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FRUIT CROPS
FRUIT CROPS
Diagnosis and Management of Nutrient
Constraints

Edited By

A.K. SRIVASTAVA, Ph.D.


Principal Scientist (Soil Science), ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute, Nagpur, India

CHENGXIAO HU, Ph.D.


Professor & Principal Scientist (Citrus nutrition and fertilization), Institute of Citrus Science and College of Resources & Environment,
Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Elsevier
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The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, United Kingdom
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This book and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by the Publisher (other
than as may be noted herein).

Notices
Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our
understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become
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Typeset by SPi Global, India


Contributors

Vojtěch Adam Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Renato Vasconcelos Botelho Agronomy Department, State
Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, University of Midwestern Paraná—Unicentro, Paraná, Brazil
Czech Republic Alberto Fontanella Brighenti Empresa de Pesquisa Agrope-
Riaz Ahmad Department of Horticulture, Bahauddin Zakariya cuária e Extensão de Rural de Santa Catarina (Epagri), São
University, Multan, Pakistan Joaquim, Brazil
Selena Ahmed The Food and Health Lab, Department of Gustavo Brunetto Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Health and Human Development, Montana State University, (UFSM), Campus Universitário, Centro de Ci^encias Rurais,
Bozeman, MT, United States Departamento de Solos, Camobi, Santa Maria, Brazil
Kashif Akram Department of Food Sciences, Cholistan Uni- David R. Bryla U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural
versity of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Bahawalpur, Research Service, Horticultural Crops Research Unit,
Pakistan Corvallis, OR, United States
M.S. Alam Horticulture Division, Bangladesh Institute of Hakan Burhan Sen Research Group, Department of Biochem-
Nuclear Agriculture, Mymensingh, Bangladesh istry, Faculty of Arts and Science, Dumlupınar University,
Paula Alayón Luaces Fruticultura, Facultad de Ciencias Evliya Çelebi Campus, K€ utahya, Turkey
Agrarias, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Corrientes, Thomas O. Butler Department of Chemical and Biological
Argentina Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United
Wasayf J. Almalki Department of Chemical and Biological Kingdom
Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Miaomiao Cai College of Resources and Environment/
Kingdom Micro-element Research Center/Hubei Provincial Engi-
Muhammad Akbar Anjum Department of Horticulture, neering Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong Agri-
Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan cultural University; Key Laboratory of Horticultural
Plant Biology (HZAU), MOE, Wuhan, People’s Republic
Chrysovalantou Antonopoulou Department of the Agricultural
of China
Development, School of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences,
Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece Rodolfo Canet Center for the Development of Sustainable
Agriculture, Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research,
Jirı́ Antošovský Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science,
Valencia, Spain
Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences,
Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Luciano Cavani Department of Agricultural and Food Sci-
ences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bolo-
Margarida Arrobas Centro de Investigação de Montanha
gna, Italy
(CIMO), Instituto Politecnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal
James Chapman School of Medical and Applied Sciences,
Ignácio Aspiazú State University of Montes Claros, Montes
Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD,
Claros, Brazil
Australia
Cuihua Bai College of Natural Resources and Environment,
John M. Chater Department of Botany and Plant Sciences,
South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People’s
University of California, Riverside, CA, United States
Republic of China
Christos Chatzissavvidis Department of the Agricultural
Elena Baldi Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences,
Development, School of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences,
Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece
Allen V. Barker University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA,
Jianjun Chen Department of Environmental Horticulrture and
United States
Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, University of
Betina Pereira de Bem Instituto Federal de Santa Catarina Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Apopka,
(IFSC), Urupema, Brazil FL, United States
Adalberto Benavides-Mendoza Autonomous Agricultural Uni- Li-Song Chen Institute of Plant Nutritional Physiology and
versity Antonio Narro, Department of Horticulture, Saltillo, Molecular Biology, College of Resources and Environment,
Mexico Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
Maja Benkovi University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Technol- Marlise Nara Ciotta Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária e
ogy and Biotechnology, Zagreb, Croatia Extensão de Rural de Santa Catarina (Epagri), Lages, Brazil

xiii
xiv Contributors

Jucinei Jose Comin Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina Jose E. Gaiad Fruticultura, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias,
(UFSC), Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Florianópolis, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Corrientes, Argentina
Brazil Bin Gao Department of Agricultural and Biological
Lessandro De Conti Instituto Federal de Educação, Ci^encia e Engineering, University of Florida, Institute of Food and
Tecnologia Farroupilha—Campus Santo Augusto, Santo Agricultural Sciences, Gainesville, FL, United States
Augusto, Brazil Maciej Ga˛stoł Department of Pomology and Apiculture,
Márcio Cleber de Medeiros Corr^ea Federal University of Ceará, Agricultural University in Kraków, Kraków, Poland
Fortaleza, Brazil Melanie D. Gomez Herrera Fruticultura, Facultad de Ciencias
Juan Manuel Covarrubias-Ramı́rez CESAL-INIFAP, Saltillo, Agrarias, Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Corrientes,
Mexico Argentina
Daniel Cozzolino School of Science, RMIT University, Fulya Gulbagca Sen Research Group, Department of Bio-
Melbourne, VIC, Australia chemistry, Faculty of Arts and Science, Dumlupınar Univer-
Sjoerd E.A.T.M. van der Zee Soil Physics and Land Manage- sity, Evliya Çelebi Campus, K€utahya, Turkey
ment Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Peng Guo Institute of Plant Nutritional Physiology and
Netherlands; School of Chemistry, Monash University, Molecular Biology, College of Resources and Environment,
Melbourne, VIC, Australia Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou; College
Jose Aridiano Lima de Deus Institute of Technical Assistance of Life Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou,
and Rural Extension of Paraná (EMATER-PR), Curitiba, Brazil China
Sara Di Lonardo Research Institute on Terrestrial Zafar Hayat Department of Animal Sciences, CVAS-University
Ecosystems—Italian National Research Council (IRET-CNR), of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jhang, Pakistan
Sesto Fiorentino, Italy Jia-Dong He College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze
Bartolomeo Dichio Department of European and Mediterra- University, Jingzhou, China
nean Cultures: Architecture, Environment and Cultural Chengxiao Hu College of Resources and Environment/Micro-
Heritage (DiCEM), University of Basilicata, Matera, Italy element Research Center/Hubei Provincial Engineering
Zhihao Dong College of Resources and Environment/ Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong Agricultural Uni-
Micro-element Research Center/Hubei Provincial versity; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology
Engineering Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong (HZAU), MOE, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China
Agricultural University; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Antonio Ibacache Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias
Plant Biology (HZAU), MOE, Wuhan, People’s Republic (INIA), Centro Regional de Investigación Intihuasi, La Serena,
of China Chile
Ladislav Ducsay Department of Agrochemistry and Plant Diego S. Intrigliolo Irrigation Deparment, CEBAS-CSIC, Mur-
Nutrition, The Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, cia; CSIC Associated Unit “Riego en la agricultura Mediter-
Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia ránea,” Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias,
Madeleine F. Dupont School of Science, RMIT University, Moncada, Spain
Melbourne, VIC, Australia Maria Del Rosario Jacobo-Salcedo CENID RASPA-INIFAP,
Aaron Elbourne School of Science, RMIT University, Gómez Palacio, Mexico
Melbourne, VIC, Australia Byoung Ryong Jeong Horticulture Major, Division of Applies
Fatima Elmusa Sen Research Group, Department of Biochem- Life Science (BK21 Plus Program), Graduate School,
istry, Faculty of Arts and Science, Dumlupınar University, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, Republic of Korea
Evliya Çelebi Campus, K€ utahya, Turkey Wei Jia College of Resources and Environment/Micro-
Jeanette M. Van Emon EVE Sciences, Henderson, NV, United element Research Center/Hubei Provincial Engineering
States Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong Agricultural Uni-
versity; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology
Hassan Etesami Agriculture & Natural resources Campus,
(HZAU), MOE, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China
Faculty of Agricultural Engineering & Technology, Depart-
ment of Soil Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran Huan-Xin Jiang Institute of Plant Nutritional Physiology and
Molecular Biology, College of Resources and Environment,
Róger Fallas-Corrales Soil Physics and Land Management
Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The
Netherlands Antonio Juárez-Maldonado Autonomous Agricultural Univer-
sity Antonio Narro, Department of Botany, Saltillo, Mexico
Umar Farooq Department of Food Science & Technology,
Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Tamara Jurina University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Tech-
Multan, Pakistan nology and Biotechnology, Zagreb, Croatia
Laura Olivia Fuentes-Lara Autonomous Agricultural Univer- Davie Kadyampakeni University of Florida, Institute of Food
sity Antonio Narro, Department of Animal Nutrition, Saltillo, and Agricultural Sciences, Citrus Research and Education
Mexico Center, Lake Alfred, FL, United States
Contributors xv
Evangelos Karagiannis Laboratory of Pomology, Department Isidro Morales National Polytechnic Institute, CIIDIR-Oaxaca,
of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Oaxaca, Mexico
Thessaloniki, Greece Babak Motesharezadeh Department of Soil Science, University
Jasenka Gajdoš Kljusuric University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
Technology and Biotechnology, Zagreb, Croatia Seyed Majid Mousavi Soil and Water Research Institute, Agri-
Jinxue Li College of Resources and Environment/Micro- cultural Research, Education and Extension Organization
element Research Center/Hubei Provincial Engineering (AREEO), Karaj, Iran
Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong Agricultural Marcelo Marques Lopes M€
uller Agronomy Department, State
University; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology University of Midwestern Paraná—Unicentro, Paraná, Brazil
(HZAU), MOE, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China
William Natale Federal University of Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil
Wenhuan Liu National Engineering Research Center for
Erika Nava-Reyna CENID RASPA-INIFAP, Gómez Palacio,
Citrus Technology/Citrus Research Institute, Southwest
Mexico
University-Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,
Chongqing, China Rolf Nestby Division Food and Society (Horticulture), Nor-
wegian Institute of Bioeconomy (NIBIO), Ås, Norway
Arc^angelo Loss Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina
(UFSC), Centro de Ciencias Agrarias, Florianopolis, Brazil Danúbia Aparecida Costa Nobre State University of Montes
Claros, Montes Claros, Brazil
Cledimar Rogerio Lourenzi Universidade Federal de Santa
Catarina (UFSC), Departamento de Engenharia Rural, Kenneth Nyombi Makerere University, College of Agricultural
Florianópolis, Brazil and Environmental Sciences, Kampala, Uganda
Donglin Luo College of Natural Resources and Environment, Dámaris Leopoldina Ojeda-Barrios Autonomous University of
South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People’s Chihuahua, Laboratory of Plant Physiology, Chihuahua,
Republic of China Mexico
YanYan Ma National Engineering Research Center for Citrus Fernanda Soares Oliveira State University of Montes Claros,
Technology/Citrus Research Institute, Southwest University- Montes Claros, Brazil
Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chongqing, China _
lbrahim Ortaş University of Cukurova, Faculty of Agriculture,
Rui Machado ICAAM—Mediterranean Institute for Agricul- Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Adana,
tural and Environmental Sciences; Crop Sciences Department, Turkey

School of Science and Technology, University of Evora, 
Evora, Gloria Padmaperuma Department of Chemical and Biological
Portugal Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United
Victor Martins Maia State University of Montes Claros, Montes Kingdom
Claros, Brazil Leon Etienne Parent Department of Soil and Agri-food Engi-
Belen Martı́nez-Alcántara Certification Section, Plant Health neering, Universite Laval, Quebec, QC, Canada
Service, Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, Climate Vı́ctor Manuel Parga-Torres CESAL-INIFAP, Saltillo, Mexico
Change and Rural Development, Valencia, Spain Margarita Parra Irrigation Deparment, CEBAS-CSIC, Murcia,
Renato de Mello Prado São Paulo State University—UNESP, Spain
Jaboticabal, Brazil Bet^ania Vahl de Paula Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
George Wellington Bastos de Melo Embrapa Uva e Vinho, Bento (UFSM), Campus Universitário, Centro de Ci^encias Rurais,
Gonçalves, Brazil Departamento de Solos, Camobi, Santa Maria, Brazil
Donald J. Merhaut Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Rodinei Facco Pegoraro Federal University of Minas Gerais,
University of California, Riverside, CA, United States Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Michail Michailidis Laboratory of Pomology, Department of Ana Perez-Piqueres Center for the Development of Sustainable
Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessalo- Agriculture, Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research,
niki, Greece Valencia, Spain
Nebojša Miloševic Department of Pomology and Fruit Breed- Raffaella Petruccelli Institute of BioEconomy—Italian National
 cak, Republic of Serbia
ing, Fruit Research Institute, Ca Research Council (IBE-CNR), Sesto Fiorentino, Italy
Tomo Miloševic Department of Fruit Growing and Viticulture, Aoife Power School of Medical and Applied Sciences, Central
 cak,
Faculty of Agronomy, University of Kragujevac, Ca Queensland University, Rockhampton, QLD, Australia
Republic of Serbia John E. Preece National Clonal Germplasm Repository,
Alba N. Mininni Department of European and Mediterranean USDA-ARS, University of California, Davis, CA, United
Cultures: Architecture, Environment and Cultural Heritage States
(DiCEM), University of Basilicata, Matera, Italy Fangying Qiu National Engineering Research Center for Citrus
Athanassios Molassiotis Laboratory of Pomology, Department Technology/Citrus Research Institute, Southwest University-
of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chongqing,
Thessaloniki, Greece China
xvi Contributors

