FIGS (Ficus carica L.).

GENERALITIES
Family: Moráceas.
Genero: Ficus Especie: Ficus carica L.
Principle Producers: Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, France, USA and Brazil.

Figs and brevas are the infructescence of the fig tree (Ficus carica) which belongs to the Moraceae family. This family comprises over 1,500 species of trees and shrubs that produce latex.
Two crops of figs are potentially produced each year from the same tree: the larger Breva is the result of the first, followed by the main fig crop later in the year.

They are so delicious that poets and philosophers have extolled their virtues and historically the fig has formed part of the staple diet of different cultures since ancient times. In Egypt, particularly in the pyramid of Giza (years 4000-5000 BC) illustrations representing fig collection have been found. In the book of Exodus, figs were one of the fruits which the Canaan explorers presented to Moses. The fruit has always been an essential food to the Greeks, indeed the fig tree was dedicated to Dionysus, the god of rejuvenation and where a city was founded a fig tree was planted between the agora and the forum to mark the place where the elders were to meet. It was the favourite dish of Plato, in fact it is known as the "fruit of the philosophers." Galen also recommended its use to athletes participating in the Olympics.

The fig tree is native to the Mediterranean and its fruits have been prized by the various cultures that have settled on its shores over the years. The main producing countries are Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, France, USA and Brazil. In Spain Fig cultivation is predominantly based in Huesca (Fraga), Lérida, Avila and Cáceres (Sierra de Gredos), Murcia and Alicante.
Botanically speaking the fruit is a fleshy receptacle called Sicon, they are sweet and covered externally by a very thin skin. Figs can be classified into three groups depending on the colour of their skin: the white varieties: whitish, yellowish or green when ripe; the coloured variety: including those of a blue tint and the black varieties which are dark red or black.

During the course of the domestication of this species, pruning has proven beneficial, stimulating branch ramification, productivity and utility. Like other plants in the Ficus genus, all parts of the plant yield latex.

In the tropics, the altitude range most suited to the production of the fig is between 800 and 2,000 m. In Colombia, generally the fig yields fruit throughout the year. After the sixth year of a well managed cultivation, employing good agricultural practices, a production of between 20-25 tons per hectare can be expected.