Tropical Horticulture
Questions – Week 10
T or F – The date palm is a multi-trunked palm.
T or F – Costa Rica produces more oil palms than Malaysia.
The fruit of an oil palm turns _________ when it is ripe.
a. orange
b. black
c. green
d. purple
Which of the following is not a palm of the tropics:
a. date palm
b. coconut palm
c. J. Buffet palm
d. Oil palm
T or F – Durians grow on a vine.
To harvest a durian you should:
a. do so at night
b. do so before sun-up
c. do so with gloves
T or F – Guavas originated in Peru.
T or F – Guavas can only live in acidic soils.
If you were choosing a fruit based on a pleasant aroma, you would NOT select:
a. pineapple
b. banana
c. durian
d. mango
Give the scientific name and region of origin for each of the following:
a. snake fruit
b. rubber
c. date
Is the rubber plant monoecious or dioecious?
Which is true of a rubber tree?
a. older trees go through wintering
b. young trees never devoid of foliage
c. during wintering tree looses all of its leaves
d. all are true of rubber trees
Vulcanization
a. utilizes sulfur
b. stabilizes rubber at high temperatures
c. stabilizes rubber at low temperatures
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
Palms can tolerate
a. drought
b. high salt
c. high alkali
d. full sun
e. all of the above
f. none of the above
T or F – Cutting the cambium of a rubber tree will not kill the tree.
What are reasons rubber trees defoliate?
a. wintering
b. drought
c. cold and short days
d. all of the above
T or F - No truly wild coconuts are known.
What is the minimal rainfall amount that coconuts need?
To what family does the rubber tree belong?
a. Euphorbiaceae
b. Moraceae
c. Caryophyllaceae
d. Rubiaceae
The origin of rubber is what region?
a. Indonesia
b. West Africa
c. Amazonia
d. India
Which region produces the highest yields of coconuts?
a. Africa
b. Australia
c. Asia
d. Latin America
What parts of the coconut tree has commercial use?
What does protandrous mean?
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What is the main pollinator of coconut trees?
How are coconuts spread?
Which palm crop has increased in production the most since 1980?
a. dates
b. coconut
c. oil palm
d. none of the above
Which Asian country produces the most coconuts in the world?
a. Indonesia
b. Thailand
c. India
d. Phillipines
On average, an individual rubber tree will last how many years?
a. 4-5
b. 10-15
c. 20-25
d. over 100 years
Date palms are usually planted in what ratio for production?
a. 1 male plant for 50 female plants
b. 1 male plant for 100 female plants
c. 1 male plant for 10 female plants
d. 1 male plant for 1 female plant
e. the date palm is monoecious
The coconut tree is:
a. self-pollinated
b. cross-pollinated
c. parthenocarpic
d. self or cross pollinated
Oil palm is a major source of:
a. vitamin C
b. vitamin B
c. vitamin A
d. vitamin D
Which insects pollinate coconuts?
a. aphids
b. bees
c. mealy bugs
d. ants
T or F – Cassava is a perennial crop.
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How long does it take for a coconut fruit to mature?
a. 1 year
b. 6 months
c. 5 years
d. 3 years
What is the eye of a coconut?
a. connection point to the tree
b. point from which the seedling emerges
c. breathing/gas exchange area
d. a wound
How many mm of rain does cassava need?
What is the average temperature needed for optimal growth of the cassava crops?
Immature snake fruit is:
a. acidic
b. basic
c. lethal
d. bitter
Wintering is when rubber trees:
a. produce the most latex
b. drop all their leaves
c. go into hibernation
d. go dormant
Anemophillic and entomophillic refer to types of:
a. seeds
b. environmental conditions
c. pollination
d. fruit
How long until rubber seeds begin to lose viability?
What size must a rubber tree be before it is tapped?
What are the peak harvest months for snake fruit in Southeast Asia?
T or F – The caucho is the Ameridian species of rubber.
Rubber originated in:
a. Paris
b. Amazon
c. Peru
d. Africa
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T or F – Dates can handle alkaline and saline soils.
Which continent leads in date production?
The rubber tree leaves are what color when they are young?
a. copper
b. yellow
c. green
d. brown
What is family, genus, and species of the date?
a. dactylifera
b. Palmae
c. Phoenix
What color is snake fruit?
a. white
b. green
c. yellow
d. red
Snake fruit is indigenous throughout:
a. Indo-Malaysian region
b. Java Sumatran region
c. Madagascar
d. None of the above
T or F -Snake fruit are dioecious like dates.
Where does tamarillo originate?
a. Peru
b. Brazil
c. Argentina
d. Chile
T or F – Date seeds are used for jewelry.
T or F – A coconot tree is a dicot.
T or F – Salak palms have large edible stems, stalks, and trunks.
T or F – Snakefruit requires cross pollination for good fruit set.
The oil palm is propagated exclusively by:
a. grafting
b. air layering
c. seed
d. suckers
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Explain how you would make a cut on a rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, in order to tap the tree
for its latex.
Where did the oil palm originate?
a. West Africa
b. South America
c. India
d. Malaysia
What is the genus and species of rubber?
a. Ananas cornosus
b. Hevea brasiliensis
c. Phoenix dactylifera
d. Manilkara zapota
What is the origin of snakefruit?
a. South America
b. Egypt
c. South African region
d. Indo-Malaysian region
T or F – The coconut tree is a monocot.
T or F – The coconut tree is monoecious, but not dichogamous.
Who is the largest coconut producer?
T or F – The date palm is one of the oldest cultivated plants.
How are coconut trees selected to be a best seed source?
a. check to see if there is a dense crown
b. need to have a uniform growth
c. have a straight trunk
d. capable of holding heavy fruit
e. ALL of the above
List at least four uses of coconut oil.
The scientific name for the rubber tree botanical family is:
a. Euphorbiaceae
b. Bromiliaceae
c. Rubudububoceae
d. none of the above
T or F – The height of a cultivated rubber tree is 10-30 meters.
What is one reason for a rubber tree to drop its leaves.
a. cold and short days
b. drought
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c. bad soil
d. a. and b.
What region produces the most coconuts?
Why does complete dichogamy require cross pollination?
What time of day is latex flow from a rubber tree the highest?
What are three desirable characteristics of Cocas nucifera seed source for propagation?
a. straight trunk
b. dense crown
c. short, capable of holding heavy fruit crop
d. closely spaced leaf scars
e. high production
Describe the differences between the production and yield trends from 1962 to 2000 for Cocos
nucifera and Elaeis guineensis.
Describe the growth habit of Salaca zalaca.
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