Ana Quiñones Center for the Development of Sustainable Faqih A.B. Ahmad Shuhaili Department of Chemical and
Agriculture, Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research, Biological Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield,
Valencia, Spain United Kingdom
M.A. Rahim Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agri- Petr Škarpa Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science,
culture University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences,
R.A. Ram ICAR-Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
Lucknow, India Adriano Sofo Department of European and Mediterranean
Hermann Restrepo-Diaz Departamento de Agronomia, Facul- Cultures: Architecture, Environment and Cultural Heritage
tad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, (DiCEM), University of Basilicata, Matera, Italy
Bogotá, Colombia Giovambattista Sorrenti Department of Agricultural and Food
Jorge B. Retamales Head ISHS Division Vine and Berry Fruits, Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna,
Viña del Mar, Chile Bologna, Italy
Felipe Klein Ricachenevsky Universidade Federal de Santa Andre Luiz Kulkamp de Souza Empresa de Pesquisa Agrope-
Maria (UFSM), Departamento de Biologia, Santa Maria, Brazil cuária e Extensão Rural de Santa Catarina (Epagri), Videira,
Brazil
Patrizia Ricciuti Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences
(DiSSPA), University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, Bari, Italy Matheus Severo de Souza Kulmann Universidade Federal de
Santa Maria (UFSM), Campus Universitário, Centro de
M. Ângelo Rodrigues Centro de Investigação de Montanha
Ci^encias Rurais, Departamento de Solos, Camobi, Santa
(CIMO), Instituto Politecnico de Bragança, Bragança, Portugal
Maria, Brazil
Isabel Rodrı́guez-Carretero Center for the Development of
A.K. Srivastava Indian Council of Agricultural Research-
Sustainable Agriculture, Valencian Institute of Agricultural
Central Citrus Research Institute, Nagpur, India
Research, Valencia, Spain
Lincon Oliveira Stefanello Universidade Federal de Santa
Danilo Eduardo Rozane São Paulo State University, UNESP,
Maria (UFSM), Campus Universitário, Centro de Ci^encias
Registro, Brazil
Rurais, Departamento de Solos, Camobi, Santa Maria, Brazil
Jose S. Rubio-Asensio Irrigation Deparment, CEBAS-CSIC,
Alyssa L. Stewart The Food and Health Lab, Department of
Murcia, Spain
Health and Human Development, Montana State University,
Pavel Ryant Department of Agrochemistry, Soil Science, Bozeman, MT, United States
Microbiology and Plant Nutrition, Faculty of AgriSciences,
Margie L. Stratton*
Mendel University in Brno, Brno, Czech Republic
Qiling Tan College of Resources and Environment/Micro-
Alefsi David Sánchez-Reinoso Departamento de Agronomia,
element Research Center/Hubei Provincial Engineering
Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de
Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong Agricultural Uni-
Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
versity, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China
Alberto Sandoval-Rangel Autonomous Agricultural University
Ning Tang Institute of Plant Nutritional Physiology and
Antonio Narro, Department of Horticulture, Saltillo, Mexico
Molecular Biology, College of Resources and Environment,
Eva Sapáková Department of Languages, Faculty of Regional Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou; Research
Development and International Studies, Mendel University in Institute for Special Plants, Chongqing University of Arts and
Brno, Brno, Czech Republic Sciences, Chongqing, China
Djalma Eug^enio Schmitt Universidade Federal de Santa Georgia Tanou Institute of Soil and Water Resources, ELGO-
Catarina (UFSC), Curitibanos, Brazil DEMETER, Thessaloniki, Greece
Fatih Sen Sen Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Adriele Tassinari Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Faculty of Arts and Science, Dumlupınar University, Evliya (UFSM), Campus Universitário, Centro de Ci^encias Rurais,
Çelebi Campus, K€ utahya, Turkey Departamento de Solos, Camobi, Santa Maria, Brazil
Ricardo Serralheiro ICAAM—Mediterranean Institute for Tadeu Luis Tiecher Instituto Federal Farroupilha, Campus
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Agricultural Alegrete, Alegrete, Brazil
Engineering Department, School of Science and Technology,
  Moreno Toselli Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences,
University of Evora, Evora, Portugal
Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Afshan Shafi Department of Food Science & Technology,
Vi Khanh Truong School of Science, RMIT University,
Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture,
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Multan, Pakistan
Matjaž Turinek University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
Bo Shu College of Horticulture and Gardening, Yangtze
University, Jingzhou, China Ana Jurinjak Tušek University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food
Technology and Biotechnology, Zagreb, Croatia

*Retired
Contributors xvii
Seetharaman Vaidyanathan Department of Chemical and Bio- Lin-Tong Yang Institute of Plant Nutritional Physiology and
logical Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, Molecular Biology, College of Resources and Environment,
United Kingdom Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
Davor Valinger University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Lixian Yao College of Natural Resources and Environment,
Technology and Biotechnology, Zagreb, Croatia South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, People’s
Tripti Vashisth University of Florida, Institute of Food and Republic of China
Agricultural Sciences, Citrus Research and Education Center, Jovani Zalamena Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Lake Alfred, FL, United States (IFRS)—Campus Restinga, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Nicolás Verdugo-Vásquez Instituto de Investigaciones Agro- Ting Zhan College of Resources and Environment/Micro-
pecuarias (INIA), Centro Regional de Investigación Intihuasi, element Research Center/Hubei Provincial Engineering
La Serena, Chile Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong Agricultural
Zonghua Wang Institute of Oceanography, Minjiang Univer- University; Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology
sity; Fujian University Key Laboratory for Plant-Microbe (HZAU), MOE, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China
Interaction, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Yuanyuan Zhao College of Resources and Environment/
Fuzhou, China Micro-element Research Center/Hubei Provincial
Xiangying Wei Institute of Oceanography, Minjiang Univer- Engineering Laboratory for New Fertilizers, Huazhong
sity; Fujian University Key Laboratory for Plant-Microbe Agricultural University; Key Laboratory of Horticultural
Interaction, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Plant Biology (HZAU), MOE, Wuhan, People’s Republic
Fuzhou, China; Department of Environmental Horticulrture of China
and Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, University Yongqiang Zheng Citrus Research Institute, Southwest
of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University-Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,
Apopka, FL, United States Chongqing, China
Qiang-Sheng Wu College of Horticulture and Gardening, Vasileios Ziogas Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Plants and
Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China Viticulture, Hellenic Agricultural Organization (H.A.O.)—
Cristos Xiloyannis Department of European and Demeter, Chania, Greece
Mediterranean Cultures: Architecture, Environment and Andres Zurita-Silva Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuar-
Cultural Heritage (DiCEM), University of Basilicata, Matera, ias (INIA), Centro Regional de Investigación Intihuasi, La
Italy Serena, Chile
Editors’ biography

Dr. A.K. Srivastava, received his MSc (Ag) and PhD in soil science from Banaras Hindu
University in 1984 and 1988, respectively, and is currently the principal scientist (Soil Science)
at Central Citrus Research Institute (formerly, National Research Centre for Citrus), Nagpur
under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi. He has extensively pursued
research work on different aspects of citrus nutrition including nutrient constraints analysis
of citrus orchards by developing DRIS-based soil-plant nutrient diagnostics, orchard efficiency
modeling, targeted yield-based site-specific nutrient management exploiting spatial variabil-
ity in soil fertility, citrus rhizosphere-specific microbial consortium and soil carbon loading,
INM module, fertigation scheduling, nutrient mapping using geospatial tools, nutrient
dynamic studies, transformation of soil microbial biomass nutrients within citrus rhizosphere,
and soil fertility map as decision support tool for fertilizer recommendation. He has handled
30 projects (13 as principal investigator and 17 as coprincipal investigator), exclusively on
FRUIT NUTRITION.
Awards: He has been credited with a large number of publications including 161 research
papers (102 papers in Indian journals and 59 papers in foreign journals), 49 policy review
papers (32 in Indian journals and 17 in foreign journals), delivered 102 invited lead/keynote
lectures, and 252 abstracts in seminar/symposium/conference. He is the recipient of numerous awards including S.N. Ranade
Award for Excellence in Micronutrient Research, FAI Silver Jubilee Award, International Plant Nutrition Institute-FAI Award,
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Award for Excellence, National Magnum Foundation Award for Excellence, Dhirubhai Morarji
Award, B.L. Jain Award, World Aqua Foundation Award, Best Citrus Scientist Award, etc. In addition, his biography appeared
in two world-famous biographical compilations.
Academic fellowships: He is the life member of as many as 32 academic societies besides being an honorary member of World
Association of Soil and Water Conservationists. He is also the author of books like Citrus: Soil and Climate, Citrus Nutrition pub-
lished by IBDC, Lucknow and editor of book titled Advances in Citrus Nutrition by Springer-Verlag, Netherlands. He has been
inducted as a Fellow of 10 professional academic societies (Maharashtra Academy of Sciences, National Environmental Science
Academy, Environmental Research Academy, United Writers Association, Indian Society of Citriculture, Indian Society of Soil
Science, Indian Society of Agricultural Chemists, Confederation of Horticultural Associations of India, Gramin Vikas Society,
and National Academy of Biological Sciences). He is a member of Asian Council of Science Editors at Seoul, Korea.
Editorial assignments: He is an editor-in-chief of Research Journal on Earth Sciences and International Journal of Horticultural
and Crop Science Research, Current Horticulture; honorary editor, Agricultural Science Digest; executive editor, Agritechnology;
regional editor of International Journal of Food, Agriculture, and Environment; and Advances in Horticultural Science and
a member of editorial board of prestigious peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Plant Nutrition, Communications in
Soil Science and Plant Analysis (Taylor & Francis, USA), Journal of Agronomy and Crop Sciences (Crop Sci. Soc. Am.), and
associate editor, Agronomy Journal (Am. Soc. Agron.) and Scientia Agricola (Brazilian Acad. Agri. Sci.) to name a few and
20 national journals. He is also a regular paper setter on advance courses on soil fertility and soil chemistry across nine agricultural
universities in India. He is also a member of the management committee of three ICAR-based organizations, viz., ICAR-NRC on
Seed Spices, Ajmer, Rajasthan and ICAR-NRC on Pomegranate, Solapur, Maharashtra; ICAR-Indian Institute of Vegetable
Research, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; and ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use planning, Nagpur, Maharashtra
in addition as a member of Technical Advisory Committee, Central Institute of Horticulture, Nagaland, India. He is a panel member
of a committee constituted by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, New Delhi for Codex Standards for Organic Farming
and Integrated Nutrient Management. He is also an adjunct faculty of three agricultural universities and a visiting professor
at Huazhong Agricultural University, Hubei and Yangtze University, Jingzhou, China.
Foreign assignments: He was invited as a citrus expert by Government of Nepal in 1999 under Indo-Nepal MOU, as a keynote
speaker in World Citrus Congress held at Wuhan, China in 2008, and as a resource person for Soil–Plant Interaction Workshop in
2018 at Huazhong Agriculture University (Wuhan) and Yangtze University (Jingzhou), China. He was also invited as a lead speaker
in International Symposium by Huazhong Agriculture University China in November 2018 and is invited as a keynote speaker
at International Symposium on Mineral of Fruit crops scheduled to be held on June 7–11, 2020 in Jerusalem (Israel).
More information may be obtained at his URLs: www.aksrivastavacitrus.com http://livedna.org/91.949, scholar.google.co.in/
citations and contacted at email: [email protected]. Mob: 91-9422458020/07709150513.

xix
xx Editors’ biography

Dr. Chengxiao Hu has been the director of the International Cooperation and Exchange
Division of Huazhong Agricultural University (and the Dean of the International College),
and has received his BA, MS, and PhD degree in agronomy from Huazhong Agricultural
University in 1988, 1991, and 1999, respectively. He joined Huazhong Agricultural University
in July 1991, and was promoted as associate professor and professor, respectively, in 1997 and
2002. His research fields include citrus and some other crop rotation formula fertilization
technology system, agricultural product safety production and nutrient management, crop
molybdenum nutrition mechanism and application of molybdenum fertilizer technology,
urban sludge agricultural pollution control principles and technologies, mechanisms of
mid- and micronutrient functions, especially Mo, Se of horticultural plants for edible quality
development particularly the sugar/acid ratio, Vitamin C, etc.. He has presided over more than
40 projects, including the National Natural Science Foundation, Scientific and Technological
Support Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology, 948 projects of the Ministry of
Agriculture, the Ministry of Education, and the New Zealand ASIA2000 fund.
Awards: He has won the second prize of Science and Technology Progress Award by
Education Ministry in 2017; the second prize of Hubei Science and Technology Progress Award
in 1998, 2016, and 2018; excellent patent project and the Hubei outstanding doctoral dissertation for five times by the Education
Department of Hubei Province. Two papers won the first prize of provincial excellent scientific papers and two papers won the
second prize. The book Practical Formula Fertilization Technology coedited by him won the second prize of the 4th Excellent Science
Works Award (Science Book) in Hubei Province in 2002. He is credited with five invention patents and one utility model patent.
He has published more than 280 papers in various domestic and foreign journals, and 92 articles were included in SCI. He has edited
or participated in the compilation of five books.
Academic fellowships: For more than a decade he has been the director of the New Fertilizer Engineering Laboratory of Hubei
Province, the deputy director of the Academic Committee of the Key Laboratory of cultivated land conservation in the middle and
lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer Education Work
Committee, the executive member of the council of the Chinese Citrus Society, the executive director of the Hubei Soil and Fertilizer
Society, and the director of the Hubei Fertilizer Application Association. He was selected as the youth expert of Huazhong
Agricultural University (1998), young and middle-aged experts with outstanding contributions to Hubei province (2001), the high
level talent project of the new century of Hubei province (2003), the “excellent talent support program in the new century” from
Education Ministry (2004), Senior Members of the Ministry of Agriculture (2006) and the “fifteenth” Advanced Individuals in the
Field of Intelligence (2006) at the national level.
Editorial assignments: Professor Hu has served as a member of the Degree Committee of the People’s Government of Hubei
Province, a member of the Expert Committee of Textbook Construction of the Textbook Office in the Ministry of Agriculture, a
member of China Fertilizer and Soil Conditioner Standardization Technical Committee, and as deputy chairman of the Education
Working Committee of the Chinese Society of Plant Nutrition and Fertilizer.
Professor Hu can be reached at his email: [email protected] and contacted at Tel: +86 27 8728 8840.
Preface

