring.  Alma is very frost sensitive, especially as a
young tree and should be grown no more than 200 miles from the
Gulf of Mexico.

Brown Turkey.  This variety (Lee's Perpetual, Eastern Brown
Turkey, Brunswick, Ramsey, Harrison, Texas Everbearing,
Everbearing) has the longest ripening season of the recommended
varieties.  Although it is not quite as cold hardy as Celeste, it
will, if injured by a freeze, produce fair-to-good crops on sucker
wood the next season.  This is an advantage in areas troubled by
late spring frosts.  The fruit is medium to large, with a
reddish-brown skin tinged with purple.  The pulp is reddish-pink
and of good quality.  It is subject to cracking in wet weather and
has a larger eye than Celeste and hence will sour more quickly. 
The fruit is excellent for making home preserves.

Magnolia.  This variety (Madonna, Dalmatia, Brunswick) is the most
popular commercial canning fig in the South.  It is a weak growing
tree with fruit that sours and splits badly during wet weather. 
Splitting and souring can be reduced, however, if its fruit is
picked just before full maturity and used as preserves.  This
variety also produces fair-to-good crop on sucker wood the season
after freeze injury.  The fruit is medium to large with brown skin
and light amber pulp.  It is prominently swollen at the fruit base
with a very open eye.  Fruiting is spread over a long period if
the tree is pruned heavily.  Figs will appear on both current and
last year's wood, although its fruit crop is usually small.  This
variety is widely used as a dooryard variety in Texas but because
of its splitting and souring problems, it is no longer
recommended.


Kodota.  This variety (Gentile, White Endich, Dottato) is the
commercial fig of California.  Varietal trials show it also does
well in Texas, particularly in south Texas.  The fruit becomes
rubbery in drier and hotter areas.  The eye is open but it is
characteristically filled with a honey-like substance which
prevents entry of insects and subsequent souring.  Fruiting
characteristics are similar to those of Magnolia and Everbearing. 
It will produce on suckerwood the year after cold injury.  The
fruit is yellow to green with seeds and amber pulp.  The fruit is
excellent canned or preserved.  Do not plant this variety in drier
areas of Texas.


PLANTING

Do not apply fertilizer at planting time.  Fig trees survive
better if set 2 to 4 inches deeper than they were grown in the
nursery.  Cut them back when transplanting.  This "heading back"
develops lateral branches and reduces water loss from the above-
ground portion.  Since the root system may be damaged during
transplanting operations, water uptake may be reduced greatly for
a short time.

Fig trees planted at the beginning of the dormant season often
develop root systems before leafing out in the spring.  This can
be advantageous; however, young trees are more susceptible to cold
injury.  In areas where cold damage may occur, it is often
advisable to delay transplanting until just before dormancy is
broken in late winter.

Young trees to be transplanted should be dug with care to prevent
root damage.  Inspect trees bought from nurseries to ensure that
roots are healthy and are not damaged.  Remove any broken or dried
roots.  Dig a hole deeper and wider than necessary for the root
system.  Place the tree upright at the proper depth.  Crumble the
soil around the roots, and pack it down several times during the
filling operation to bring all roots into contact with moist soil. 
After planting, water the tree to settle the soil firmly around
the roots.  If conditions are extremely dry, watering before the
hole is completely filled is beneficial.


TRAINING

Where winters are mild, train fig trees to a single trunk, open
vase-type tree.  The stool multi-trunk system is by far the most
frequently used in Texas.  The stool system is common where
freezes occasionally kill the upper part of the tree.  Figures 1
and 2 illustrate the two types of training systems.


PRUNING

Normally figs are pruned very little.  Do not prune mature Celeste
and Alma trees because this reduces the crop size.  Texas
Everbearing produces a fair crop following heavy winter pruning.

To stimulate new growth, thin out older trees which grow very
little each year.  Thinning also increases fruit size.  Prune the
trees enough to stimulate approximately 1 foot of growth each
year.  Remove all weak, diseased or dead limbs each dormant
season.


IRRIGATION

Give special attention to soil moisture management in fig culture. 
Most fig tree roots are close to the soil surface and can easily
dry out.  Figs are very susceptible to soil-borne nematodes that
feed on small roots and reduce water movement into the tree.  For
these reasons, apply water to the trees as drought develops. 
Slight leaf wilting in the afternoon is a good indication of water
stress.  Mulching with straw or grass clippings helps maintain
uniform soil moisture and reduces weed competition for available
soil water.

