Ber

production technology of ber

1. WEL COME by PRABHUGOUDA PATIL College of horticulture, rajendra nagar Hyderabad

2. poor man’s fruit poor man’s apple King of arid fruits

3. Ber ( Zizyphus mauritiana ) is a hardy fruit, cultivated throughout the country, often called poor man’s fruit. Origin; Ber has been mentioned in ancient Sanskrit literature, it is said to be originated in India and China area. BER

4. India is the largest producer of ber. In Punjab ber has been planted on 2500 hectares. with annual production of 42847 MT. AREA AND PRODUCTION

5. Distribution It is found growing wild, semi wild and  also cultivated in almost all parts of India .   The major growing states are Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh . Accurate statistics about the area is not available.However , it is estimated that there is about 12000 ha area under ber in India.

6.   The cultivated Indian ber is distinct from the Chinese ber which is less rich in sugar and vitamin C.  The Indian ber is a tree with a spreading canopy and vine-like branches and leaves which are dark green on the upper surface. It flowers in autumn, bears fruits at the end of winter.It sheds leaves during hot weather after fruiting and does not withstand cold conditions. Ber is eaten fresh and to a certain extent processed as candy. Although, ber orchards in the country are widespread, its systematic cultivation is sporadic.

7. Indian jujube (Ber) - Fresh Fruit Nutritional value per 100 g Energy 24.76 kJ (5.92 kcal) Carbohydrates 17 g Sugars 5.4-10.5 g Dietary fibre 0.60 g Fat 0.07 g Protein 0.8 g Vitamins Thiamine (B1) 0.022 mg Riboflavin (B2) 0.029 mg Niacin (B3) 0.78 mg Minerals Calcium 25.6 mg Iron 1.1 mg Phosphorus 26.8 mg Other constituents Water 81.6-83.0 g NUTRITION

8. Ber fruit contain 13 to 20 percent TSS and 0.2 to 1.0 percent acidity. It contains Vitamin C (120 mg l00g of pulp), protein (0.94%), calcium (0.03%), and phosphorus (0.036%), iron (1.14%), p-carotene (Vit. A) 80 ug/l00g pulp also contain about 5.50% sucrose, 1.50 glucose and 2.0% fructose sugars. Ber trees are used for rearing lac insect, the leaves along with tender shoots are used as fodder, wood is used as fuel and for medicinal purposes. ‘Ber fruit is usually eaten fresh. It can be used for the preparation of murabba, candy and chutney. Squash or nectar can be prepared from the pulp. The fruits of wild varieties particularly malah ber (Z. numularia) are dried in sun and are sold during off season. Ber has been a popular fruit of the rural India. In Punjab it has specific sanctity since some ber plants, i.e., ‘Baba Budha Ber’ ber’ are still alive in Golden Temple at Amritsar. It is not fastidious to its soil and climatic requirements, hence, is grown through out India. Ber is known as poor man’s fruit due to its wide cultivation. Ber is commonly known as poor man’s apple , owing to its nutritional value Uses of ber

9. Medicinal uses Fruit Applied to cuts and ulcers, used for pulmonary ailments and fevers; mixed with salt and chili peppers, can be given for indigestion and biliousness.Dried ripe fruit is a mild laxativ . Seed The seeds are sedative and taken, sometimes with buttermilk, to halt nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pains in pregnancy. Powdered seed is used to treat chronic diarrhea, jaundice and dysentery. Mixed with oil, they are rubbed on rheumatic areas. Leaves The leaves are applied as poultices to wounds and are helpful in liver troubles,asthma and fever. Root Used to treat fever, wounds and ulcers. Juice of the root bark is said to alleviate gout and rheumatism. Strong doses of the bark or root may be toxic. Flowers Internally used as a remedy to cure jaundice and externally to cure eye disease and skin ulcers

10. Climate   and Soil The ber is found growing under tropical and subtropical climate all over India and thrives upto an elevation of 1000 m above MSL.  New growth, flowering and fruiting are probably dependent on the length of summer and the time when the monsoon sets in.  Accordingly, the period of flowering and fruit maturity vary from region to region .   In Northern India, the growth starts from late June to early July with the advent of monsoon and fruits mature during February to April .