Fruit crops have been cultivated for centuries, both commercially and in amateur orchards as a major part of agri-
cultural production. Agriculture is conceived as one of the humanity’s crowning achievements and one of the central
dynamics in the rise of human civilization. “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a popular adage, signifies the
importance of fruit crops in the human diet (Chapter 1). Presently, fruit crops have touched 675 million metric tons
(114 million metric tons of bananas) of production with most popular fruit varieties such as bananas and apples
followed by grapes and oranges, offering a promising alternative to nutritional security options, besides easing the
load on otherwise heavy per capita consumption of cereal crops. As we race toward a global population of 10 billion,
the business as usual for fruit farming no longer appears as a viable option.
Entangled in multiple stresses, establishing a sustainable production system is the key challenge of present time
fruit science. Decline in soil fertility due to nutrient mining is the major constraint limiting the productivity of fruit
crops. Consistent reduction in nutrient density of different fruit crops is an indication of the nutrient mining-induced
decline in productivity over time (Chapter 2). Fruit crops by the virtue of their perennial nature of woody framework
(Nutrients locked therein), extended demand for nutrient supply across physiological growth stages, differential root
distribution pattern (root volume distribution), and preferential requirement of some nutrients over others, collectively
make them nutritionally more efficient than annual crops (Chapter 3).
Fruit crops by the virtue of being considered most nutrient responsive in nature, often develop certain overlapping
morphogenetic symptoms under nutrient-capped scenario (Chapter 4), where ecophysiology of growing the fruit
crops play a decisive role (Chapter 5). Perennial fruit trees play an important role in the carbon cycle of terrestrial eco-
systems and sequestering atmospheric CO2. An increase in yield of fruit crops such as apple, grape, banana, pineapple,
mango, citrus, etc. in response to elevated CO2 concentration has been extensively studied. It remains to be investi-
gated, how accurate estimation of orchard C budget vis-à-vis timescale and feedback mechanisms of changes in soil
carbon pool and steady-state level under specific fruit crop in order to expand potential of C credits through perennial
fruit crops (Chapter 6). Fruit crops are undoubtedly one such group of perennial crops potentially very promising
while looking at effective options for neutralizing (atmospheric carbon dioxide offset) the increasing menace of climate
change-related issues (Chapter 7).
Plant nutritionists across the globe are on their toes to find ways and means to identify nutrient constraints as early
in standing crop season as possible while dealing with fruit crops. Exciting progress has been made over the years, and
accordingly, the basis of nutrient management strategy has experienced many paradigm shifts. While doing so, it is
being increasingly felt to have some diagnostic tool to identify nutrient constraint as and when it originates by
capturing the signals released at the subcellular level. On the other hand, conventionally used diagnostic tools of iden-
tifying nutrient constraints such as leaf analysis, soil analysis, juice analysis, and to some extent, metalloenzyme-based
biochemical analysis, all have been under continuous use and refinement. And, therefore, the development of nutrient
diagnostics is an extremely complex exercise. The issue becomes still quite complex under the soil conditions facing
multiple nutrient deficiencies.
Not surprisingly, proximal sensing through spectral signatures of crop canopies in the orchards are more complex
and often quite dissimilar from those of single green leaves measured under carefully controlled conditions. Even
when leaf spectral properties remain relatively constant throughout the season, canopy spectra change dynamically
depending upon variation in soil type, vegetation, and architectural arrangement of plant components. Vegetation
indices provide a very simple yet an effective method for extracting the green plant quantity signal from complex
canopy spectra. Narrower band indices such as the photochemical reflectance index, water band index, and normal-
ized pigment chlorophyll ratio index are examples of reflectance indices that are correlated with certain physiological
plant responses, and hold promise for diagnosing water and nutrient stress.
Nondestructive methods of identification of nutrient constraints, especially spectroscopic methods (Chapter 8), hold a
definite edge, capable of sensing nutrient deficit as a biological nutrient sensor (Chapter 9) to track the genesis of nutrient
deficiency on a real-time basis. Ironically, micronutrient deficiencies are diagnosed through a specific pattern of chlorosis,
e.g., Fe versus Mn or Fe/Mn versus Zn backed up by nutrient concentration, capturing symptomatic pattern of chlorosis

xxi
xxii Preface

via spectral norms (signatures), irrespective of crop species further limit this concept toward more wider application. In the
light of these developments, a relatively new concept popularly known as “Nutriomics” has emerged, revealing some
lesser-known facts about fruit nutrition as a function of genomics (Chapter 10). By contrast, the better acknowledged
methods of nutrient constraints diagnosis exploiting the merits of destructive methods of analysis like leaf analysis is
by far the most widely used diagnostic tool (Chapter 11), of which many other developments have taken place
(Chapter 12) to add better precision-based interpretation. However, among destructive methods of diagnostics tools, none
of them is capable of identifying the nutritional disorders in the current seasons crop, thereby, aiming the outcome
of diagnosis supposedly effective in next season crop. Flower analysis, though still in infancy stage, holds a better promise
(Chapter 13), since it offers a comparatively longer time from anthesis to fruit maturity to schedule the fertilizer recom-
mendation without compromising with either fruit yield or any of fruit quality parameters.
Growing fruit crops under diverse agro-pedological conditions confronted with multiple limitations is a consider-
able challenge with respect to the deficiency of calcium (Chapter 14) and boron (Chapter 15) or toxicity of boron
(Chapter 16) and aluminum (Chapter 17), which need some strategic reorientation in our nutrient management
options. On the other hand, the beneficial nutrients such as selenium (Chapter 18) and silicon (Chapter 19) have of
late attracted the researchers, to be part of fruit nutrition program. These two nutrients hold a strong synergism with
nutrients such as potassium, iron, manganese, calcium, etc. with varying agronomic implications. However, the full
potential of such crunch nutrients could be realized only when floor management is properly looked into using suit-
able cover crops, serving multiple soil fertility functions (Chapter 20) through an effective rootstock-scion combination
to optimize quality production, besides prolonging the orchard longevity (Chapter 21).
Rhizosphere security (soil security) is the call of the day these days, where physicochemical and biological prop-
erties of the soil inhibited by the roots are shaped in accordance to crop metabolism. Ecological significance of rhizo-
sphere in terms of genetic, functional, and metabolic responses is another dimension in fruit crops, which need an
incisive analysis (Chapter 22). However, it remains to be seen, whether or not and to what extent, such ecosystem
service functions of rhizosphere are governed by different soil microbial communities. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
(AMF) is one of the most influential soil inhabiting fungi able to establish symbiotic relationship with more than 90% of
the plants representing terrestrial ecosystem. How does mycorrhizosphere of fruit crops aid in unraveling the hidden
facts about fruit nutrition through elevated synthesis of glomalin-related-soil-protein (Glycoprotein) are chronologi-
cally analyzed (Chapter 23) in the backdrop of some striking breakthroughs about the role of AMF in fruit nutrition
(Chapter 24) to develop fruit trees with the desired biochemical and physiological preparedness as a result of mycor-
rhization to resist against a variety of other abiotic and biotic stresses. This is where mycorrhization of fruit trees could
develop a better nutrient sink vis-à-vis quality fruit production. Recently, microbial inoculation has assumed a much
greater significance, ever since depleting soil organic carbon has assumed an alarming proportion to facilitate soil fer-
tility and plant nutrition act in a coordinated manner. In this pursuit, microbial consortium showed a clear cut supe-
riority over single or dual microbial inoculation (Chapter 25) which has an added advantage of regulating the
rhizosphere functional dynamics through biofertigation (Chapter 26) as the newest concept of fertigation, a little
known nutrient supply system in fruit crops. Hence, these attempts are likely to provide some plausible answers with
regard to top environmental problems, viz., microbial diversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change to later
tailor them into organic production system.
Regenerative farming using fruit crops could be quite thrilling and remunerative for long-term production sustain-
ability. Adopting organic way (Chapter 27) and biodynamic method of nutrient management (Chapter 28) using cos-
mic energy-based calendar operation are likely to throw up new vistas of addressing different soil fertility constraints
toward an optimized performance. However, foliar nutrition (Chapter 29) is the way forward approach to produce
nutrient-dense fruit crops. But, nutrients aligning through phloem mobility and phloem immobility further pose some
uncompromisable limitations, with the results, foliar feeding of nutrients still remains a formidable challenge.
Overcoming the ever-increasing frequency of different soil fertility constraints, use of soilless method of cultivation
is gradually gaining momentum in perennial fruit crops, called open-field hydroponics (Chapter 30), though not a
popular concept but has many challenges to overcome before open-field hydroponics becomes a popular and conven-
tional method of fruit crops growing.
Sustaining soil fertility with respect to fruit crops is another core agenda where biochar (essentially charcoal having
carbon residence time in soil extending for >100 years) proved its utility, mostly under tropical environment with acid
soils, imparting an additional liming value to biochars. The much value-added biochars have been derived from
banana and orange sun-dried peels. Therefore, biochars need to be utilized for expanding carbon sequestration poten-
tial of soil, improving soil nutrient balances, especially in alkaline soils, soil-crop health under typical long-term field
conditions. Additionally, biochar augers so well in organic production system, need to look afresh (Chapter 31). Iron-
ically, stress and plant nutrition hardly complement each other. Despite quantum of researches dedicated to salinity
Preface xxiii
responses of fruit crops, physiological basis of salinity tolerance is yet little understood (Chapter 32) at molecular level,
another core area of research in fruit crops has been addressed so beautifully. Managing salinity stress toward better
performance of fruit crops is always tricky issue. Improving the level of plant nutrition plays a combative role in
moderating the impact of salinity exposure to fruit crops (Chapter 33) and has been highlighted with the help of some
success stories.
Considering the thumping success of trunk nutrition, will it not be more advisable to analyze the xylem sap or
phloem tissue for chemical and microbial constituents, since the signal transduction for various nutrients functioning
mediate through these tissues only. Such attempts could provide some meaningful clues about the presence or absence
of those signals to be later utilized in understanding the underlying principles of nutrient stress-induced warning
mechanism. These studies could lay the solid foundation for developing some probe linked to transpiration stream
of plant to act as early warning system for identifying deficiencies of various nutrients (Chapter 34). Use of nano-
fertilizers (synthesized or modified form of traditional fertilizers), though still not a popular option to conventionally
used fertilizers, offer some definite promise toward elevated use efficiency of applied fertilizers (Chapter 35) through
proper delivery system utilizing different types of nano-fertilizers. However, issues relating health hazards need thor-
ough studies with regard to nano-fertilizes to be really effective cropwide. The concept of nutrient-use-efficiency
applied on the principles of 4R Nutrient Stewardship (Right amount of fertilizers using right source is applied at right
time and right place) provides an ultimate framework guide to fertilizer use to any crop, with fruit crops being no
exception (Chapter 36). Such attempt is slated toward increased production, profitability, and environmental safety.
A further understanding of nutrient-microbe synergy provides a solid foundation in unlocking the productivity poten-
tial of fruit crops, besides safeguarding the soil health and possibility of doubling the yield coupled with nutrient-use-
efficiency as central theme. With the availability of more technical know-how on combined use of organic manures,
prolonged shelf life of microbial bio-fertilizers, and inorganic chemical fertilizers, an understanding on nutrient acqui-
sition and regulating the water relations would help switch orchards to better CO2 sink (expanding carbon capturing
capacity of rhizosphere), so that a more sustainable fruit-based integrated crop production system could be evolved
(Chapter 37). A comprehensive comparative study of organic versus inorganic fertilizers will be a booster to add
strength to such integrated approaches (Chapter 38), where use of slow-release fertilizers can be stitched quite effec-
tively to match with nutrient demand with critical growth stages (Chapter 39), a prerequisite to another form of
nutrient-use-efficiency, known as nutrient utilization efficiency.
Correct diagnosis of nutrient constraints and their management are the two contrasting pillars of any successful
fruit nutrition program. One of the most complex issues about fruit nutrition is the time taken to respond to fertilizer
application in fruit crops such as citrus, mango, litchi, pomegranate, grapes, guava to name a few. It is because of
erroneous diagnosis of nutrient constraints or big canopy size that dictates the nutritional behavior of these fruit
crops at different developmental phases during long orchards, life. An assessment on annual nutrient export from
orchard, quantum of nutrients locked into the trees skeletal framework and ability to distinguish between nutrient
remobilized within tree canopy and externally applied fertilizer sources, senile nature of trees etc., singly or collec-
tively govern the nutrient responsiveness of these fruit crops. An extensive attempt has been made to address the
diagnosis and management of nutrient constraints in some of the premier fruit crops such as berries (Chapter 40),
stone fruits (Chapter 41), papaya (Chapter 42), mango (Chapter 43), banana (Chapter 44), litchi (Chapter 45), pome-
granate (Chapter 46), grapes (Chapter 47), guava (Chapter 48), citrus (Chapter 49), and pineapples (Chapter 50).
These fruit-based chapters would go a long way in enriching the literature through state of the art compilation
and in-depth analysis to bring out the long pending issues to limelight and offer a long-term solution for those
researchers and practitioners involved in fruit nutrition.
We place on record our sincere acknowledgment to all the learned researchers/scientists having contributed their
chapters and standing by us for so long. We also wish to thank acquisition editor, Dr. Nancy Maragioglio; Mr. Redding
Morse and Ms. Swapna Srinivasan during the course of this book, an exciting and educative journey through fruit
nutrition to both of us as editors of such massive effort. We earnestly hope, this book will attract a worldwide
readership as a popular source of literature on Fruit Nutrition.

