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Essay on Ber
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Introduction to Ber
- Essay on the Origin and Distribution of Ber
- Essay on the Area and Production of Ber
- Essay on the Importance and Uses of Ber
- Essay on the Insect-Pests of Ber
- Essay on the Diseases Seen in Ber
- Essay on the Physiological Disorder of Ber
Essay # 1. Introduction to Ber:
The ber or Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) is one of the ancient and common fruit of India and China. It has wide adaptability because of which it is cultivated practically all over India especially the drier parts of Indian sub-continent for its fresh fruits.
It can be successfully cultivated even in the most marginal ecosystems of subtropics and tropics. It is often called the poor man’s fruit. However, grafted varieties of ber are no longer the poor man’s fruit as they fetch even higher prices than several other fruits.
Of late, the cultivation of ber, has received a great impetus as a commercial crop in the North India especially in the States of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan because of its potential for high yields and excellent economic returns to the growers.
It is an ideal fruit for cultivation in the arid and semi-arid zones of Northern India because it has the least irrigation requirements in the summer months of May and June when it sheds its leaves and enters a period of dormancy.
Essay # 2. Origin and Distribution of Ber:
The ber is said to be indigenous to the area stretching from India to South-Western China and Malaysia. The ber has a long historic background, and is mentioned in the earliest Sanskrit literature and with many other names in different Indian languages. Ber fruits are used in religious rites by Sanatanist Brahmanas in north India (Kashmir). In Valmiki’s Ramayana use of ber is mentioned in pind dan – a ritual after death.
It is intimately connected with the folklore of the people in Northern India particularly in the Punjab. Its abundant presence in the wild state proves its ancient domestication. Its commercial cultivation is said to have started when a Muslim cultivator won prize by presenting delicious fruits of ber from a budded plant to Raja Raghoji Bhonsle II.
It is believed that the ber tree from Garhwal (U.P.) has been introduced more generally into other parts of India. From India it spread gradually to south, South East Asia, Zanzibar and the East-African coast and then further into the African continent, the process of spreading would have started only a few hundred years ago. It is found in many tropical countries of both hemispheres often in naturalized state.
Ber is distributed between 30°S and 30°N latitude mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Central and Southern Africa and North part of Australia. Ber plantation on large or small scale exist in China, Afghanistan, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Israil, Syria, Italy, Spain, Burma and U.S.A.
The ber plant is considered the most sacred one in Sikh and Hindu religion. The Sikh Gurus preferred to plant ber trees in Gurudwara. The Golden Temple, Amritsar is the highest Religious Abode of Sikhs. The oldest ber tree about 440 years old named as Ber Baba Budha Sahib is located near to holy Sarowar in the periphery i.e. Parkama of Golden Temple.
This ber tree is associated with highly respected religious Saint Baba Budha Ji, hence it is a called Ber Baba Budha Sahib. Dukh Bhanjani ber and Lachhi ber are other old plants located in the premises of Golden Temple.
Essay # 3. Area and Production of Ber:
China is the biggest producer of ber in the world. India with an area of about one lakh hectares ranks second among ber growing countries of the world. The important provinces for ber cultivation in India are Maharashtra, Gujarat. Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.
The annual production of ber in India is estimated 10 lakh tonnes. It accounts for 1.49 and 1.31 per cent of total area and production of fruits, respectively. Productivity of ber in India is 10 metric tonnes per hectare.
The improved budded varieties of ber have been planted on a large scale in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat because of high economic returns. In the Punjab and Haryana, there is perhaps no other fruit tree that grows wild so extensively as the ber. In the Punjab, the districts of Sangrur, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Patiala, Muktsar are the most famous for grafted ber varieties. The total area under ber in Punjab is about 1828 hectares with annual production of 30160 tonnes.
In Haryana, the districts of Hisar, Rohtak, Jind, Panipat, Mohindergarh and Gurgaon are famous for commercial cultivation of ber. In Rajasthan, its orchards are spread in Bharatpur, Jaipur and Jodhpur. In Gujarat, ber orchards are found in Banaskantha, Sabarmati, Bhav-nagar, Surendranagar, Patna, Ahmedabad, Bharuch, Vadodara, Sabarkantha and Mehsana.
