Everything you need to know about phalsa cultivation! Learn about: 1. Botany of Phalsa 2. Origin of Phalsa 3. Climate and Soil 4. Orchard Cultural Practices 5. Propagation Techniques 6. Planting Operation 7. Flowering and Fruiting 8. Training and Pruning 9. Harvesting.
Botany of Phalsa:
The genus Grewia has about 150 species, out of which about 40 occur in India. One of most important plant of this genus, which yields edible fruit, is phalsa (Grewia asiatica). It belongs to family Malvaceae and sub-family Grewioideae. Earlier Grewia asiatica L. was called Grewia subinaequalis DC. In Pakistan 10 species belonging to genus Grewia have been identified. Grewia asiatica is a cultivated species. It is also cultivated in South Asian countries.
The phalsa is a deciduous bush and when unpruned can grow into a tree upto 10 metres or more with a trunk nearly 30 cm in diameter. In the cultivated form, however, it is kept as a bush by heavy annual pruning. Its stem is hard and woody, circular and non-hairy.
It has rough grey bark which yields a mucilaginous juice used for clarifying sugar. Leaves are 7.5- 15 cm long, dull green on the upper surface and light green on the lower surface. Leaves are petiolate, stipulate, orbicular or broadly ovate. The leaf margins are coarsely and irregularly toothed. They are rounded or more or less cordate at the base, rounded acute or accuminate at the apex. The leaf venation is reticulate, multicostate and divergent.
The leaf base is 5-nerved, the smaller nerves are not arched, they are prominent beneath, transverse one being more or less parallel. The leaves are softly tomentose on both upper and lower surfaces, becoming less hairy and rough when mature. Petioles are 1.5 to 2 cm long. There are 2-7 peduncles and a peduncle has 3-6 pedicellate yellow flowers in auxiliary clusters.
Generally, the flowers are hermaphrodite. A normal flower has 4-5 sepals, 4-5 petals, 70-80 free stamens and fully developed gynoecium. The phalsa fruit is drupe, globose in shape and pea sized. It is red or purple in colour, is indistinctly lobed and has 1-2 seeds in it.
Origin of Phalsa:
Phalsa or falsa, Grewia subinaequalis (G. asiatica) is native to India in the Baroda area. It belongs to the botanical family Tiliaceae, to which also belongs jute, our major money-crop. A wild species Grewia elastica (G. asiatica var. vestita) grows on lower hills all over India. Phalsa is a small bush, which bears many small berry-like fruits. This sub-tropical fruit comes to the market in May-June.
A cold drink prepared from its juice is a delicacy in scorching weather. It is one of the hardiest fruits, is drought-resistant and requires little care. It is also grown as a filler tree among mangoes, etc. Its popularity is restricted by the fact that the fruit is very perishable and the tiny fruits have to be picked from a bush several times during the fruiting season. This adds to its cost considerably.
Phalsa is grown mostly from seed, but propagation from cuttings with the use of plant hormones (growth regulators) is also possible. Generally, the bushes are planted three metres apart. The most important operation in the cultivation of phalsa is the pruning. In North India the plants begin to shed their leaves slowly after the middle of winter. They should be pruned at this stage.
They start growing soon after pruning. The plants should be cut off about one metre above ground. Cutting closer to the ground or leaving longer shoots decreases the yield. In South India, the plants are allowed to grow much taller and little pruning is done. The trees are also spaced wider apart.
The plants start bearing in a year or two. The yield per bush ranges from 5 to 10 kg. The bark-eating caterpillar and sometimes the mealy bug, when the phalsa is inter-planted between mangos are the pests found in India. A leaf spot disease caused by the fungus Cercospora grewiae is also found.
Climate and Soil Required for Phalsa Cultivation:
Phalsa relishes distinct winter and summer for best growth, yield and quality. In regions having no winter, the plant does not shed leaves and produce flower more than once, thus yielded poor quality fruits. Full grown plants can tolerate freezing temperature for a short period. The plants can tolerate temperature as high as 44°C. High temperature during fruit development favours ripening of fruits. At flowering time, clear weather is needed, whereas rains at that time affect fruit-setting adversely.