A.K. Srivastava
ICAR-Central Citrus Research Institute, India

Chengxiao Hu
Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
C H A P T E R

1
Fruits and nutritional security
Umar Farooqa,*, Afshan Shafia, Kashif Akramb, Zafar Hayatc
a
Department of Food Science & Technology, Muhammad Nawaz Shareef University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan
b
Department of Food Sciences, Cholistan University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Bahawalpur, Pakistan
c
Department of Animal Sciences, CVAS-University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Jhang, Pakistan
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]

O U T L I N E

1 General 1 3.5 Immunity 8


3.6 Diabetes 9
2 Fruits 3
3.7 Infectious diseases 9
2.1 Nutritional components of fruits 3
2.2 Bioactive compounds in fruits 5 4 Conclusion 9
3 Therapeutic benefits of fruits 6 5 Future perspectives 9
3.1 Anticancer properties 6
References 10
3.2 Cardiovascular protection 8
3.3 Hypercholesterolemia 8 Further reading 12
3.4 Brain health 8

1 General

The concept of nutritional security is difficult to define due to its complex, broad, and multidimensional nature.
Food availability, affordability, access, safety, and its stability are the basic pillars or dimensions of food security.
It also has multidisciplinary nature with the involvement of a variety of stakeholders with national and international
status (Candel, 2014; Hendriks, 2015). Food availability refers to the supply of quality food with sufficient quantity,
and access is concerned with socioeconomic status of individuals to purchase appropriate foods to meet nutritional
requirements. Similarly, the stability in food security is referred to the achievement of a situation where an individual
or whole population has access to adequate food all the time (FAO, 2006). These pillars of food security are intercon-
nected, for example, food access is not possible without food availability and food utilization is linked with food access
(Hendriks, 2015). When personal needs of sufficient, safe, and wholesome food are fulfilled for healthy and active life
all the time, then the person is considered as food secured. As per definitions of food security, only a person should not
have access to food; instead, the food must also fulfill the energy and nutritional requirements of the body to prevent
the situation of malnutrition. In current scenario, the food security has become a major issue not only for the devel-
oping countries but also for the developed countries. Not only the solutions for such a complex problem should con-
sider the environmental and technical perspectives, but also the nations should look at the economic, social, and
political aspects to handle the situation of food insecurity (Termeer et al., 2015).
The concerns of food security are not only focused on the prevailing conditions but also related to the future chal-
lenges of feeding of rapidly increasing world population (IFPRI, 2015). The research findings have indicated that there
is a continuous experience of food insecurity. The first or primary indicator of food insecurity is considered to be the
shortage or poverty, which reflects the issues related to food availability and access. To cover such situation, the people

A.K. Srivastava, Chengxiao Hu (eds.)


Fruit Crops: Diagnosis and Management of Nutrient Constraints
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-818732-6.00001-0 1 © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
2 1. Fruits and nutritional security

try to find out the ways to cut food consumption. This leads to the usage of cheaper and energy dense food commod-
ities to fulfill the energy requirements of the body, which results in hidden hunger through malnutrition of specific
nutrients especially the micronutrients. The deficiencies of such vital nutrients lead to acute hunger, and such situation
is known as acute food insecurity (Hendriks, 2015).
There are a number of identified reasons for food insecurity, and the major focus of the nations is to improve the
economic status of the individual so that each person may have the capacity of purchasing. The other major target is to
ensure food availability to feed the whole world. To combat such situations of food insecurity, a number of programs
are being launched by the government and nongovernment organizations to fight against food and nutrition insecurity
(Tanumihardjo et al., 2007). However, these programs have been found to be little fruitful in reducing food insecurity
and failed to address the challenges of nutrition insecurity (Lear et al., 2014; Shisana et al., 2014). These programs have
been unable to combat both food and nutrition insecurities (Khoury et al., 2014). The basic reason behind the situations
is basically the lack of food diversification. The people rely on only limited foods specially the staple foods of their
respective regions, which lead to nutritional insecurities. Although different programs of food fortification and sup-
plementation have been launched all over the world, however, these programs are also limited to the fortification of
specific targeted nutrients, and ultimately, the consumer fails to get all necessary nutrients required for a healthy life
(Popkin et al., 2012). Thus, the consumption of only staple food over a long period leads to a number of health diseases
and disorders due to the situation of under nutrition (Smith and Haddad, 2015; Papathakis and Pearson, 2012). Due to
the fact, about 800 million people all over the world are considered to be undernourished with two billion people suf-
fering from micronutrient deficiencies. Similarly, due to unbalanced diet, 1.9 billion people are overweight all over the
globe, and one out of every three persons is malnourished (IFPRI, 2015).
The poor diets mostly based on staple foods are the common sources of hidden hunger as such diets no doubt pro-
vide enough energy for body but fail to provide all essential nutrients like vitamins and minerals. The people suffering
from hidden hunger have not enough awareness about the importance of balanced diet, or they may not have enough
access to wide range of nutritious foods (animal and plant based) due to any reason. The poverty and high prices could
be among the basic factors that tend the consumer to continue longtime intake of staple foods with reduced or even
zero intake of nonstaple foods, which result in nutrition insecurity (Bouis et al., 2011). The major reasons of nutritional
food insecurity are highlighted in Fig. 1.1. These situations necessitate the intake of nonstaple foods like fruits to meet
the needs of nutrient-based food security. Fruits and vegetables have important role in the provision of a healthy diet,
and daily intake of such nonstaple foods helps to control and manage a number of human diseases and health disor-
ders. With intake of fruits and vegetables, 2.7 million lives could be saved through the prevention of chronic diseases
along with alleviation of nutritional deficiencies related to micronutrients (WHO, 2003).
Different strategies have been adopted to combat the situation of hidden hunger. The strategies may include
fortification, biofortification, supplementation, and diversification. The diversification in diet and diet pattern
seems to be one of the effective methods to control hidden hunger. This diet diversification has also positive effect

FIG. 1.1 Determinants of nutritional insecurity. Modified from Aijaz, R., 2017. Preventing hunger and malnutrition in India. ORF Issue Brief 182,
pp. 1–12.
2 Fruits 3
on child nutritional outcomes even when controlling for socioeconomic factors. The dietary diversification no
doubt ensures a healthy and balanced diet with combination of macro- and micronutrients through a wide range
of food choices including fruits.

2 Fruits

Fruits are the essential part of healthy lifestyle and crucial part of safe and healthy diet. As per recommendations of
the WHO, it has been reported that the less consumption of fruits leads toward various metabolic disorders especially
cardiovasculars such as 11% heart strokes and 31% ischemic heart disease globally. On the basis of aforementioned
facts, it was also predicted that daily consumption of fruits may can protect more than 2.7 million people annually.
Therapeutic significant of fruits also proved might be due to the characteristics of low calories, high nutritional con-
tents, dietary fibers, and robust biologically active compound. These characteristics of fruits make them able to cure a
number of disorders and improve health status of community (Du et al., 2011).

2.1 Nutritional components of fruits


Fruits are not only the most acceptable for their delightful taste but also possess a number of therapeutic benefits
containing frequent nutrients (Buachan et al., 2014; Slavin and Lloyd, 2012). A wide variety of fruits contain significant
amount of ascorbic acid or vitamin C like citrus fruits (orange and mandarin). Vitamin C is present in abundant quan-
tity in citrus fruits that only one mandarin can accomplish the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin C for a
normal human being. Similarly, other fruits are rich with some other specific nutrients. Generally, fruits contain
70%–80% moisture, 1.5% proteins, 13%–15% carbohydrates, up to 6% dietary fibers, 501 mg minerals, and up to
90 mg vitamins (Fig. 1.2). But this composition varies with fruit to fruit and variety to variety such as mango fruit that
contains nearly 81% moisture, 0.4% fat, 0.6% protein, and 0.8% fibers.
It also contains nearly 17% of carbohydrates. Fruits also contain a perishable amount of minerals like magnesium,
potassium, sodium, phosphorus, and sulfur. Similarly, guava comprises 77%–86% moisture content, whereas the
remaining nutrients include crude fiber (2.8%–5.5%), protein (0.9%–1.0%), fat (0.1–%0.5%), minerals (0.43%–0.7%),
and carbohydrate (9.5%–10%), and it also contains vitamins and minerals. This composition of guava fruit differs
significantly with season, maturity stage, production technology, and variety (Mandal et al., 2009; Jimenez-Escrig
et al., 2001). It is a good source of dietary fiber, dietary minerals (potassium, manganese, and copper), and vitamins
(A, C, and folic acid) (Hassimotto et al., 2005). This fruit is also called “super fruit” as it has considerable amounts of
vitamin A and C (Suntornsuk et al., 2002). Except vitamin C, a good quantity of other nutrients such as folate carot-
enoids and potassium is also present in many fruits. β-Cryptoxanthin and β-carotene are the known precursors of

Phytonutrients

Enzymes Natural acids Antioxidant Phytosterol Nondigestible carbohydrates

Glucosinolates Polyphenols Carotenoids

Organosulfur Indoles Xanthophylls


Carotenes

Flavonoids Lignans Isoflavones Curcuminoids Stillbenoids Tannins

FIG. 1.2 Phytonutrients tree. Modified from FFL (Food Fit for Living), 2016. Phytonutrients—Nature’s Unknown Soldiers. Available from: http://www.
foodfitforliving.com/thisweekatfffl/2016/1/9/week-13-phytonutrients-atures-unknown-soldiers. (Accessed 27 January 2019).
4 1. Fruits and nutritional security

TABLE 1.1 Nutritional composition of various fruits (National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, 2018).
Nutrient Apple Guava Mango Citrus Pomegranate Pear Peach Banana Watermelon Apricot

Carbohydrates 17.3 g 14.32 g 25 g 11.8 g 18.70 g 27 g 16.7 g 22.84% 21 g 11.12 g

Proteins 0.3 g 2.55 g 1g 0.9 g 1.67 g 1g 1.4 g 1.09% 1g 1.4 g


Lipids 0.2 g 0.95 g 0.5 g 0.1 g 1.17 g 0% 0.4 g 0.33% 0g 0.39 g
Vitamins – – – 70 mg – 15% 22% – – –
Minerals – – – 7% – 2% – 484 mg 270 mg –
Fiber 3.0 g 5.4 g 3g 2.4 g 4.0 g 5% 3.1 g 2.6% 1g –

vitamin A and are classified under the category of carotenoids (Aldeguer et al., 2014). The nutritional composition of
various fruits is shown in Table 1.1.

2.1.1 Lipids
A molecule of nutritive fat normally contains a number of fatty acids (having long chains of hydrogen and carbon
atoms), attached with glycerol. They are normally found as triglycerides (three fatty acids bonded with one glycerol
backbone). In human diet, a minimum of two fatty acids is important. A suitable balance of essential fatty acids—
omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids—looks also important for health, though conclusive experimental demonstration
has been elusive. Among these “omega” long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids are substrates for a class of eicosanoids
called as prostaglandins, which play a major role in the human body. Fruits like banana, grapes, custard apples, ber,
and cashew nut are good sources of fat (Chadha, 2007).