11. In Western India where monsoon sets in early and the winter is mild and warm, fruit maturity is early and happens between December and March.  In Southern India, flowering takes place from May to July and fruits mature during October to November. The ber prefers dry weather for high quality fruits. Ber is capable of growing under wide variety of soils ranging from shallow to deep and from gravely and sandy to clayey.  It can tolerate salinity, alkalinity and even water logged conditions to a certain extent

12. Varietal classification On basis of Area Extremely Dry Gola, Seb , Mundiya Dry region Banarsi, Karaka, Kaithali, Umran, Maharwali Humid Mehrun, Sanaur No. 2 On basis of Maturity Early Early Umran, Gola, Seb Mid Rashmi, Kaithali, Mundiya, Banarsi Late Umran, Illachi Recently released new variety Thar Sevika Seb x Katha Thar Bhubraj Selection from Bhusavar area of Bharatpur Goma Kirti / Ganesh Kirti selection from Umran

13. Kaithli The cultivar is selection from kaithal in Haryana.Pulp is soft with 18% TSS. Fruit ripen in end March. Average yield per tree is 100 kg. This is excellent table purpose ber fruit but sometimes can be attacked by powdery mildew. Thar Sevika[2007] Developed by the hybridization from a cross Seb x Katha. This is an early maturing variety. Average fruit yield is 30-32 Kg/tree.

14. Thar Bhubharaj [2007] A selection from local material of Bhusavar area of Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, having an average yield potential of 30-36 kg/tree. The fruits are very juicy, sweet with a TSS content of 22-23 %. Sanour This is one of the selections made from village Sanour in district Patiala. The tree is spreading and less vigorous than umran. TSS of pulp is 15-18 percent. Fruit ripens in second fortnight of March. Average) deld 150 kg/tree. It is resistant to powdery mildew, disease and can be cultivated in humid areas

15. Z.G. 2: The trees are spreading with drooping branches. The fruit is medium in size and roundish in shape, Very soft to eat.The colour of the fruit become light green at ripening. The pulp have excellent blend of acidity with TSS 13-15%. It ripens in end March. Average yield 150 kg per tree. Less susceptible to powdery mildew disease. Wallaiti Tree is semi-erect growing and vigorous growing. Fruit size medium to large and oval in shape. Epicarp light golden yellow in colour at ripening. Pulp soft and sweet with 15% TSS. It is an early ripening cultivar and ripens in March, Average yield 100kg per tree. It is also susceptible to powdery mildew.

16. HOW TO GROW BER TREES There are two basic methods of propagating ber trees, seed propagation and vegetative propagation Seed propagation; involves the collection, preparation and direct planting of the seed into soil or compost (see section 4.3 of this manual). This method is very simple, however the growth, fruiting and fruit quality of the trees raised cannot be guaranteed and the time taken for the tree to reach bearing age is usually longer than for trees propagated using vegetative methods. However, seed propagation is most often used to raise rootstocks for the purpose of vegetative propagation.

17. Seed Propagation Seed extraction from the stone; Ber seedlings can be raised by planting the stone, however the percentage germination is lower, can take up to 4 weeks longer and the seedlings are less vigorous; it is better to remove the seeds from the stone before planting. The stone should be removed from the fruit and the seeds extracted by carefully breaking with a large stone or heavy object (care should be taken not to damage the seeds). Extracted seeds germinate within a week after sowing. The seeds can remain viable for two and half years when kept in a cool, dry environment, but storage time is dependent on the condition of the seeds and how well they have been dried prior to storage. Seed extraction

18. Seed pre -treatments Ber seeds can only germinate after a period of 'after-ripening'. 1-2 months after extraction from the stone, germination increases. Seeds up to 1 year old germinate better than those freshly extracted. Seedling vigour is greatest when sown after 8 months storage. Germination may be reduced when the seeds are over a year old. Soaking the seeds in water for 24 hours also increases germination.

19. Seed sowing and germination Seedlings can be raised directly in the field or in the nursery. In the field, sowing should be carried out during the rainy season. The seeds should germinate in about 7 days. The seedlings become ready for in situ budding during the the spring or summer, i.e. 7-12 months after sowing. Individual tube showing seed depth. 20cm Nursery bench showing Tube arrangement

20. In the nursery, pots or tubes should be arranged with 4 tubes (depending on the space available and number of seeds to be sown) in an upright position on either side (width-wise) leaving a 20cm space in the centre to avoid crowding and to help with irrigation later on. The seeds of suitable rootstocks should be sown, 2 seeds per tube at about 2cm deep. The seeds will need to be watered regularly until they germinate. The seeds can also be sown directly into a soil bed at 30x30cm spacing, also at about 2cm depth. Maximum germination takes place when the temperature is about 30oC and germination is reduced at about 25oC or less. The best time for sowing seed is in the summer in tropical and subtropical climates.

