Is anyone aware of a cultivar that originates from India?  Separately, is anyone aware of whether ficus carica is even grown in india?
Thanks
Timothy

Well, you may think me nuts, but once on the phone getting technical help for one of my past computers that died, I asked the dude if they grow fig trees there.  Absolutely!  NOT sure if the trees originate from there, but they do grow and eat figs.

Suzi

Go to this Varietal page http://figs4fun.com/Varieties.html , then click P and go to Poona to see if that helps.

Ok let me preface this by saying that my wife and in-laws are Indian.  But I couldn't help but laugh at Suzi because usually I would be too frustrated on one of those calls to even have figs cross my mind hehe.  This one scam company keeps calling my cell phone with this indian accents and saying they're US Pharmaceutical and asking if I want to renew my prescription.  It's a scam and I don't even have a prescription, but they always call and harass me from a different number each time so i can't block them.  I'm busy trying not to go off on them and Suzi's over here chatting about figs :) 

Ottawan, thanks that's great info.  Can't believe I never noticed that one in the database before.  Maybe it's a new one in there.  Welp I guess I gotta go on another wild goose chase seeking some unheard of fig now that probably nobody has here yeay!

timmy2green, LOL!  We do get those same messages from the pharmaceutical company daily!  And we are on the "do not call" list.  Let me just say, on technical help, there is a lot of dead time while your computer is doing whatever they ask it to, so yep!  I chat!  And figs are on my mind...........

Suzi

LOL, my wife is amused by how figs manage to come up nearly every time we hang out with other people.  She thinks I have a problem.  I'm having a hard time coming to terms with reality.

Shailesh,
Do you know if it was definitely a ficus carica and not another type?  Also, where in India?  Just curious what parts of India they grow figs.  Our family is mostly from Calcutta, Argathala and Delhi.
Timothy

Ficus racemosa is very common in southern part of India where I grew up. I had a gigantic 30 feet tree in our back yard, growing up. Ficus Carica is not so common through out India, but is grown all along the Western Ghats or the mountain range that runs on the west side of india parallel to Arabian sea. It starts in the south in Tamil Nadu and ends at the top part of Maharashtra. I strongly beleive they are some version or predecessors of figs from middle east, that were brought over to India during Mughal empire.

Pune(Poona), Bangalore and Coimbatore are fall close to the hill range on the western ghat mountains and there are a select few varieties of dark and green figs grown for commercial purpose. Very few people grow Ficus carica in their garden. And Yes, India does have fig wasps.

I am not sure if they grow in the wild in east or central India where Calcutta, Agarthala and Delhi are.

I have a friend of a friend who brought a fig back from India. I have it growing but no figs yet. The name for figs there is Anjeer which is the same as in Turkey, Iran and many central asian countries. 

From a quick Google search, this article reports that the Indian government is subsidizing fig orchards and encouraging the farmers to grow figs while providing saplings and training.

The University of Horticulture Sciences-Bagalkot (UHS-B) in association with the Horticulture Department was promoting around eight improved varieties of figs, including “Diana, Poona, Excel, Dinar and Bellary”.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-karnataka/fig-leaves-covering-dry-districts/article5548088.ece

This blog responds to someone who wants to grow figs in Goa, and is told “it is better to you to choose a location with particularly dry climate. “ i.e., go live somewhere else. They could use some better cultivars, perhaps ones like the LSU products? It talks about government subsidies. http://aaqua.persistent.co.in/aaqua/forum/viewthread?thread=2464

I don’t remember seeing fresh eating figs in India the few times I toured there, but you can find ropes of dried figs there in most of the stores and even in the US in Indian grocery stores. I was so enchanted by the fresh chiku/sapotes I couldn’t eat anything else.

Mara - Did you get a chance to try Jackfruit while in India :) ?

Wow, thanks for all the info everyone.  Looks like I got the answers I was looking for.  I'm glad to finally put this question to rest.
Timothy

Mohan, I saw Jackfruit growing where I was staying in Mysore. They sure look amazing growing on the tree. A local Indian take out here in LA offers it as curry every week as well as a lotus root dish. I tried it a few times, but didn't care for it. Perhaps it was the way they prepared it.