2.1.2 Water
Water essential to normal body functions as a vehicle for carrying other nutrients. The human body consists of 60%
water, which is crucial for the proper physiology of the human body. Fruits are the richest source of water as they
contain 70%–80% water contents (Desjardins, 2007).pt?>

2.1.3 Proteins
Proteins are the basis of many animal body structures (e.g., muscles, skin, and hair) and form the enzymes, which
catalyze chemical reactions throughout the body. These foods are the building blocks of the body. These are important
for body development. Lack of proteins in the body is responsible for stunted growth, increased chances of diseases,
and lethargy. Protein molecules consist of amino acids having nitrogen and sometimes sulfur (during burning of pro-
tein, a distinctive smell is produced due to these components, such as the keratin in hair). To produce new proteins
(protein retention) and exchange damaged proteins (maintenance), amino acids must be required in the human body.
In digestive juices, amino acids are soluble in small intestine, where they are absorbed into the blood. They cannot be
stored in the body after absorption, so they are either metabolized as required or excreted in the urine. The average
adult requires 1 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day; children may require two to three times of this
amount. Cashew nut, almond, filbert, pecan, pistachio, and walnut are rich in protein. Cashew nut is the richest source
of protein among fruits (Kazi et al., 2015).

2.1.4 Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are among the most important nutritional components of fruit with dominating contents of glucose,
fructose, and sucrose. Among fiber constituents, pectin is the major component present in fruits, which makes 65%–
70% of the total fiber. Other components of the fiber like cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, and gums are also part of total
fiber. Due to improper blood glucose metabolism, hyperglycemia (high blood glucose) or hypoglycemia (low blood
glucose) may appear (Mayes et al., 2011).

2.1.5 Ascorbic acid (vitamin C)


Vitamin C is a category of ascorbic acid and is included in the group of water-soluble vitamins. In the human
body, the vitamin C takes part in the formation of collagen, which is the main component of connective tissues. In
the consequences, the deficiency of this vitamin causes weakness of tissues. Vitamin C also aids in the iron absorp-
tion. By using citrus products, we can control cold and anemia. The antioxidative activity of vitamin C is well
2 Fruits 5
recognized, and due to this behavior, it is considered to be responsible in preventing the oxidation of fatty acids, pro-
tein, and DNA. As these radicals are responsible for diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), and cataract
formation, vitamin C can play role in the management of these diseases as well. The 10 g daily intake of vitamin C is
considered to be effective for prohibition of its deficiencies. High amount of vitamin C may be hazardous as it may
produce danger of iron load (Ford and Giles, 2000).

2.1.6 Folic acid


Folic acid is also known as foliate. This water-soluble vitamin is associated with cell metabolism. Folic acid helps in
DNA, RNA, and hemoglobin formation and has key role in anemia prevention. By using 400 μg folic acid, the defects of
natural tube can be prevented, and 225 mL of fresh orange juice has 75 μg folic acid (NIH, 2018).

2.1.7 Potassium
Potassium controls the acid-base balance of the body. Blood pressure of the body is normally associated with min-
erals. According to daily requirement allowance, 2000 mg of potassium should be taken on daily basis. By using citrus
fruit products and juices, we can improve the intake of potassium. A 235 mg of potassium comes by drinking 225 mL
glass of orange juice (Duarte and Paull, 2015).

2.2 Bioactive compounds in fruits


It plays a role against free radicals and prevents the body from free radicals. It protects against the degenera-
tive sicknesses such as melanoma and cataracts. It also plays a role in boosting immune system, iron absorption,
and bovine collagen development. Bovine collagen plays a role in bone fortification and ligament and wound healing
(Liu et al., 2012).

2.2.1 Phytochemicals
Fruits are known as the amazing natural medicines due to the presence of many bioactive compounds like flavo-
noids, vitamins, minerals, anthocyanins, and other compounds (Halliwell, 2006). These bioactive compounds prevent
fruit from pathogens and are responsible for fruit flavor and fruit color. At the same time, these play an important role
in the prevention of many chronic diseases. However, the debatable discussion is whether the extracts from fruits rich
of phytochemicals have equal beneficial approach toward human health as achievable through whole food having
phytochemical or the mixture of foods. It has been investigated by the researchers that different portions of fruits have
different levels of phytochemicals. For example, the apple peel only contributes 0.4% antioxidant activity due to vita-
min C as compared with the whole antioxidant activity that clearly indicates that the most of the antioxidant activity is
contributed by other compounds like phenolics and flavonoids (Liu, 2003). So, all the phytochemicals play an impor-
tant role in functional outcomes of the fruits. The classification of phytonutrients presents in fruits and other food com-
modities is elaborated in Fig. 1.2. Studies also predicted that the two phytochemicals (quercetin and ellagic acid) in
strawberries were found responsible for anticancer and antimicrobial activity by blocking the suppress progression,
initiation of carcinogenesis, and tumor proliferation (Denny and Buttriss, 2007).

2.2.2 Phenolics
The phytochemicals like phenolic are present in fruits, and due to protective biological functions of the phenolic, the
fruits have prime importance in diet therapies and should be included in diet pattern. The phenolic compounds are
even present in the by-products of fruits and in the fruit industry wastes. A number of phenolic compounds have been
found in the peels of various fruits (Schieber et al., 2001). The fruits like grapes, apples, raspberries, cranberries, and
strawberries and also their drinks such as orange and apple juices are good sources of phenolics. These compounds
offer very strong facts of antimicrobials uniqueness (Urquiaga and Leighton, 2000).

2.2.3 Phenolic acid


Apple contains phenolic acids that are dihydrochalcones (phloretin glycosides), caffeic acid (chlorogenic acid), and
p-coumaric acid (p-coumaryl-quinic acid); both are present with quinic acid in their esterified form (Awad et al., 2000;
Thielen et al., 2005).
6 1. Fruits and nutritional security

2.2.4 Flavonoids
Flavonoids are composed of carbon atoms with 15 in number, and these carbon atoms are ordered in a C6-C3-C6
configuration. These are considered as low-molecular-weight compounds. Physically, flavonoids are made up of two
rings (aromatic), which are united through three carbon bridges leading to heterocyclic ring structure (Balasundram
et al., 2006).
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoid) are placed in the list of secondary metabolites of plant and are abundantly present in
the plant cells, which are responsible for photosynthesis. These compounds are also present in different parts of a plant
like leaves, stem, fruit, seeds, and flower. They are responsible for the color of the flowers. As per classification of
IUPAC, these compounds can be further categorized into flavones (e.g., rutin and quercetin), isoflavonoids, and
neoflavonoids (Viuda-Martos et al., 2010).
The two main subtypes of apple polyphenols are flavonoids and phenolic acids. Apple is a good source of these
compounds, and the most important flavonoids in apple are epicatechin, catechin, quercetins, and proanthocyanidins,
which are their oligomers. These types of phenols have astringency and bitterness in apple (Thielen et al., 2005).

2.2.5 Tannins
Tannins are polyphenolic compounds that are high in molecular weight and soluble in water. Due to the presence of
large number of hydroxyl groups, the tannins have the ability to bind with carbohydrates and proteins but up to lim-
ited levels. Tannins are further classified in to two main groups: nonhydrolyzable tannins and hydrolyzable tannins.
Hydrolyzable tannins are actually gallic acid esters; after consumption, they are converted into gallic acid and then
absorb into digestive tract. Condensed tannins are high in molecular weight compound and contain catechin polymers
(Hassanpour et al., 2011).

2.2.6 Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are the most important and prevalent group of flavonoids found in pomegranate arils. These com-
pounds are responsible for the red color of juice and fruit. Anthocyanins are water soluble and are polyhydroxyl and
polymethoxyl glucosidic derivatives of 2-phenylbenzopyrylium salt or flavylium salts. They are present in fruits and
are titled as delphinidin, malvidin, cyanidin, pelargonidin, petunidin, and peonidin. Due to the number and location of
hydroxyl group, each anthocyanin was different from other. The difference in each anthocyanin arises from the posi-
tion and number of hydroxyl groups, the location, the level of methylation of the hydroxyl groups, number and nature
of attached sugars, and aliphatic or aromatic acids bound to the sugars in the molecule (Afaq et al., 2005).

3 Therapeutic benefits of fruits

There is a strong consideration regarding utilization of fruits and positive impact on health status (Table 1.2). Epi-
demiological research studies have demonstrated the health-promoting activities of fruits such as anticancer proper-
ties, asthma-curing ability, cardiovascular protective effect, antioxidative, antihypercholesterolemic, immunity
boosting effect, antidiabetic, and digestion-improving characteristics (Saito et al., 2002).

3.1 Anticancer properties


Many fruits have anticancer properties due to the presence of bioactive compounds, which work against cancerous
cells. Sun and Liu (2008) strongly recommended that the frequent consumption of apple minimizes the threat of the
occurrence of cancer especially breast and colon cancers. Another study was conducted by Liu et al. (2008) to expose
the effect of apple extract on cancerous cells in rats. Results of the study revealed that apple extract has the potential to
reduce the tumor size in rats. They suggested on the basis of the results of their study that whole apple (peel, pomace,
and pulp) has the potential to stop the growth of cancerous cells and to reduce the possibility of various types of can-
cers like lung cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer.
Sun and Liu (2008) performed a research experiment on anticancer effect of bioactive compounds of various parts of
apple. They basically separated biologically active compounds such as phenolics and flavonoids from the different
parts of apple. Then, these bioactive compounds were evaluated for their potential physiological effects. Results
indicated that three phenolic components and six flavonoid compounds were found to be present in apple peel.
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He went on speaking at great length of the secret wisdom of the chosen
and the folly of the mob, of the greatness of King Akhnaton and of his
loneliness—"he, too, does not come down to earth from the Mountain"—of
their future triple alliance and of how he, Tuta, will help them both "to
come down."

Dio listened and the same spell came over her—she could not awake or
cry out.

"No, he is not stupid," she thought. "Or he is both stupid and clever,
crude and subtle. Very strong—not he, though, but the one who is behind
him. 'He is only a knife in the hand and the hand is strong.' He talks to me
as to a child, and I expect he talks to the king in the same way; and perhaps
he is right: we are children and he is grown up; we are 'not quite human' and
he—quite. He is all for the world and all the world is for him. A man like
that is certain to reign. You will be king over the mice, you cat! Akhnaton
will disappear, Tutankhaton will remain. He will go through the ages in his
Amon's sandals, trampling on the Great Spirit. And the kingdom of this
world will be Tuta's kingdom!"

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Tuta said.

The centurion of the palace guards came in and, kneeling down, handed
Tuta a letter. He opened it and, after reading it, said:

"A chariot!"

When the centurion went out, he got up, walked across the room in
silence, then sat down in his chair, and resting his head on his hand, heaved
a deep sigh.

"Ah, the fools, the fools! I knew there was bound to be bloodshed...."

"Rebellion?" Dio asked.


"Yes, there's a rising on the other side of the river. It seems the Lybian
mercenaries have joined the rebels." His face was sad, but joy was shining
through the sadness.

Dio understood: the rising was the beginning and the end was the
throne.

He got up and turning to the couch took up his staff, untied the sandals
from it, put them on and said:

"Well, there is nothing for it, let us go and put down the rising!"

VI

here will be a great rebellion and the earth will be turned


upside down like the potter's wheel." Recalling these
words of the ancient prophet Ipuver, Yubra eagerly awaited
the fulfilment of the prophecy. "What if it begins without
me!" he thought, sitting in the pit. And when Khnum
turned him out of the house he took a staff, slung a wallet
behind his back and set off at random, looking as though he had been a
homeless wanderer all his life.

He remembered his old friend Nebra, the boatman, and decided to go


and see him at the Risit Harbour. But at the harbour he was told that Nebra
had finished work and was having supper in a tavern next door, in the
Hittite Square.

Yubra was tired; his legs ached with the stocks that he had been
wearing. He sat down to rest on a heap of stones on the quay.

The sun was setting behind the bare yellow rocks of the Lybian
Mountains, honeycombed with tombs. The low-lying meadows beyond the
river and the City of the Dead, where the embalmers' cauldrons were
perpetually boiling and black clouds of asphalt smoke rose in the air, were
already in shadow; only by the funeral temple of Amenhotep, at the end of
the sacred Road of the Jackals, the golden points of two obelisks shone with
a dull glow like smouldering candles.

The left bank was in shadow, but the right still lay in the evening sun,
which threw a coppery red glow on the dark-skinned, naked bargemen who
carried from the boats down the planks earthenware pots and sacks of
styrax and balm from Gilead, Arabian sandal and myrrh, fragrant incense
from Punt, and cloves—burnt offerings to the gods and ointments for the
dead. The quay was saturated with the fragrant odours, but through the
fragrance came the smell of a carcass thrown up by the river and lying on
the bank. An emaciated dog, with ribs that stood out under the skin, was
devouring it.

Suddenly two white eagles pounced on the carcass with loud flapping of
wings and greedy cries. The dog, frightened, jumped away with a squeal,
and watched them from a distance, its tail between its legs, its teeth bared in
an angry growl, its body shaking with hungry envy.

But a still greater envy glittered in the eyes of a starving beggar woman,
who had come in search of food from the province of the Black Heifer,
where men were devouring each other in their hunger.

She put her wrinkled, black, charred-looking breast to the lips of the
baby perched in a wicker basket behind her. It was biting and chewing it
furiously with its toothless gums but could not suck out a single drop of
milk, and, no longer able to cry, it only moaned.

"Bread, please, sir; I have had no food for three days!" the beggar
woman moaned in a voice as small as her baby's, stretching out her hand to
Yubra.