The phalsa is one of the hardiest fruit plants and can be grown successfully throughout the Punjab and Haryana. Being deciduous in habit, it can withstand frost quite well. However, care should be taken to select sites which are not subject to very low temperatures during winter. It can also grow successfully in hot and dry climatic conditions, such as those prevailing in the districts of Ferozepur, Bathinda and Sangrur of Punjab. It can withstand occasional drought and water shortages better than fruit plants. However, for raising profitable crop of phalsa, satisfactory arrangements for irrigation need to be made.
The phalsa is not at all fastidious in its soil requirements and can grow quite successfully in almost every kind of soil. Around Amritsar (Punjab), where the soils are comparatively heavy, its plants grow well and bear bumper crops. At many other places such as Ludhiana, it yields well under lighter soil conditions. Though, the ideal soil for growing phalsa is the rich loamy type. Under water logged conditions plants become chlorotic and make poor growth.
Proper soil drainage is another factor which should be kept in mind. However, soils where water stagnates for many days during the rainy season or those which have a poor sub-surface drainage and are water-logged should not be selected for commercial cultivation of phalsa.
Orchard Cultural Practices for Cultivating Phalsa:
i. Irrigation:
Phalsa is regarded a drought resistant fruit plant. However, it has been observed that in Punjab, Haryana and other neighbouring northern Indian regions, irrigation is essential for securing high yield of better quality fruits. Its plants not needed any irrigation till January. Adequate supply of irrigation water at regular intervals specially during flowering and fruiting periods is very essential for ensuring better health of plants and more profitable yields. A light irrigation should be given after pruning and fertilization of the plants.
During the early part of the spring, when the new growth starts and the temperature is usually low, the irrigation interval may be kept at about 2-3 weeks. The demand for water increases after the middle of April and consequently the irrigation interval may be reduced to 7-10 days.
At this time, the plants should not be allowed to suffer from water shortage; as it would adversely affect the yield and quality of fruit. Regular irrigation should be applied to the plants till the fruit is harvested and the monsoon sets in.
As the roots of the plants are active even during winter, adequate soil moisture should be maintained in the root zone. During winter, one or two light irrigations may suffice if there are no rains.
ii. Inter-Planting:
Many fruit plants grown in the plains of North India such as mango, litchi and pear comes into bearing on commercial scale very late. These fruit plants have a slow rate of growth and the space between the tree rows remains unoccupied for several years.
The growers can, therefore, utilize the empty space between the permanent fruit trees for raising some quick- growing fruit plants like phalsa. Phalsa has another advantage over other quick-growing fruits suitable for inter-planting that it is kept low-headed by severe pruning every year and does not cause overcrowding in the orchard.
Phalsa being a deciduous plant does not require much water during the dormant period (winter months). Phalsa should be inter-planted only in the middle of the permanent tree rows. As soon as the permanent trees come into bearing, the phalsa plants should be uprooted, so that the main fruit crop does not suffer.
iii. Manuring and Fertilization:
Generally, phalsa is planted on comparatively poor soils. Some cover crop such as guara, jantar or senji should be grown in the field where phalsa is to be planted. This practice adds sufficient quantity of organic matter to the soil and enriches it.
In order to get profitable crops of good quality, full grown phalsa plants should be given 10-15 kg of well rotten farmyard manure, soon after planting. Nitrogenous fertilizers (170 g urea per bush) should also be applied, preferably in two split dose-one at the time of flowering and second after fruit-setting. Higher yield of phalsa can be obtained by application of 100 kg N, 40 kg P and 25 kg K per hectare, respectively. Trials at Rajasthan Agricultural University, Udaipur revealed that application of NPK @ 100, 40, 25 kg per hectare gave higher yield.
Zinc and iron were found to influence berry size and juiciness in phalsa. ZnSO4 @ 0.4 per cent at prebloom stage and after berry set improved the juice content. Ferrous sulphate at 0.4 per cent alone or in combination with zinc improved the berry size.
Propagation Techniques for Phalsa:
The phalsa is usually propagated from seeds, which is the easiest and most commonly used method of propagation. The propagation of phalsa from cuttings is also possible and the success can be improved with the use of growth regulators.
Raising of Seedlings:
For raising the phalsa seedlings, large sized, purple black coloured fruits are collected when the crop is ready in the end of May or beginning of June. After extracting from the fruits, the seeds should be washed and dried under shade. These seeds are sown in raised beds when there is sufficient humidity in the atmosphere. Rainy season (July-August) is the best time for sowing of seed. The seeds on raised beds are sown in lines which are 10-15 cm apart from each other. In the rows, the seed should be sown 4-5 cm apart and 1.5 to 2 cm deep.
