Production of Chekurmanis

Introduction
Chekurmanis (Sauropus androgynus L.) of the family Phyllanthaceae is a perennial small shrubby leafy vegetable growing wildly in South and Southeast Asia. The plant is native of India and Burma region. It is found in the Sikkim, Himalayas, Khasi and Akra hills at 1200m elevations and in the Western ghats of Kerala from Wynad northwards at an altitude of 300-1200m. It is reported to be introduced into Kerala from Malaysia in 1953 and is known in Malayalam as „Madura keera‟. Chekurmanis occupy a prominent place in almost all household kitchen gardens of Kerala but has not been cultivated on a large scale for commercial purpose. Hence, no data on area and production of this vegetable are available.

The plant is a slow growing glabrous perennial shrub and attain a height of 2-3.5m. Its main
branches are terete and flaccid. Lateral branches are thin. Leaves are ovate, oblong, sessile,
alternate, membranous and short stacked. The inflorescence is auxiliary with small reddish
flowers. Flowers are monoecious, minute, auxiliary, pedicelled and clustered. Fruits sessile,
white or pinkish-white,0.2cm in diameter with a fleshy epicarp. The crop is highly crosspollinated and entomophilous because of photogynous and monoecious nature of flower. As a
leafy vegetable, it is usually maintained as a perennial plant at a height of 1-1.5m by frequent
harvest of leaves and apical system.

1. R a j m a t a V i j y a R a j e S i n d hiya K r i s h i Vishwavidyalaya G w a l i o r C o l l e g e O f H o r t i culture , M a n d s a u r P r o d u c tion T echnology O f U n d e r e x ploited V e g e t a b l e C r o p s , V S C 5 7 Submitted B y S o u r a v p a n w a r M . S c . p r e v ious y e a r E n r o l l n o . 2 1 4 1 4 1 2 D e p a r t m e n t o f Vegetable S c ience S u m i t t e d T o D r . S . S . K u s h w a h S i r D e p artment o f V e g e table S c i e n c e C o l l e g e o f Horticulture , M andsoar P r o duction T echnology O f C h e k u rmanis

2. B o t a n i c a l n a m e : S o u r o p u s a n d r o g y n u s L . F a m i l y : P h y l l a n t h a c e a e O r i g i n : S o u t h A s i a 2 n : 1 2 P l a n t p a r t u s e d : L e a v e s

3. I n t r o ductio n Chekurmanis ( Sauropus androgynus L . ) of the family Phyllanthaceae is a perennial small
shrubby leafy vegetable growing wildly in South and Southeast Asia. The plant is native of
India and Burma region. It is found in the Sikkim, Himalayas, Khasi and Akra hills at 1200m
elevations and in the Western ghats of Kerala from Wynad northwards at an altitude of 300-
1200m. It is reported to be introduced into Kerala from Malaysia in 1953 and is known in
Malayalam as „Madura keera‟. Chekurmanis occupy a prominent place in almost all
household kitchen gardens of Kerala but has not been cultivated on a large scale for
commercial purpose. Hence, no data on area and production of this vegetable are available.

4. The plant is a slow growing glabrous perennial shrub and attain a height of 2-3.5m. Its main
branches are terete and flaccid. Lateral branches are thin. Leaves are ovate, oblong, sessile,
alternate, membranous and short stacked. The inflorescence is auxiliary with small reddish
flowers. Flowers are monoecious, minute, auxiliary, pedicelled and clustered. Fruits sessile,
white or pinkish-white,0.2cm in diameter with a fleshy epicarp. The crop is highly crosspollinated and entomophilous because of photogynous and monoecious nature of flower. As a leafy vegetable, it is usually maintained as a perennial plant at a height of 1-1.5m by frequent harvest of leaves and apical system.