"I have none, my poor woman, forgive me," he said, and he thought
'soon the hungry will be filled.'
He got up and walked on. The woman followed him at a distance as a
stray dog follows a passer-by with a kind face.

Alongside of them on the smooth road, specially made for carrying


heavy weights from the harbour to the town, some fifteen hundred convicts
and prisoners of war were dragging, by four thick cables, something like an
enormous sledge with a huge granite statue of King Akhnaton that had just
been brought down the river. The superintendent of works, an old man with
a stern and intelligent face, looked like a dwarf as he stood on the knees of
the giant statue seated on its throne; he clapped his hands, beating the
measure of the song the men were singing and sometimes he shouted at
them and waved his stick, driving all this mass of men as a ploughman
drives a pair of oxen. In front of them a man was watering the road with a
watering can so that the runners should not be set on fire by the friction.

The cable, taut like a string, cut into men's shoulders even through the
felt pads; perspiration dropped from their faces bent low over the ground;
their muscles were strained; the veins on their foreheads were ready to
burst; their bones seemed to crack with the incredible effort. And the giant,
at rest for ever with a gentle smile on the flat lips, was only slightly moved
from time to time. A doleful song, accompanied by laboured breathing,
broke out like a moan from a thousand breasts:
Heigh-ho, pull and drag, pull and drag!
Heigh-ho, step along, step along!
When we've pulled an inch or two
We'll have earned a drink of beer,
We'll have earned a loaf of bread.
On and on with steady tread!
Make the heavy burden fly.
Now, brothers, here we go!
Have another try—
Oho!

"These, too, will not have long to suffer: the slaves shall be set free,"
Yubra thought.
From the road he turned into Teshub Street. This part of Thebes, by the
Apet Risit harbour, was populated by the worshippers of the god Teshub—
boatmen, carpenters, rope-makers and other working people, as well as by
tradesmen and inn-keepers.

The dark grey huts, looking like wasps' nests, made of the river mud and
reeds, were so flimsy that they came to pieces after a good rain. But it only
rained once in two or three years and, besides, it cost next to nothing to
build such a hut afresh. Not only the poor, but people of moderate means,
lived in them, in accordance with the Egyptian wisdom: our temporal home
is a hut, our eternal home is the tomb.

The walls giving on to the street had no windows, except a little one
with a movable shutter in the front door for the porter; the name of the
owner was written over it in coloured hieroglyphics. All the other windows
were at the back. On the flat roofs could be seen the conical clay granaries
and the wooden frames over the skylights, facing north, "wind-catchers" for
catching the north wind—"the sweetest breath of the north."

The inn of Itacama the Hittite, where Nebra was having his supper,
stood at the very end of Teshub street, not far from the Hittite Square.

Instead of a signpost there was over the door a clay bas-relief


representing a Canaan labourer sucking beer through a reed from a jug, and
an Egyptian woman, probably a harlot or a tavern keeper, sitting opposite
him; the hieroglyphic inscription said: "He comforts his heart with the beer
Haket, Heart's seduction."

As he was going into the tavern Yubra turned round to the beggar
woman and called to her:

"Wait a minute, my dear; I will bring you some bread!"

But she did not hear: his voice was drowned by the song of two tipsy
scholars. Thinking that he was driving her away she walked off. And the
two scholars—one long and thin, nicknamed the Decanter, and another
short and fat, the Beer-Pot, tumbled into the tavern nearly knocking Yubra
down. Both were bawling with all their might:
"Little geese are fond of water
But to us wine is better.
We are a merry crew
Drunken scholars bold and true.
Sages may grow old with study
Our wisdom is to drink.
Give us beer, pale or ruddy
Then we have no need to think."

Yubra walked into the dark, low-pitched room full of smoke and the
smell of cooking: Itacama was roasting a goose on a spit. All sorts of men
of different races sat on the matting on the floor listening to two girls
playing the kinnar and the flute; some were throwing dice, playing chess
and 'fingers'—guessing the number of fingers opened and closed very
rapidly; others were eating out of earthenware pots with their fingers—each
had a washing bowl by him—and sucking wine and beer through reeds.

When Nebra saw his friend Yubra, he came forward to embrace him—
the old men were very fond of each other—and ordered a luxurious supper
for him: lentil broth with garlic, fried fish, sheep's cheese, a pot of beer and
a cup of pomegranate wine—shedu. As often happens in times of famine
even poor people—as though to give themselves courage—liked being
extravagant with their last farthings.

Before sitting down to supper Yubra thought of the beggar woman; he


broke off part of a loaf and went outside. But she was no longer there and
he returned to Nebra disappointed.

The beggar had walked down the street and turned the corner; she
stopped there smelling newly baked bread. A middle-aged woman with a
wrinkled, sickly and cruel face was squatting on the ground baking barley
cakes: she did it by sticking thinly rolled-out paste on the outside of an
earthenware pot filled with charcoal embers.

"Give me some bread, dear, I have had no food for three days!" the
beggar moaned.
The woman raised her hard eyes to her:

"Go along! There is no end of you beggars tramping about; one can't
feed you all."

But the beggar stood still, looking at the bread greedily. "Give me some,
please, please!" she repeated, with frenzied, almost menacing entreaty, and
when the woman turned away to take some dough from another pot, she
suddenly bent down and stretched out her hand.

"Ah, you plague of Canaan, you scorpion's sting, you snake, thief,
robber, may you have no coffin for your body!" yelled the woman, striking
her on the hand.

The beggar answered back, showing her teeth as the dog had done and
retreating slowly, her eyes still fixed greedily on the bread.

The woman picked up a stone and threw it at her. The stone hit the
beggar on the shoulder. She gave a dreadful dog-like howl and ran. The
baby in the basket began to cry, but stopped at once as though realising that
tears were of no avail now.

Running to Hittite Square, where there was the god Teshub's old timber
chapel that looked like a log hut, she fell exhausted by a heap of sun-dried
manure bricks for fuel. She leaned against them sideways uncomfortably:
the basket was in the way but she had not the strength to take it off. The
baby was so quiet that it did not seem to breathe; she had not the courage to
see whether it was asleep or dead.

She suddenly remembered her neighbour in the province of the Black


Heifer, a twelve-year-old child-mother who had stolen somebody else's
baby, calmly cut its throat as though it had been a lamb, fed her own child
with it and had some herself. "That's what I ought to have done," thought
the beggar woman.

The pain in her stomach was gnawing her like a wild beast. She
suddenly felt weak all over, melting with weakness as it were. "I shall soon
die," she thought, and remembered: "may you have no coffin for your
body." She smiled: "no coffin—no resurrection.... Well, so be it! Eternal
death—eternal rest..."

She, too, though in a different way than Yubra, felt that the world had
turned upside down.

And in the tavern Yubra was whispering with his friend:

"Has it begun?"

"Yes. The other side of the River people are assembling already and
walking about with the holy tabernacle, singing glory to Amon. And I
expect it won't be long before they start here," Nebra answered, and added,
after a pause: "But what is it to us? The rebellion is about their god—not
ours."

"Never mind," Yubra said. "Whichever way it begins, the end will be
the same: the earth will turn upside down—and glory be to Aton!"

"Don't talk so loud, brother—if they heard you they would give you a
beating."

"No danger of that!" a stupid looking youth said, with a grin, lisping as
though his tongue were too big for his mouth; he was Zia, the Carpenter,
nicknamed the Flea. "It is all one to us—Amon or Aton. So long as bread is
cheaper than fish let the rest go hang!"

"You are a stupid man, Flea!" said the cauldron maker, Min, a sullen
and pompous old man, with colorless eyes that looked very light in his face
black with soot. "Who is Amon's son, Khonsu? Why, Osiris-Bata—the
Spirit of Bread. If the Spirit leaves the earth, there will be no more bread
and we will all perish like midges!"

"And is it true, mates," the Flea lisped, "that our dear golden Khonsu is
to be melted into money to buy bread for the poor?"
"What is heavier than lead and what name has it, other than
foolishness?" said Decanter, the scholar, looking at him with the self
importance of a learned man.

"And are you going to eat that bread?" Min asked, also looking at Flea
with contempt.

"I? It's all one to me! I will do what everybody else does," he answered,
smiling cautiously and shrugging his shoulders.

"Everybody will eat it, everybody!" the consumptive little cobbler Mar
said hurriedly, waving his hands and coughing. "The pig gulps down a baby
and doesn't care—it goes on grunting just the same; and so the people will
eat the god and say 'that's not enough, give us some more'!"

"Well, we shall indeed be scoundrels if we give away the holy image of


god to be defiled!" cried a giant with the face of a child—Hafra, the
blacksmith, striking his right fist on his left palm.

"There is one thing I can't make out," Min, the cauldron-maker said,
sighing heavily. "We are told that the king is a god. How can one god rise
against another?"

"It's not the king, but the high and mighty gentry, greedy bloodsuckers!"
the cobbler again put in hurriedly, going off into a fit of coughing. He
brought up some blood and went on:

"They ought to be hanged, the lot of them, like salt fish, on one string.
And the chief mischief maker is Tuta, the purring cat—he ought to be the
first to be hanged!"

"Mice burying the cat," said Min, smiling bitterly. "No, my man, there's
no way of doing it. The gentry talk and the people are mute; he who has the
sword has the word."

"A knife may be as good, but the trouble is that the hare has the knife in
its paw but cannot move for awe! That's why the fat-bellied ride rough-shod
over us. And if we weren't a set of fools we might do great things at a time
like this!" said a short, thick-set, broad-shouldered man of forty, with a
terribly disfigured but calm and intelligent face, who had been playing dice
without taking part in the conversation. He was Kiki the Noseless, the thief
who had lately plundered the tomb of the ancient King Saakerra and
obtained thousands of pounds worth of leaf gold and precious stones off the
king's mummy. He had been seized and brought to trial, but acquitted for a
large bribe.

Kiki was an assumed name and no one knew what his real name was. It
was rumored that in his youth he had committed an awful crime; he was
punished by being buried up to his neck in the ground, but by a miracle he
escaped and ran away; then he became the chief of a robber band in the
marshes of the Delta, was caught, had his nose cut off by the hangman and
was deported to the gold mines in Nubia; he escaped and became a brigand
once more; was seized again and sent to the copper mines of Sinai, escaped
again and, after hiding for some time, appeared in Thebes just before the
mutiny under the name of Noseless Kiki.

As soon as he spoke everyone was silent and turned to him. But he went
on playing dice, looking as though all that was being said here were empty
babble.

The musicians who had stopped for a moment began strumming the
kinnar and playing the pipe again. The scholars struck up a drunken song. It
had grown dark. They lighted a copper lamp suspended from the ceiling and
filled with evil smelling vegetable oil, and on the floor earthenware lamps
with mutton fat.

"Zen is speaking, Zen is speaking! Listen!" voices were heard suddenly.

Zen—or Zennofer—a man of thirty with a sad, gentle and sickly face
and dreadful cataract on his blind eyes, was a junior priest 'uab' in the
sanctuary of the god Khonsu-Osiris. He was reputed to be a seer because he
knew by heart the writings of the ancient prophets and himself had visions
and heard voices.

The musicians were told to stop, the drunken scholars were pushed out
into the street and in the stillness that followed the gentle voice of the
prophet sounded as though coming from a distance.

"To whom shall I tell of my sorrow? Whom shall I call to weep?" he


spoke as though crying in his sleep. "They do not hear, they do not see, they
walk in darkness; the foundations of the earth are shaking and there is no
wise man to understand and no foolish man to bewail it!"

Suddenly he stretched out his arms and cried in a loud voice: "So it has
been and so it shall be, so it has been and so it shall be! There shall be
endless evil. The gods will grow weary of men; the gods will forsake the
earth and go to heaven. The sun will be darkened, the earth will be waste.
The flowers of the fields will set up a moan, the heart of the beasts will
weep for men; but men will not weep—they will laugh with sorrow. An old
man will say 'I would I were dead,' and the child 'That I had not been born!'
There will be a great mutiny throughout the earth. The towns will say 'let us
drive out the rulers!' The mob will rush into the courts of judgment; the
scrolls of the law will be torn, records of estates scattered, the boundaries
between fields wiped out, the frontier posts knocked down. Men will say
'nothing is private, all things are in common; other people's things are mine;
I take what I like!' The poor will say to the rich, 'Thief, give me back what
you have stolen from me.' The small will say to the great 'all are equal!'
Those who have not built the houses will live in them; those who have not
tilled the land will fill the granaries; those who have not woven will be
clothed in fine raiment, and she who looked at her own reflection in water
will now gaze at herself in a mirror. Slaves will wear gold, pearls and lapis-
lazuli, and the mistress will go in rags, begging for bread. The beggars will
be as gods and the earth will turn upside down as does a potter's wheel!"

Suddenly he stood up and fell on his knees, raising his blind eyes to the
sky as though he already saw the things of which he was speaking.

"So it has been and so it shall be—there shall be a new heaven and a
new earth. There the lion shall lie down with the lamb and the sucking child
shall play on the hole of the asp and the weaned child put his hand on the
cockatrice's den. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord! He will
come down like rain on a freshly mown meadow, like dew upon the
parched fields. Lo, He cometh!"
He stopped and all were silent. "That's all nonsense," the Noseless
Kiki's voice was suddenly heard in the stillness. "Why do you listen to a
fool's talk?"