21. Vegetative Propagation There are two main types of grafting , bud grafting ;( budding ) shoot grafting ; Bud grafting is the most common, economical and easiest method used for ber Bud grafting Budwood becomes available during the active growth period in the summer. Buds from juvenile shoots should be collected. Juvenile shoots can be induced to grow by severe pruning of the mother trees. The bud sticks, with well swollen and recently matured buds (but still not open) should be collected. Immature and undeveloped buds from the upper part of the new shoots are unsuitable, similarly, over mature and inactive buds should not be used Buds collected from a flowering shoot also give very poor success. Bud wood

22. Raised seedlings a) seed sowing in polythene tubes, b) 30 day old seedling, c) 100 day old seedling, d) rootstock seedling prepared for budding

23. Patch and shield budding Separation of bud from budwood 2.5 cm patch Patch budding Patch removed from rootstock Bud fixed onto patch Shield budding I-cut on rootstock Bud inserted into I-cut Tying inserted bud on roostock Budling ready for planting The best time for successful budding is during the active growth period. The active growth period is indicated by easy and clear separation of the bark from the wood in both scion and the rootstock. The best temperature is between 30 and 34°C. Bud take declines when temperatures drop to 18.5-20oC. Such conditions occur during the summer and rainy season in the arid and semi-arid subtropics Time of budding

24. Nursery Establishment Pots or bags on the ground Pots or bags on benches Seed bed on the ground

25. Transplanting Budlings prepared in the nursery beds (9 to 12 months) Budlings prepared in polytubes (30 days ) 60 cm 60 cm Planting pit is prepared 60 cm deep and 60 cm in diameter The pit is with manure and soil about 1 month before planting. A hole is made in the soil/ manure mix and the tree placed in the hole The roots of the tree are covered with soil and flattened

26. Planting A spacing of 7m x 7m for budded ber plants is recommended.  Pits of 60 x 60 x 60 cm are dug about a month prior to the period of planting and kept open in the sun for about a fortnight.  About 100g of Aldrex dust is dusted on the bottom and sides of the pit as a precautionary measure against termite attack and thereafter filled with the soil mixed with 20 kg FYM.  The budded plants are then planted and staked.  In areas with salinity problem application of 5 kg Gypsum in each pit is beneficial.

27. Irrigation Water is life for every plant therefore, its use should be judiciously made to save water. No flooding should be carried out till plants cover whole of the space provided. First irrigation should be given in June after pruning for hoeing of the tree basins and for application of farm yard manure. No irrigation should be applied during rainy season. When there is drought apply irrigation after fruit set. Thereafter, give irrigation only at monthly interval up to February. Fruit start ripening from March onward and harvesting is almost complete in April under Punjab conditions. No irrigation should be given during and after fruit harvest.

28. Manures and fertilizers Manures and Fertilizers 1st year 2nd year onwards FYM 20KG 50 kg N 200 gm 500 gm P 100 gm 200 gm K 200 gm 500 gm (per plant/year) Manuring should be done immediately after pruning.  Spray 2% KNO3 thrice at monthly intervals in January, February and March.

29. Weed Control Most of the weeds remain under check due to summer dormant nature of the ber tree. However, perennial weeds like baru grass, dubh grass, parthenium and puthkanda, etc. do raise their head during growing period of trees. To check the perennial weeds, spray Round Up (glyphosate) @ 10ml/litre or Gramoxone @ 6ml/litre when the weeds have attained sufficient vegetative growth (20-30cm height). Gramoxone can be sprayed in tree basins also. Choose a clam day for the spray to avoid spray drift to the ber foliage.

30. INTERCROPPING In the first 2-3 years of age, the plants occupy in little area and most of the land remain vacant. The vacant land should be judiciously used by growing compatible crops. No crop should be grown in kharif season since, it will need irrigation during dormancy of ber plants. Grow ‘rabi’ crops like wheat, gram, massar, barseem, sarson, toria, etc. For the first two years, later on grow only toria or winter vegetables so that the field is free during March-April for easy harvesting of the fruits. Exhaustive and tall growing crops like bajra or jawar should not be grown at all.

31. Training and Pruning Left to nature, ber plants tend to remain bushy and take spreading form, creating management problems.  Therefore , proper training to develop balanced and strong framework is essential   This exercise should start from the beginning itself.  At the nursery stage, it should be ensured that plants have single stem and unhindered straight roots . In the field, keep the head clean upto 30 to 45 cm and then allow 4 to 5 strong scaffold branches.  On these branches 3 to 4 upright secondary branches are allowed to grow.  During the second year, the secondary branches should be trained to carry tertiary branches to complete the training job within 3 years of planting. 