In south India ber is found around Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram, Dharmapuri and Salem district in Tamil Nadu and Bijapur, Bellary, Gulbarga, Belgaum, Raichur and Bidar in Karnataka. In West Bengal, this fruit is quite popular in Murshidabad, Malda, Bankura and Birbhum.
Essay # 4. Importance and Uses of Ber:
The ber is one of the most nutritious fruits. The pulp of different varieties contains 13.0 to 19.0 per cent total soluble solids and 0.20 to 0.60 per cent acidity at fully ripe stage. It is one of the richest sources of vitamin C, next only to aonla and guava but better than citrus fruits and apple. Ripe fruits of Umran ber contain 120 mg ascorbic acid per 100 g of pulp.
Ber fruit contains β-carotene (vitamin A) at 81 µg per 100 g of fruit. When fully ripe, ber contains 5.6 per cent sucrose, 1.5 per cent glucose, 2.1 per cent fructose, 1 per cent starch and 13.6 per cent total carbohydrates.
Ber is also a good source of minerals and proteins. Ripe fruit contains 0.031 per cent calcium, 0.036 per cent phosphorus and 1.14 per cent iron. Protein forms 0.94 per cent of its content. A comparison of nutritive value of ber with apple reveals that it (ber) excels in calcium, phosphorus, protein, mineral matter, vitamin C and vitamin A.
Ripe fruit of Umran ber contains amino acids like asparagine, aspartic acid, arginine, glutamic acid, glycine, serine, threonine, α-alanine, valine, methionine, leucine and isoleucine. The ber tree is utilized chiefly for its edible fruits.
It is also one of the principle host plants for rearing lac insects. Secondary uses of the tree are for carpentry and building wood, fodder, hedges, fences, fuel and medicinal purposes.
The roots are used as decoction in fewer and as powder applied to ulcers and old wounds. The fruit has been used in traditional medicines as an emollient, expectorant, coolant, anodyne and tonic. The fruit is given to receive abdominal pains during pregnancy. The fruit also helps to lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure. Some of the triterpenic acids isolated from the fruit are also believed to be useful in fighting cancer and HIV. The fruit is co-prescribed to the patients of open heart surgery for quick healing and speedy recovery.
The ber fruit is eaten mostly fresh but it can be utilized profitably for the preparation of several delicious products. The fruit of the choice grafted varieties is very tasty; the pulp being juicy, sweet and rich in flavour, the fruit is easily digestible and can act as a mild laxative.
Drying it in the sun is a common practice in the dry region of Northern India where it is often the only fruit locally available. The dried fruit is kept for use during the off season. Umran is highly suitable for sun-drying and dehydration and excellent Chhuhar’s can be prepared.
Fully mature unripe fruits of ber can be used for the preparation of murabba, candy, pickle and chutney. The juicy varieties can be converted into pulp to serve as base material for squash, nectar and ready to-serve beverage. The fully mature fruits of ber can be canned in sugar syrup.
Ber candy is an excellent product and the fruits of Umran variety give an excellent product when candied. A nice jelly, prepared from the ripe fruit, retain a good amount of vitamin C. As ber is now being cultivated as a commercial crop, there is scope for canning these products.
Essay # 5. Insect-Pests of Ber:
i. Fruit-Fly (Carpomyia Vesuviana Costa):
It causes great damage to ber fruits. Fruit-fly deposits eggs in the epicarp of developing fruits. After hatching, the larvae enter into pulp and start feeding. The infested fruits become deformed, turn brown, rot and drop off.
Fully grown maggots emerge out of the fruit by making a hole and pupate in the soil. To control the pest, pick and destroy the infested fruits. To escape egg lying on fruits, harvest at green and firm stage and do not allow the fruit to ripe on the tree.
Rack the soil around the tree during summer to expose the pupae to heat and natural enemies. Spray 500 ml of Rogor 30 EC (Dimethoate) in 300 litres of water during February-March, care being taken that sprayings are stopped atleast 15 days before fruit harvest.
ii. Leaf-Eating Caterpillar (Euproctis Spp.) and Ber Beetle (Adoretus Pallens Arrow):
The plantation should be watched carefully during rainy season regarding the attack of these insect-pests. The young caterpillars initially remain gregarious and scrap leaves and tender fruits. Later, instars disperse and devour leaves, fruits and tender shoots.