"And why do you revile God's prophet, you dog?" said Hafra the
blacksmith, laying his hand on Kiki's shoulder so heavily that Kiki
staggered. Freeing himself with an agile movement, he seized the knife that
hung at his waist; but glancing at the giant's childish face he evidently
changed his mind and said calmly, with a twinkle in his eye,

"Very well, if he is a prophet, let him tell us when this is to be?"

"For such as you—never; but for the saints—soon!" Zen answered.

"Soon? You are wrong there. No, brother, it will take a good long time
for fools to grow wise."

"But do you know when it shall be?" Hafra asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Tell us then, don't beat about the bush!"

"Do you remember the inscription on King Una's tomb?" asked Kiki,
the same mocking smile in his eyes.

Zen said nothing, as though he had not heard the question, but his face
quivered like the face of a child in a fit of terror.

Yubra, too, was trembling: he felt that the fate of the world were being
decided by this argument between the saint and the criminal. The
blacksmith scowled more and more menacingly.

"You have forgotten? Well, I'll remind you," Kiki went on. "Once upon
a time, very long ago, there lived a king called Una. He was a clever man,
cleverer than anybody in the world, but he was a brigand, a thief, a
scoundrel, no better than we are. He died and was buried and they put over
his tomb the inscription he told them to write: The bones of the earth are
cracking, the sky is shaking, the stars are falling, the gods are trembling:
King Una, the devourer of gods comes forth from his tomb and goes
hunting; he sets traps and catches the gods; he kills them; stews them, roasts
them, and eats them; big ones for breakfast, middle-sized for dinner, little
ones for supper, and old gods and goddesses he uses to make fragrant
incense. He devoured them all and became the god of gods.'"

"What rubbish is this, you fool? Speak straight, don't wriggle!" cried
Hafra, clenching his fists in a fury.

"Have it straight, then: it won't be soon, but the hour will come when
the poor and wretched will say 'we are no worse than King Una, the
devourer of the gods.' Scoundrels, pickpockets, brigands, dirty Jews, men
with torn nostrils, the flogged, the branded, the cursed will say 'we are
nothing—let us be everything! Then the earth will turn upside down and he
will come..."

"Who is he?" Hafra asked.

"God and devil, the Blacky-whity, two gods in one!"

"Stop or I'll kill you!" the blacksmith shouted, raising his fist.

Kiki jumped back and pulled out his knife. There would have been a
fight but shouts came from the street:

"They are coming! They are coming! They are coming!"

"Rebellion!" the cobbler was the first to guess what had happened and
rushed to the door. All the others followed him.

There was a crush. The Flea was pressed to the wall and nearly
suffocated. Min was knocked down. Hafra stumbled against him and fell
down, too. Kiki jumped over both and, whistling like a brigand, shouted:
"Have you got any knives?"

"Yes," someone in the street shouted back. Everyone was running in one
direction—from the Risit Harbour to the Hittite Square.
It was dark; the moon had not yet risen; the stars twinkled in the sky and
there was the red glow of a fire on the horizon.

VII

eople were crowded in the Square. In the vague hubbub


of voices one could distinguish at times the phrases:

"Glory be to Amon on High! Glory be to Khonsu,


Amon's Son!" Suddenly there came the sound of
melodious singing, far off at first and then nearer and
nearer. The Square was lit up with the red glow of the torches and a solemn
procession appeared.

The Lybian mercenaries walked in front followed by fan-bearers and


censer-bearers; then came the horemhebs—officiating priests, and finally
twenty-four senior priests—neteratephs, with shaven heads, leopard skins
across the shoulder and wide, stiffly starched white skirts. Walking twelve
in a row they carried on two poles the holy tabernacle—Userhet—a boat of
acacia wood with linen curtains like sails, that hid a figure of Amon a foot
high. Its shadow could be seen through the fine material in the flickering
light of the torches: but people did not dare to look even at the shadow of
the god: to see him was to die.

A crowd followed the tabernacle, singing in a chorus:


"Glory be to Amon on High
Glory to Khonsu, Amon's son!
Exalt ye them above the heavens,
Exalt ye them above the earth.
Proclaim to all their glory!
Tell men to fear the Lord
Throughout all generations,
Tell it to the great and small,
To every creature that draws breath.
To fishes and fowls of the air;
Tell those who know not and who know:
'Fear ye the Lord!'"

Yubra sang, too, saying 'Aton' instead of 'Amon'; no one heard him in
the general chorus. And sometimes he made a mistake, glorifying the god of
his enemies and rejoiced: he knew that where they were going there would
be no more enemies; the lion and the lamb would lie down together and the
child would play on the hole of the asp.

The beggar woman from the province of the Black Heifer walked by
Yubra's side. He had found her half-dead with hunger by the heap of
manure-bricks in the Square, restored her to life and given her some food:
Nebra procured bread for her and milk for the baby from a boatman friend
of his. When she had eaten and seen that the baby was alive and sucking a
comforter that Yubra cleverly made for it, she revived and followed him as
a dog follows the man who has given it food. She followed him in the
procession, too.

He was holding her firmly and kindly by the hand, as though he were
leading this sorrowful and perishing daughter of the earth to the new earth,
to the Comforter. She understood but vaguely what was going on, and not
daring to look at the shadow of the god behind the veil, simply repeated
with the rest of the crowd:
"Glory be to thee, god of mercy,
The Lord of the silent,
The help of the humble,
The saviour of those in hell!
When they call unto thee
Thou comest to them from afar
Thou sayest to them 'I am here.'"
She, too, was in hell; perhaps He would come to her, too, and say 'I am
here,' she thought joyfully, as though knowing that in the place where they
were going there would be no famine and the mothers would not have to
steal other people's children and kill them like lambs in order to feed their
own.

Pentaur was walking on the left in the first row of the twelve priests,
neteratephs, who carried the tabernacle. Yubra saw him and they looked at
one another. "How did you come here, servant of Aton? Are you a spy?"
Yubra read the question in Pentaur's eyes. "Come, there can be no spies
now! We are all brothers," was the answer in Yubra's eyes, and Pentaur
seemed to understand—he smiled at him like a brother.

Zen, the prophet, was also with the crowd; a little boy was leading him
by the hand. His face was sorrowful unto death: maybe he knew that Kiki
was right and that the earth would turn upside down only in order that the
worst might come.

After passing Coppersmiths' Street they came into the sacred Road of
the Rams. At the very end of it the dull red disc of the moon, cut across by
the black needle of the obelisk, like a cat's eye by the narrowed pupil, was
slowly rising behind the sanctuary of Mut.

Suddenly the procession stopped. The blast of trumpets and the rattle of
drums was heard in front; arrows and stones from slings flew about with a
hissing sound: it was an ambush of the Nubian soldiers sent against the
rebels.

One arrow struck the foot of the tabernacle. The priests lowered it to the
ground; men crowded round it, defending the body of the god with their
own bodies.

The attack of the Nubians was so violent that the Lybian mercenaries
flinched and would have run away had not help arrived just in time.

Kiki, with a few desperadoes like himself, had gone from the Hittite
Square to the raised road where the workmen, who had been dragging the
giant statue of King Akhnaton during the day, had gone to sleep, some on
straw and others on the bare earth. Kiki could not wake many of them: they
slept so heavily that if the very earth under them had caught fire they would
hardly have wakened. But he did rouse some three hundred by the mere cry
of 'Plunder!'; leading them against the Nubians' ambush he attacked it from
behind and so won the battle for the rebels.

The procession moved on with a song of victory:


"Woe to be to thine enemies, Lord!
Their dwelling place is in darkness,
But the rest of the earth in thy light.
The sun of them that hate thee is darkened,
The sun of them that love thee is rising!"

Reaching Amon's temple they walked past it and turned to the right, to
Khonsu's sanctuary, easily scattering a small detachment of Midian archers
on the way. But at the sanctuary they learned that at the first news of mutiny
the golden figure of Khonsu had been removed and hidden in the treasury
of Amon's temple.

"Come, good people, you have been saving the god long enough, it is
time you thought about yourselves!" Kiki the Noseless shouted to the
crowd, jumping on the empty pedestal of Khonsu's statue. "There is nothing
to be got here, Aton's rabble have cleared the place, but on the other side of
the river in the Chanik Palace there is still plenty of stuff left. Let's make for
the river, mates!"

There arose a dispute, almost a fight, as to what they were to do—save


the god or plunder.

As Yubra listened, he grew uneasy: was this what he had been hoping
for or something utterly different?

After much wrangling the crowd divided into two: the bigger part went
to the other side of the river with Kiki and the smaller set out towards
Amon's temple.
Pentaur led them. Expecting another ambush they put out the torches.
Men walked in silence, with stern faces; they knew that perhaps they were
going to their death. "We shall all die for Him!" Yubra thought, with quiet
joy.

When they reached the temple they saw there were no guards there.
Two granite colossi and two obelisks, as though keeping watch, threw
black, menacing shadows on to the square of white stone bathed in
moonlight.

Pentaur and Hafra, the blacksmith, walked up to the temple gates; the
gold, with the hieroglyphics of dark bronze upon it, the two words 'Great
Spirit,' dimly glistened in the moonlight.

"Hack them!" Pentaur said.

Hafra raised the axe, but let it down again, not daring to strike. Pentaur
seized the axe from him and cried:

"Lift up your heads, oh ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors,


and the King of Glory shall come in!"

He lifted the axe and struck; the ponderous echo rolled through the
empty, resonant air behind the gates, as though the Great Spirit himself had
answered him.

"Achaeans, Achaeans, the devils!" was heard in the crowd.

Achaeans, the half-savage mercenaries from the North, had just arrived
in Egypt to serve the king. They had come straight to the City of the Sun,
and were hardly known at Thebes, but there were terrible rumours about
their ferocity and mad courage.

Rushing out from three ambushes at once they surrounded the crowd on
all sides, pressing it to the walls of the temple so that escape was
impossible. And above the gates on the flat roof of the temple copper
helmets and spears were glistening, too. Ethiopian slingers were ambushed
there. Arrows, stones and lead fell from there like hail.
Pentaur raised his eyes and saw just above him, in a narrow window of
the temple wall, a boy of fifteen, with a black monkey-like face, white teeth
bared like those of a beast of prey, and two feathers, a green and a red one,
stuck aslant in the black frizzy hair. Placing an arrow on the bowstring, he
aimed at Pentaur slowly bending a huge bow made of rhinoceros bone.

Pentaur remembered the tame monkey on the top of the palm tree over
Khnum's house, throwing the shells of the pods at the sleeping dancer,
Miruit, and he smiled. He might have jumped behind the projecting wall,
but he thought "what for? I shall be killed anyway, and it is good to die for
Him Who has been!"

The bowstring sounded.

"Has been or will be?" he had time to ask and to answer: "Has been, is
and will be," while the arrow whistled through the air. Its copper sting
pierced him just under the left breast. He fell on the threshold of the closed
gates. For him the gates lifted their heads, the everlasting doors were lifted
up and the King of Glory came in.

Standing by the tabernacle Yubra was watching the last batch of the
Lybians fighting. Suddenly the leaden bullet from a sling struck him on the
temple. He fell and thought he was dying. But a minute later he propped
himself up on his elbow and saw that the Achaean devils were hacking the
tabernacle.

The white curtains flapped like broken wings laying bare the small,
worm-eaten, wooden figure of the god, blackened with the smoke of
incense, polished with the kisses of the worshippers. A soldier seized it, and
lifting it up, flung it upon the ground and trampled it underfoot. The god's
body cracked like a crushed insect.

Yubra fell upon his face so as not to see.

Pentaur was dying happily. Some one gentle as the god whose name is
Quiet-Heart was bending over him—he could not tell whether it was a boy
who looked like a girl or a girl who looked like a boy. He wanted to ask
'Who are you?' when the kiss of eternity sealed his lips. And the dulcet
chords played on:
"Death is now to me like sweetest myrrh,
Death is now to me like healing,
Death is now to me like refreshing rain,
Death is now to me like a home to an exile!"

VIII
hen Dio had set out to see Ptamose the mutiny was just
beginning beyond the river and all was quiet on this side.

Issachar was waiting for her by the Eastern Gates of


the Apet-Oisit wall, where the deserted tomb-sanctuary of
King Tutmose the Third lay in ruins. Stepping out of the
litter and telling the bearers to wait for her at the gate, she went with
Issachar into the half-destroyed porch of the sanctuary. Walking up to the
wall, which was completely covered with bas-reliefs and mural paintings,
he leaned his shoulder against it. A movable stone turned on its axis,
revealing a dark narrow opening. They both squeezed themselves sideways
through it and descended some steep steps cut in the thickness of the rock.
Issachar walked in front of Dio down a slanting underground passage,
carrying a torch.

It was close: the depths of the earth warmed through by the eternal
Egyptian sun, never cooled; the darkness was filled with warmth. "Glory be
to thee who dwelleth in darkness, O Lord!" Dio remembered. It seemed to
her that here the dead were as warm lying in their tombs in the bosom of the
earth as a child in its mother's womb.

