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palmyrah palm in indian agriculture
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HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE
e ISSN–2321–7987 | Article |Visit us : www.researchjournal.co.in |
Palmyra palm: Importance in Indian agriculture
Palmyra tree is a tall and swaying tree well known as “ Borassus flabellifer ”. The word “Borassus” was derived from a Greek word and it means the leathery covering of the fruit and “flabellifer”, means fan-bearer. Palmyra palm tree belongs to the ‘palme’ family. Palakkad district of Kerala is popularly known as land of palmyra trees. Palmyra trees are known as the icon of this district and have a vast cultural, heritage and literary association. Many novels, stories and poems revolve around these trees. The Palmyra tree is the official tree of Tamil Nadu. In Tamil culture it is called karpaha , “nungu” “celestial tree”, and is highly respected because all its parts can be used. The Asian Palmyra palm is a symbol of Cambodia where it is a very common palm, found all over the country. It also grows near the Angkor Wat temple. In Indonesia the Palmyra tree is the symbol of South Sulawesi province. This plant has captured the imagination of Bengalis, especially in the words of Rabindranath Tagore whose nursery rhyme ‘Taal Gaach ek paye daariye, sab gaach chhariye, akaashete uki mare….’ literally tall tree standing on a single leg, surpassing all other trees, looking to the sky…. In Sahaj Path is a staple reading material in most of schools in West Bengal and Bangladesh. Scientific classification : Kingdom - Plantae (unranked) - Angiosperms (unranked) - Monocots (unranked) - Commelinids Order - Arecales Family - Arecaceae Sub-family - Coryphoideae Tribe - Borasseae Sub-tribe - Lataniinae Genus - Borassus Species - Flabellifer Synonyms of Borassus flabellifer : (a) Borassus
Hiralal Jana^1 and Suchhanda Jana^2 (^1) Department of Agricultural Extension, College of Agriculture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Agricultural Farm, Burdwan (W.B.) India (^2) Department of Soil Science, Institute of Agriculture, Visva-Bharati University, Sriniketan, Birbhum (W.B.) India (Email : janahiralal@yahoo.in)
RASHTRIYA KRISHI 35-
flabelliformis (b) Borassus sundaicus (c) Borassus tunicatus (d) Lontarus domestica (e) Pholidocarpus tunicatus (f) Thrinax tinicata Common name: (a) Fan palm, (b) Asian Palmyra palm, (c) Toddy palm, (d) Sugar palm, (e) Cambodian palm, (f) Kerigi, (g) Mak tan kok, (h) Panna-maram, (i) Taan, (j)Than, (k) Doub palm, (l) Tala palm, (m) Wine palm, (n) Borassus palm, (o) Great fan palm, (p) African fan palm, (q) Lontar palm, (r) Ron palm etc. Areas of cultivation : Native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and New Guinea. Palmyra palms are economically useful and widely cultivated, especially in South –East Asia. The Palmyra pump tree has long been one of the most important trees of Cambodia and India. It is native to South and South-east Asia, in the Indo- Malaya eco-zone. It is a palm tree of the sugar palm group, is found from Indonesia to Pakistan. India, Jawa, Laos. Lesser Sunda Island, Malaya, Myanmar, Socotra, parts of China, Sri Lanka , Sulawesi, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, South and South-East Asia. Determining the natural distribution of Borassus flabellifer is essentially impossible as it is a widely planted crop plant. It is largely restricted to areas with seasonal rainfall and ranges from Western India through Indochina to the lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia. Borassus flabellifer was also found in Queensland, Australia. Palmyra palm is a native to tropical Africa but cultivated and naturalized throughout India. Distribution of Palmyra palm –species-wise : Species Area
Volume 12 Issue 2 December, 2017
Importance :
few leaves each year (establishment phase), but at an as yet undetermined time, they grow rapidly, producing a substantial stem. Fruit : The fruit measures 10 cm (3.9 in) to 18 cm (7.1 in) in diameter, has a black husk, and is borne in clusters. The top portion of the fruit must be cut off to reveal the sweet jelly seed sockets, translucent pale-white, similar to that of the lychee but with a milder flavor and no pit. The sweet jelly seed sockets occur in combinations of two, three or four seeds inside the fruit. The jelly part of the fruit is covered with a thin, yellowish-brown skin. These are known to contain watery fluid inside the fleshy white body. These seed sockets have been the inspiration behind certain sweets Sandesh called Jalbhara found in Bengal. The conventional way this fruit is eaten is when the outer casing is still unripe while the seeds are eaten as the fruit. But if the entire fruit is left to ripen, the fibrous outer layer of the palm fruits can also be eaten raw, boiled, or roasted. When this happens, the fruit takes a purple-blackish hue and tastes similar to coconut flesh. The skin is also eaten as part of the fruit similar to how mango skins are often consumed along with the fruit. Bengali People have perfected the art of making various sweet dishes with the yellowish viscous fluidic substance obtained from a ripe palm fruit. These include Mustard oil fried Taler Bora, alternately fried in Sunflower oil, or mixed with thickened milk to form Taal-kheer. Sap : Obtaining the sap traditionally involves tapping the top shoots and collecting the dripping juice in hanging earthen pots. The juice so collected before morning is refreshing and light drink is extremely cool in sensation, and has a sugary sweet taste. The juice collected in evening or after fermentation becomes sour, and is called Tadi in Marathi. Tadi is consumed mostly by coastal villagers of Maharashtra as a raw alcoholic beverage. A sugary sap called toddy, can be obtained from the young inflorescence, either male or female. Toddy is fermented to make a beverage called arrack, or it is concentrated to a crude sugar called jaggery or Taal Patali in Bengali. It is called Gula Jawa (Javanese sugar) in Indonesia, and is widely used in Javanese cuisine. In addition, the tree sap is taken as a laxative, and is believed to possess medicinal virtues that have also been ascribed to other parts of the plant. Sprouts : In the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Bihar, and in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, the seeds are planted and made to germinate and the fleshy stems (below the surface) are boiled or roasted and eaten. It is very fibrous and nutritious. The germinated seed’s
HIRALAL JANA AND SUCHHANDA JANA
be used as a very good thatch.
HIRALAL JANA AND SUCHHANDA JANA
iron, zinc, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, thiamine, and riboflavin.
cloth is soaked and cooled at room temperature. The fruit is taken and the outer skin on the top is peeled off, the pulp is ground in a mixer and spread on the cloth. This poultice is applied on the affected area for 15 to 20 minutes after which the cloth is removed. Palmyra palm jaggery (gur) nutrients: Palmyra palm jaggery (gur) is much more nutritious than crude cane sugar. The fresh sap is reportedly a good source of vitamin B complex.
Table 1 : Nutrient status of 100g of jaggery Sr. No. Nutrients Amount
Nutritional facts of palmyra fruit : Nutritive value of palm sugar fruit per 100 g of raw ingredient:
Table 2 : Nutrient value of palm sugar 100/g Sr. No. Nutrition Amount
Some of considerable information:
PALMYRA PALM: IMPORTANCE IN INDIAN AGRICULTURE