32. a b c d e f g h Training in ber A - Trunk, B - Main branch, C - Secondary branch, D - Tertiary branch.

33. Tree before pruning. Main branches pruned leaving 15-25 nodes depending on climate. All secondary shoots removed. The productivity of the tree is maintained because about 98% of the fruits produced on any pruned branches are borne on vigorous shoots, and only 2% on the other shoots Pruning also opens up the tree form for sunlight and air Prune main branches.

34. Fruits at various stages of ripeness

35. The ber trees if left un-pruned for a number of years may become uneconomical. These trees produce little crop of small sized fruits. The trees also get infested with lac insect, powdery mildew etc. In such cases the trees can be rejuvenated. Remove the scaffolds with sharp saw by keeping 10-15 cm long stub. Keep only 4-6 stubs per trees during May. Select, out growing 2 sprouts on each stub during July-August same year. These sprouts grow very fast, hence, the pinching of tops should be done in August-September so that side branch my develop on these sprouts. Thus full grown tree is ready upto November- December of the same year. Give light pruning during May next year to get some fruit. Such trees can again yield heavy crops for another thirty years. Rejuvenation of Old Orchard

36. Rejuvenation of Old Orchards

37. Top Working : Inferior ‘katha’ ber trees can be top worked with superior cultivar. For this, head back the major limbs to keep 15 cm long stubs on one or two scaffolds. Remove rest of the mature wood judiciously during May. Many sprouts emerge on the stubs in July. T-budding should be done on 2-3 shoots on each stub. Remove rest of the sprouts. Continue to remove unwanted sprouts for a year. Save the sprouted buds from breakage by giving little pruning initially. The newly developed scaffold system from the sprouted buds come into bearing within two years.

38. Fruit Drop Usually ber fruit does not drop physiologically, drop is normally due to pathological reasons. Sometime due to increase in atmospheric humidity and vegetative growth, there may be fruit drop in some ber cultivars in October-November. Single spray of 10-20 ppm Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) one in mid- October shall be sufficient to control fruit drop.

39.   Pests & Diseases Fruit fly , bark eating caterpillar , hairy caterpillar , leaf chafer,  

40. Ber butter fly ( Tarucustheophrastus ) Recommendation Spray of quinalphos (0.05%) during the sprouting and onset of flowering and repeat the spray at 15 days interval would give better control of this pest Stone weevil ( Aubeus himalayanus )   Spraying of carbaryl 50 WDP at 0.1% just before the fruit setting and repeat spays at three week interval.

41. Recommendations :  Removal of webbing at junction and injection of 0.05% dichlorvos using syringe would be effective.   Collection and destruction of infested fruits and soli digging during summer to expose the pupa to hot summer. Foliar application of NSKE 5 % followed by acephate 0.07% and repeat the NSKE 5 % as a third spray at 15 days interval. Bark eating caterpillar( Indarbela sp) Fruit fly ( Carpomyia vesuviana )

42. Powdery mildew [Oidium ziziphi ] black spot of leaves alternaria leaf spot fruit rot fruit rot Diseases

43. Flowers appear on the current growth of shoots from August to November.  The fruits are harvested from November to March.  The budded ber plant begins to bear in the 1st year itself but the optimum production starts after the 4th year of planting.  The average yield may go upto 150 kg per tree under irrigation but under rainfed condition, one can get about 100 kg per tree.  After picking, damaged and under ripe fruits are discarded and the mature fruits are graded according to size. Harvesting , yield and marketing

44. Grading and Packing of Fruits After harvesting of ber fruits, grading should be done. Remove the undersized miss-happened, cankered and wind damaged fruits. One can make 3-4 grades, i.e., A - grade best fruits of large size, B- grade-medium sized good coloured fruits, C-grade small sized well coloured fruits and D-grade poorly coloured fruits of all sizes and left outs. The highest percentage of fruits fall in B-category followed by A grade. C and D grade may have just equal quantities. A and B grade fruits are preferred in the market as well as by the consumers. A B and C grade fruits should be packed in corrugated fiber Board (CFB) cartoons, wooden crates, plastic crates, polynets or baskets of convenient sizes. D-Grade may be marketed in gunny-bags.

45. Shelf Life Umran fruits can be stored for three weeks in home refrigerator (7-8°C) in perforated polythene bags. The shelf- life of fruits can be enhanced up to 30 days if the fruits are treated with 6 percent wax-emulsion and packed in perforated polythene bags of 100 gauge thickness, before storing in the commercial cold storage (7-8°C) and 85-90 percent RH.

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