The endless mural paintings represented the journey of the Sun-god


down the subterranean Nile: the sail of the boat hung limply in the
breathless stillness and the dead oarsmen were dragging it over dry land
through the twelve caves—the twelve hours of the night, from the eternal
night to the eternal morn.

The hieroglyphic inscriptions glorified the Midnight Sun, Amon the


Hidden.

"When thou descendest beyond the sky


The most secret of secret Gods,
Thou bringest light to them who are in death.
Glorifying thee from within their tombs,
The dead lift up their arms
And those under the earth rejoice."
The main passage was intersected by side passages. Suddenly the red
flame of torches and the black shadows of men carrying spears, swords,
bows and arrows flitted across them.

"Where are they carrying the arms?" Dio asked.

"I don't know," Issachar answered reluctantly.

"It must be the rebels in the town," she guessed.

Supplies of arms and also of gold, silver and lapis-lazuli—remnants of


the temple treasuries concealed from the king's spies were hidden in these
subterranean recesses of Amon's temple. It was all kept there for the day of
rebellion against the apostate king.

Turning into one of the side passages and walking to the end of it, they
stopped at a closed door in the wall. Opening it, Issachar walked in, lit a
lamp with his torch and said, putting the lamp on the floor:

"Wait here, they will come for you."

"And where are you going?" Dio asked.

"To fetch Pentaur."

"Good, bring him here!" she said joyfully: she had been thinking about
him all the time.

Issachar went out, closing the door after him.

Dio looked round the empty vaulted cell, long and narrow like the tomb
—and perhaps indeed it was one. The walls were covered from top to
bottom with hieroglyphic script and pictures.

She sat on the floor and waited. Tired of sitting still she got up and,
taking the lamp, began looking at the mural paintings and reading the
hieroglyphics. She was so absorbed in this that she did not notice the
passage of time.
Suddenly the flame grew dim, gave a last flicker and went out. Walls of
stifling, black, and, as it were, tangible darkness, closed in upon her. She
was afraid of being left and forgotten in this coffin.

She fumbled her way to the door and began knocking and calling. She
listened: a deadly stillness. She felt more frightened than ever. All of a
sudden she recalled Pentaur and the fear left her: if he was alive he would
come.

She sat down again, leaning her back against the wall and remained so.
A strange stillness came over her; she did not know whether it was dream or
waking. She was filled with the black, warm, sunny darkness as a vessel is
with water. With quiet ecstasy she whispered the words she had just read in
the hieroglyphic inscriptions, spoken by the dead man to the Midnight Sun,
the hidden god:

"He is—I am; I am—He is."

And it seemed to her that she herself were dead and lying in the bosom of
the earth like a child in its mother's womb, waiting for resurrection—birth
into eternal life. And the dulcet harpstrings sang

"Death is now to me like sweetest myrrh...."

All of a sudden a light flashed into her eyes. A bent, decrepit old man
with a torch—a priest, to judge by his shaven head and the leopard skin
thrown over his shoulder—stooping over her, took her by the hand, helped
her up and led her out of the room.

"Who are you? Where are you taking me?" she asked. He said nothing
and was about to lead her down some more steep narrow stairs.

"No, I don't want to go down," she said. "Take me up. Where is


Pentaur? .... Why do you say nothing? Speak."

The old man made an inarticulate sound and, opening his mouth,
showed her a stump in place of a tongue; he explained by signs that Pentaur
would come down too and that somebody was expecting her. She
understood that he meant Ptamose.

They walked further down. Again Dio did not know whether she was
asleep or awake. The dumb man had such a dead face that it seemed to her
Death itself was leading her to the kingdom of death.

They stopped at a closed door. The dumb man knocked. Someone from
within asked "Who is there?" and when Dio said her name the door was
opened.

In a low sepulchral chamber or sanctuary, supported by four


quadrangular columns, cut out in the thickness of the rock, stood a
sepulchral couch, with a mummy in a white shroud lying on it. There was,
Dio thought, something terrible in its face—more terrible than death.

Her dumb guide took her past the couch into the depths of the chamber,
where a vaulted niche, lined with leaf-copper, glowed, like sunset, in the
light of innumerable lamps. There, in the smoke of fragrant incense, a huge
black lop-eared Lybian ram—probably transferred from the upper temple—
lay asleep on a couch of purple. This was the sacred animal, "the bleating
prophet," the living heart of the temple.

A girl of thirteen—not an Egyptian to judge by her fair hair and skin—


lay beside it, with her head on the animal's back and her eyes half-closed,
like a bride on the bed of love. Completely naked, but for a narrow girdle of
precious stones below the navel, shameless and innocent, she stretched
herself out, pale and white on the black fleece, like a narcissus, the flower
of death. She was one of the twelve priestesses of the god Ram—Amon-Ra.

At the approach of Dio, the little girl opened her eyes and looked at her
intently. There was something so mournful in that look that Dio's heart was
wrung; she remembered another victim of the god Beast—Pasiphae-Eoia.

Her dumb guide prostrated himself before the Ram. A young priest, with
an austere meagre face, kneeling next to Dio, was burning fragrant incense
in a censer.
"Bow down to the god!" he whispered, looking at her severely.

Dio looked at him, too, but said nothing and did not bow to the beast,
though she knew it was dangerous—they might kill her for impiety.

When the girl opened her eyes and moved the Ram woke up and also
moved slowly and heavily: one could see it was very old, almost at its last
gasp. It opened one eye: the pupil, fiery-yellow like a carbuncle, glowed
menacingly from under a dark heavy eyelid, with grey lashes, and looked
into her eyes with an almost human look.

"The god opens his eye, the sun, and there is light in the world," the
priest whispered the prayer.

When he had finished he got up, and taking Dio by the hand led her to
the couch with the mummy. He bent down to the dead man and whispered
something in his ear. Dio drew back horrified: the dead man opened his
eyes.

His deathly, skeleton-like body, brown as a withered tree, showed


through the transparent white of the winding sheet. The veins on the
shrunken temples stood out as though stripped of flesh; the thin, thread-like
lips of the sunk-in mouth and the gristle of the hooked nose—a vulture's
beak—looked deathly under the tightly drawn shiny skin. But living, young,
immortal eyes seemed to have been set in that mask of death.

The priest reverently lifted the mummy and raised its head on the couch.
The dead lips opened and whispered, rustling like dry leaves.

"Listen, the Urma is speaking to you."

It was only then Dio grasped that this was the great seer—urma,
watcher of the secrets of heaven and the prophet of all the gods of north and
south, the high priest of Amon, Ptamose.

He was over a hundred years old—an age not infrequent in Egypt.


Many people thought that he had long been dead, for during the last ten
years, ever since the apostate king began to persecute the faith of his
fathers, Ptamose had been hiding in subterranean hiding-places and tombs;
some of those who knew him to be alive said that he would never die, while
others asserted that he had died and risen again.

Dio knelt down and bending over the low couch put her ear close to the
whispering lips.

"You have come at last, my dear daughter! Why have you delayed so
long?"

There was an insidious caress in his voice, a magnetic power in his


eyes.

"Pentaur has told me much about you, but one cannot tell all about
others. Tell me yourself now."

He began asking her questions, but he seemed to know all before she
had answered him and to read her heart as an open scroll.

"You poor, poor child!" he whispered when she told him how Eoia and
Tammuzadad had perished through her. "To destroy those whom you love—
that's your misery. Do you know this?"

"Yes, I do."

"Mind then that you don't destroy him also."

"Whom?"

"King Akhnaton."

"Well, if I do destroy him so much the better for you!" she said with a
forced smile.

The shadow of a smile flitted in the eyes of the old man, too. "Do you
think I am his enemy? No; God knows I am not lying—why should a dead
man lie?—I love him as my own soul!"

"Why then did you rise against him?"


"I rose not against him but against Him who comes after him."

"The Son?"

"God has no Son."

"How can the Father be without the Son?"

"All are the Father's sons. Great in His love he gives birth to the gods
and gives breath to the baby bird inside the egg, preserves the son of a
worm, feeds the mouse in its hole and the midge in the air. The son of a
worm is God's son, too. Stones, plants, animals, men, gods—all are his
sons; He has no only Son. He who has said 'I am the Son' has killed the
Father. Ua-en-ua, one and only is He and there is none other beside. He
who says 'there are two gods' kills God. This is whom I have risen against—
the deicide. He will save the world, you think? No, He will destroy it. He
will sacrifice himself for the world? No, He will sacrifice the world to
himself. Men will love Him and hate the world. Honey will be as
wormwood to them, light as darkness, life as death. And they will perish.
Then they will come to us and say 'Save us!' And we will save them again."

"Again? Has it all happened before?"

"Yes. It has been and it will be. Do you know the meaning of Nem-ankh,
eternal recurrence? Eternity spins round and round and repeats its cycles.
All that has been in time shall be in eternity. He has been, too. His first
name was Osiris. He came to us but we killed Him and destroyed His work.
He wanted to make His kingdom in the land of the living but we drove Him
to the Kingdom of the dead, Amenti, the eternal West: we gave Him that
world and kept this one for ourselves. He will come again and we will kill
Him once more and destroy His work. We have conquered the world and
not He."

"There is no Son and perhaps there is no Father either?" Dio asked,


looking at him defiantly. "Tell me the truth, don't lie: is there a God or no?"

"God is—there is no God; say what you like—it all comes to nothing;
all men's words about God are vain."
"There now! I have caught the thief!" Dio cried, laughing into his face.
"I knew all along you did not believe in God."

"Silly girl!" he said, as gently and kindly as before, "I am dead: the dead
see God. I adjure you by the living God, consider before you go to Him
whether there isn't truth in my words!"

"And if there is, what then?"

"Leave Him and stay with us!"

"No, even then I shall remain with Him!"

"You love Him more than the truth?"

"More."

"Go to Him, then, to the tempter, the son of perdition, the devil!"

"It's you who are the devil!" she cried, raising her hand as though she
would strike him.

The dumb man rushed up to her, seized her by the arm and raised a
knife over her.

"Leave her alone!" Ptamose said, and the old man drew back.

Suddenly there was a sound of bleating, low as the weeping of a child


but old and feeble: it was the Ram. Ptamose looked at the animal and the
animal at him and they seemed to understand each other.

"The Great One foretells woe, woe to the earth with its bleating!" the
old man exclaimed, raising his eyes to Dio. "Go up—you will see what He
is doing. It has begun already and will not end until He comes!"

Then he glanced at the dumb priest and said:

"Take her upstairs and don't molest her, you answer for her with your
life!"
He shut his eyes and again looked like one dead.

Dio was running upstairs, with one thought only in her mind: "Where is
Pentaur, what has happened to him?"

Going out of the catacomb by the same door as she had entered, she
went past the ruins of Tutmose's tomb and walked along the south wall of
Amon's temple. On the white stones of the temple square, bathed in
moonlight, dead bodies lay about as on a battlefield. Half-savage, hyena-
like dogs were worrying them. An emaciated looking dog, with a blood-
stained mouth, was sitting on its hind legs howling at the moon.

Dio stopped suddenly. The needle of the obelisk showed black against
the moonlit sky: the hieroglyphics on the mirror-like polished surface of its
granite glorified King Akhnaton, the Joy of the Sun, and someone was
sitting hunched up against the base of it—-dead or alive Dio could not make
out. She came nearer and, bending down, saw a dead woman, thin as a
skeleton, stiffly pressing a dead baby to her wrinkled, black, charred-
looking breasts, as she gazed at it with glassy eyes; her white teeth were
bared as though she were laughing. It was the beggar woman from the
province of the Black Heifer.

Dio recalled a black granite figure she had once seen of the goddess
Isis, the Mother with her son Horus, and it suddenly seemed to her that this
dead woman was Mother Isis herself, accursed and killed—by whom?

"Go up, you will see what He is doing," the words of Ptamose sounded
in her ears.

She turned round at the sound of footsteps. Issachar came up to her.

"Where is Pentaur? What has happened?" she cried, and, before he had
time to answer, she understood from his face that Pentaur had been killed.

The familiar pain of inexpiable guilt, insatiable pity pierced her heart.
"To destroy those whom you love—that's your misery," the words of the
seer sounded in her ears again.

It took her some time to grasp what Issachar was saying; at last she
understood: they would not give Pentaur's body to him, but perhaps they
might give it to her.

She followed him. A cordon of sentries guarded the approach to the


gates of Amon's temple. The centurion recognised Dio: he had seen her at
the Viceroy's white house; he let them both through and told the soldiers to
give her Pentaur's body.

He was lying where he had been killed—by the threshold of the western
gates. Their gold with the hieroglyphics of dark bronze—two words 'Great
Spirit'—dimly glittered in the moonlight.

Dio knelt down, and looking into the dead man's face, kissed him on the
lips. Their cold penetrated down to her very heart.

"It is my doing—His doing," she thought and the word 'He' had a
double meaning for her: he—the king, and He—the Son.

IX

io was watching the fire beyond the River from the flat
roof of Khnum's house. Charuk Palace was burning—the
residence of the Viceroy Tutankhaton.

Built of very old dry cedar and cypress wood, it


burned hotly and steadily like a resin torch. The bare crags
of the Lybian Mountains above it glowed as though red hot; the flames were
reflected in the river as a pillar of fire and white smoke coiled in clouds of
moonlight blue and fiery crimson.

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