Articles
FRUIT SIZE AND INORGANIC COMPOSITION OF CULTIVATED MEXICAN HAWTHORNS GRAFTED ONTO A COMMON STOCK.
Some of these forms collected in the field were briefly characterized for their color size, main uses (3) and productivity (5). The diversity of external characteristics recorded in these data indicates the genetic potential of the species.
In Mexico hawthorn fruits have been used primarily for human nutrition for some centuries (17,21). The genus was strongly recommended for use as fodder at the end of 18th century (17) and the fruits are still used by Indians in the state of Chiapas to feed pigs, cows, sheep and goats (3). The fodder value of C. pubescens has been evaluated (6,16), and in South African tests the fodder value of fruits of the same species was shown to be relatively high (100 lbs of fruits = 20–25 lbs of maize, primarily for its high carbohydrate content) (16).
The chemical composition of flowers and foliage, as well as of fruits, have been extensively studied in the American, European and Russian hawthorns.
Large variations in chemical composition have been found, e.g., in the vitamin C content (2, 4, 20, 22, 23, 24). The inorganic composition of the foliage of some cultivated hawthorns was reported previously (10, 11, 12). The main aim of this report is to present data on the size components as well as the inorganic composition of fruits on the cultivated Mexican hawthorns, belonging to C. pubescens (H.B.K.) Steud.