Water stress frequently causes premature fruit drop of Texas fig
varieties which do not have true seeds.  This problem is very
common in hot dry areas when the fig tree is grown in shallow soil
and roots are nematode infested.

Do not overwater in areas of poor drainage.  This forces oxygen
out of the soil and the tree is injured or killed.  Good water
management, including regular irrigation and mulching, helps
maintain tree health and vigor and reduces fruit drop.

Factors influencing a fig tree's susceptibility to cold injury are
related to the tree's entrance into dormancy.  A mature tree which
has lost all of its leaves and becomes totally dormant can
withstand much cooler temperatures than a rapidly growing tree at
the time of first frost.  Reduce irrigations in the fall of the
year to reduce growth and encourage the onset of dormancy.  A
fully dormant fig tree can withstand temperatures as low as 10
degrees F.  In north Texas, plant figs along the south side of a
building to help reduce freeze damage.

Place straw mulches over the base of the tree to insulate warm
soil temperature during freezes and prevent killing the crown of
the tree.  This is illustrated in Figure 3.

When trees or limbs freeze, give the tree ample time to grow
before removing the frozen limbs.  Then, new wood can be produced.


HARVESTING

For top quality, allow figs to ripen fully on the tree.  But they
must be picked as they ripen; otherwise, spoilage from the dried
fruit beetle can occur.  On-the-tree spoilage or souring is caused
by microorganisms in the fully ripe fruit.  These organisms are
usually carried into the open eye of the fig by insects,
particularly the dried fruit beetle.  Daily harvests and the
removal of overripe, spoiled figs can greatly reduce spoilage
problems.  This is particularly true of varieties which have an
open eye.

Use gloves and long sleeves when harvesting figs to prevent skin
irritation from the fig latex.


DISEASE CONTROL

Figs in Texas are affected by three major disease problems.  The
most important is the rootknot nematode, which is not readily
noticed by the average person.

Root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne sp., are microscopic, soil-
inhabiting worms which attack the plant's root system.  They
attack and feed on roots, causing them to swell or gall; thus,
interfering with normal uptake of water and nutrients.  These
galls are easily seen if root samples are observed.

Nematode problems may go unnoticed for several years.  As a heavy
population builds up, the tree loses vigor and declines gradually. 
Nematodes contribute to premature fruit drop.  To prevent rootknot
nematodes in figs, obtain nematode-free plants and plant in
nematode-free soil.

Fig rust is an important fungus disease that attacks the leaves of
figs.  It is caused by Physopella fici.  Fig rust first appears as
small, yellowish-orange spots on the leaves.  These enlarge
slightly and may become very numerous as the season progresses.

Rust causes complete defoliation of many trees in the state each
year, resulting in ragged-looking trees.  In addition, trees
defoliated early in the season may initiate new growth which is
often susceptible to cold injury.

Defoliation usually does not occur early enough to cause fruit
loss except in late ripening varieties.

Rust is controlled with neutral copper sprays.  One or two
applications made in May or early June usually keep trees in
fairly good condition until after fruit ripens.  In very wet
seasons one or two additional applications may be necessary.  A
good index for spraying is when the first leaves on the tree have
reached full size.  The second spray should follow in 3 to 4
weeks.  It is extremely important to get good leaf coverage with
the spray material.

Fig souring is a constant problem in Texas.  The first step in
preventing losses attributed to souring is to grow recommended
varieties, which have a closed eye, a drooping fruit
characteristic and fruit-splitting resistance.  Controlling
insects and using resistant varieties restrain most fruit souring
problems most of the season.  Late season infestations may be
impracticable to control.  Phymatotricham omnivorum is the number
one killer of figs in Texas.  This organism is a fungus primarily
associated with alkaline soils.  This organism kills the roots,
causing the plant to wither and die in a short time.  There is no
resistant variety or rootstock.  The only control, which is
impracticable at best, is to completely recondition the soil
before planting.  This means completely altering the soil pH in
the area with a soil acidifier.  This type of control is not
permanent, however.

Several other minor diseases associated with figs can be found but
are a problem only in more humid areas.


EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION DISCLAIMER

The information given herein is for educational purposes only. 
Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the
understanding that no discrimination is intended and no
endorsement by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service is
implied.

Programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service
serve people of all ages, regardless of socioeconomic level, race,
color, sex, religion, handicap or national origin.