The affected fruits become unmarketable. To control these, spray with 750 g Hexavin 50 WP (Carbaryl) in 250 litres of water as soon as the damage is noticed. At early and smaller scale, pluck the leaves with egg masses and young caterpillars and destroy.
iii. Lac Insect (Kerria Lacca):
This insect also causes serious damage by sucking the sap from the twigs which usually dry up. Their presence on ber trees is considered as harmful because they devitalize the trees and affect adversely the yield of fruits. To control this insect, remove and destroy the infested dry twigs. Spray the trees with 250 ml of Rogor 30 EC (Dimethoate) in 250 litres of water in April and again in September.
Essay # 6. Diseases Seen in Ber:
i. Powdery Mildew:
The disease is caused by Oidium erysiphoides f.sp. Ziziphi and appears from September to December. It has become a big menace to ber orchards in north India. If not checked in time, the disease can wipe out the entire crop.
Young developing leaves and fruits are covered with whitish powdery mass of the causal fungus. The disease causes premature defoliation and heavy fruit-drop. Affected fruits remain small and become cankered and disfigured.
Sometimes the attack is so severe that the entire crop is lost either through drop or rendered unmarketable, thus causing heavy economic losses to the growers. The disease can be controlled by 3-4 sprays of 0.05 per cent Karathane 40 EC (50 ml in 100 litres of water) or 0.25 per cent wettable sulphur (250 g in 100 litres of water) or 0.05% Bayleton 25 WP (50 g in 100 litres of water).
First spray must be given at flowering (September), second spray after fruit-set in mid-October, third in mid-November and fourth to mid-December. Another spray in January can be given if need arises.
ii. Leaf Spots:
Two leaf spots of ber are very common in ber growing regions i.e. ‘Phoma Leaf Spot’ caused by Phoma macrostoma Mont, and ‘Black Mould of Leaf’ caused by Isariopsis indica. Both diseases are caused by different fungi, while the Phoma leaf spot appears on the upper surface, the black mould make its appearance only on the lower surface of leaves.
In case of Phoma leaf spot symptoms appear when the leaves have fully expanded, in the Black mould case the symptoms can appear even on young leaves. Phoma leaf spot appears with grey centre, yellow margin and dark fungal growth on the mid-rib, main vein, petioles and the leaves. Black mould spot appears as small circular, small finger-like projections like softy tufts.
Both the leaf spots of ber can be controlled by spraying the following fungicides as given below:
a. First Spray:
Bordeaux mixture 2:2: 250 or with 0.3% copper oxychloride 50% (300 g in 100 litres of water) should be sprayed both on upper and lower surface of leaves with the appearance of disease in August or when the leaves have expanded.
b. Second Spray:
This spray should be given after 14 days of the first spray with 0.2 per cent Dithane M-45 WP 75% (200 g per 100 litres of water) both on upper and lower surface of leaves.
First and second spray should be repeated alternatively at 14 days interval till the fruits are fit for marketing. Thereafter sprayings are stopped a week before harvesting.
iii. Black Fruit Spot:
The disease is caused by Alternaria altemata. Disease produces small, irregular, sunken, black spots on fruits. Sometimes, Phoma macrostoma is also associated with the disease at later stages. The infected fruits become disfigured and may drop off before harvest. The disease starts its appearance during January and is very severe during February – March.
The disease can be controlled by spraying 0.25% Mancozeb 75 WP (250 g in 100 litres of water) in end of January and mid-February.
Essay # 7. Physiological Disorder of Ber:
Fruit Cracking:
Fruit cracking in ber can be caused due to high temperature rise in March, irregular irrigation interval, imbalance in endogenous level of growth regulators and varietal characters. Higher level of gibberellic acid and abscisic acid in the skin and stone leads to fruit cracking. The cultivar Umran has less cracking problem due to hard skin and texture of fruit. ZG-2, Sanaur-2, Gola and Kaithli are prone to splitting due to soft skin and high TSS at maturity.
It has been reported that uptake of water and solutes is mostly governed by presence of certain chemicals. The enhanced water uptake causes accumulation of solutes within the fruit with consequent rupturing of fruit skin.
Irrigation at proper interval will help in regulating water uptake and solutes. Spray of NAA @ 20-30 ppm at pit hardening stage once in second fortnight of October and again during second fortnight of November increase the promotor level and thus reduce the cracking of fruit skin.