Consider the following fruits:
- I.Papaya
- II.Pineapple
- III.Guava
How many of the above were introduced in India by the Portuguese in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) All the three
All three fruits are New World plants that reached India through Portuguese contact: pineapple in the sixteenth century, papaya through Portuguese (and Spanish) sailors carrying seeds to India, and guava in the seventeenth century.
- ✓ I Papaya spread from Central America; an FAO history says Spanish and Portuguese sailors took its seeds to India in the century after 1500.
- ✓ II The National Horticulture Board records that pineapple cultivation was introduced to India by the Portuguese in 1548.
- ✓ III Guava is native to tropical America; an ICAR journal states it was introduced in India by the Portuguese during the seventeenth century.
Remember · Pineapple (1548), papaya and guava are all New World fruits that the Portuguese brought to India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Sources
- Pineapple, bankable one-acre model, National Horticulture Board (Ministry of Agriculture, Govt of India) ↗ “Cultivation of pineapple originated in Brazil and gradually spread to other tropical parts of the world. Pineapple cultivation was introduced to India by Portuguese in 1548 AD.”
- Pawpaw (Papaya) Post-harvest Compendium, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN ↗ “During the following century Spanish and Portuguese sailors took the seeds to the Phillipines, Malaysia and India.”
- Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences (ICAR), guava germplasm study ↗ · reference work “Guava (Psidium guajava L.) is a native of tropical America, is the most valuable, economical, cultivated member of a dicot family Myrtaceae (Nakasone and Paull 1998); introduced in India by Portuguese during 17th century (Menzal 1985).”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2025, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·