The seeds should be covered with sand or light soil mixed with well rotten and dry farmyard manure. The beds should be watered regularly with water Can but too much watering should be avoided as the excessive moisture conditions cause poor development of the plants. The beds should be kept free from weeds. Initially, one hand weeding is recommended, otherwise the roots of small plants get damaged if weeding is done with khurpa etc.
When the seedlings come out and have made 5-7 cm growth, light dressing of calcium ammonium nitrate or Ammonium sulphate at the rate of 50 g/sq metre of nursery area is applied. This encourages rapid growth of the seedlings. Seedlings are ready for transplanting in the following winter i.e. during January-February.
Propagation through Cuttings:
The phalsa plants can also be multiplied through hardwood cuttings. The cuttings should be prepared during December-January and kept for callusing. The use of root promoting hormones such as Indole butyric acid @ 100 ppm enhances the success of rooted cuttings.
Planting Operation for Phalsa:
Land is prepared well before the plants are set in the field. When there is enough time, a cover crop such as guara, jantar or senji may be sown in the soil. After these crops produce enough vegetative growth, they should be buried into the soil. Before planting, the orchard site should be properly laid out according to the square or the hexagonal system. Half metre deep pits of half metre diameter should be dug and refilled with a mixture of top-soil and well rotten farmyard manure in the ratio of 1:1.
To save the plants from possible attack of white ants add 10 ml of chlorpyriphos 20 EC in 2 kg soil to each pit. After this, the field is thoroughly irrigated and transplanting is done when the soil is in friable condition.
The phalsa plants are spaced at various distances in different regions of India. Eight to twelve months old seedlings are better for planting in the field. The plants are spaced at 1.5 metres apart by which 4400 plants are accommodated in one hectare by the square system of planting.
The phalsa plants should preferably be transplanted in the field during January-February before they start new growth. The plants being dormant at that time, they can be lifted from nursery with bare roots. However, for transplanting during August-September, the seedlings have to be lifted from the nursery along with earth balls. Transplanting in the rainy season, is, therefore, a little more cumbersome and riskier than that done in the spring, when the plants are dormant.
Flowering and Fruiting in Phalsa Plants:
Flowering in phalsa starts from February-March and continues till May. The first flower to open is at the base. Flowers are borne in the axil of leaves. The flowers are mostly cross pollinated and honey-bee seems to play major role in pollination.
The flower buds become plumpy before anthesis. The first sign of anthesis is the appearance of a slit in sepals at the base of the bud. The slit widens and at first only one sepal falls apart. The other sepals fall one by one and the whole process of flower opening is complete within half an hour. The dehiscence of anthesis in phalsa takes place before the flowers are completely open.
Training and Pruning of Phalsa:
Phalsa is usually trained as a bush. The plant can also be trained as head system with a single stem. The height of the single stem should be kept at one metre. The plant produce shoots above one metre just as in bush system.
The phalsa fruit is borne in clusters in the axils of leaves on the new growing shoots produced during the current season. Annual pruning is, therefore, very essential to have new vigorous shoots to ensure regular and heavy fruiting.
The general practice of cutting back the phalsa plants to the ground level every year during the dormant period is not in order. Investigations carried out on this aspect have shown that the phalsa plants pruned to a height of one metre during January- February produce a greater number of new shoots than those which are pruned to the ground level. The growers are, therefore, advised to prune their phalsa plants at a height of one metre from the ground level.
The phalsa plants are rather slow in shedding their leaves in winter. The best time for their pruning is when the plants have shed their leaves and in all cases the operation should finished well before the start of new growth.
Harvesting of Phalsa:
The phalsa plants begin to bear fruits in the second year. A good commercial crop is usually obtained during third year. In the Punjab and Haryana, the harvesting season of phalsa fruit starts by the end of May and lasts till the end of June.
The fruits should be picked when the colour has changed to deep reddish brown and the pulp tastes sweet. Several pickings are necessary as all the fruits do not ripen at one time. The fruit-picking is usually done on alternate days. The fruit is packed in small baskets or 2 kg packs.
Under optimum conditions, a phalsa bush yields on an average about 4-5 kg of fruit.