5. Distribution and Propagation Chekurmanis grows rapidly in hot humid conditions but becomes
relatively dormant in cooler environments. It appears to have
originated from the hot humid lowland rainforest of Borneo and its
present distribution spans from India and South China, through Indo-
China and Malaysia to the Philippines, New Guinea and Solomon
islands. It is more vigorous at lower altitudes but also grow up to an
altitude of 1300 m in Malaysia and Indonesia. In India, the shrub is
reported to be found in Sikkim Himalayas, Khasi, Abor and Aka hills
and in the Western Ghats of Kerala at altitudes of 600-1200 m. It is
said to have got introduced into Kerala from Malaysia in 1953. Reports
of its occurrence in the peninsular India from the evergreen forests,
clearings, scrub vegetation, roadsides and on waste grounds in
Coimbatore, Madurai, Nilgiri, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli and several
other parts are available in literatur

6. N u t r i t i v e v a l u e N u t i t i o n s % p a r t M o i s t u r e 8 5 . 5 C a r b o h y d r a t e - - - - - F i b e r 1 . 7 5 P r o t i e n 5 . 2 5 L i p i d . 5 8 E n e r g y - - - - - - -

7. U s e s a n d f o o d preparation The leaves, tender shoots and fruits are used either as raw or as
cooked vegetable. Cooked leaves are acidic and are used in soup
preparation in Java. A sweetmeat is also prepared from the fruits
there . In Indonesia, the leaves are reported to be used for giving light
green colour in pastry and fermented rice . Leaves are used in sandwiches, salads, curries, meat, rice & curry d ishes, scrambled eggs, omelette s e t c .

8. A n t i n u t r i t i o nal v a l u e As the leaves contain significant amount of ‘pipevarine’,
sometimes excessive consumption of raw leaves may causedizziness,
drowsiness, constipation and respiratory disorder

9. S o i l a n d c l i m a t i c c o n ditions It comes up well in all types of soils. The growth an d yield are high when they are
grown in rich, well drained sandy loam or semi-laterite soils. A warm humid climate with good rainfall is best suited and its grows luxuriantly at a lower elevations at 500m above MSL though plants are found at higher elevations up to 1,200m above MSL. When the plants a re raised under shade, it produces broader leaves. There are no distinct varieties or types available in this crop.

10. P r o p a g a t i o n b y s t e m c u t t i n g Seed propagated plants come to harvest little
later than cuttings. Herbaceous stem cuttings (6- 12 months old) may be collected with 5-6
nodes or 20-30cm length and planted in polybags containing manure mixture. Rooting can be
harvested by dipping the cuttings in 50ppm IAA/ IBA before planting in polybag. It takes 20-
25 days for rooting. Usually, it is grown as hedge or fence around vegetable plots or in
kitchen gardens.

11. P l a n t i n g m a t e r i a l r e q u ired For planting a hectare area, about one lakh cuttings are required. S e a s o n f o r p l a n t i n g The cuttings are planted in shallow furrows at least 15 days earlier to the onset of monsoon during April-May.

12. M a n n u r i n g a n d f e r t i l i z e r a p plications If the crop i s planted in pits (30cm3
size), 5 kg of farmyard manure is added in additionto 25g each of
urea, superphosphate and muriate of potash. Application of 30g of 7:10:5 NPK mixture per
plant supplemented with 1 % urea spray after each clippings enhances leaf yield
considerably.

13. H a r v e s t i n g The first clipping of succulent leaves can be done 3- 4 months after plantings, i.e, when
the plant reaches about 60-90cm height subsequently in every fortnight, another harvest is
possible, if the plants are manured and irrigated. Plants are usually trimmed to 1- 1.5m height
to facilitate easy harvest. The tender shoots and leaves are used for culinary purpose.

14. Y i e l d The
annual productivity is 30-50 tonnes/ha with a per plant yield of 1- 3kg leaves per year

15. R e f r e n ce P a d h a r i G . G a r g i , C h e k u r m a n i s ; T h e Multivitamin G r e e n , M a r c h 2 2 1 , J u s t A g r i culture , V o l u m e 1 , i s s u e 7 C h t t a r j e e S h u b h r a j y o t i , N u t r i tion S t a t u s O f C h e k u r manis , 2 1 9 , R e a s e r c h g a t e . c o m / P u b l i c a t ion / 3 3 1 8 2 4 2 3 9

16. T H A N K Y O U