HTML

ePub

PDF

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is an evergreen tree legume, distributed all over the world in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The tree produces fruits in pods which consist of a brittle outer shell encapsulating the pulp and enclosed seeds. Once established, the tree develops a large tap root which protects it from strong winds and cyclones, making it well suited to the region prone to such weather phenomena. It is also considered to be a suitable tree for inter-planting with other commercial forest species. Tamarind starts bearing from 6-8 years and has productive life of 50- 70 years after which it declines. The normal life span of the tree is 150 years. A typical established tree yields between 50-100Kg of fruit which is harvested during multiple picks over an 8-10-week period between February and April. Apart from tamarind pulp other by-products such as seed, shell, fiber is also useful for various purposes. Tamarind comes in two main types; sweet and sour. Sweet tamarind is harvested ripe and usually consumed fresh, while the sour tamarind is processed into a range of value-added products. Some of the most common products prepared from tamarind include juice, pulp, powder, chutney, pickles, sauces, sugar coated candies and Tamarind Kernel Powder (TKP). TKP is an important sizing material for the jute and textile industry and tamarind seeds are gaining importance as a rich source of proteins and valuable amino acids. India is the world’s largest producer of tamarind; it is estimated that 300,000 tons are produced annually. It is also an exporter of tamarind, mainly to Europe and Arab countries (Spice Board, 2018)

Recently, there has been an increased interest in ûnding alternative, potentially high-value cash crops to improve the income of small farmers who are currently depending upon growing and selling traditional cereal crops. Tamarind has a wide range of genetic variation in India, according to the phenotype and genetic characteristics which could facilitate identification of superior and desirable types. Being a highly cross-pollinated crop, and propagated from time immemorial by seeds, considerable amount of variability exists in the trees growing in different regions. Selection is the crop improvement method widely adopted in tamarind and varieties are being released using this method. The consumer preference is for traits such as broad, brown pulp with good pulp recovery which is currently not being met by the few released varieties. The present study was undertaken keeping in view the emerging importance of the crop with the objective of identifying superior quality combined with high pulp recovery. In this context, a survey was undertaken in Tumkur district of Karnataka to characterize the variability available for pod and tree characters and identify superior trees using horticultural traits. In situ analysis of the samples collected from this region was carried out at ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticulture Research, Bengaluru and an elite tamarind variety was identified having broad pods with good pulp colour and recovery. Farmer’s tamarind selection “Lakshamana” emerged from participatory breeding having significantly better traits compared to local tamarind.

Lakshamana -A promising tamarind selection

This is an accession identified from Nandihalli village of Tumkur district Karnataka, having passport data: latitude 13.52° N, Longitude-76.74° E and 860 m MSL growing in field of Shri Laxmannappa. It was found to be superior with better yield and pod characters compared to local and registered mean annual yield (4 years from 2016-2020) of 251.4 kg/ tree as against 165.0 kg/tree in local trees (Table 1).

Lakshamana is a 40-year-old tree and regularbearer (Fig.1). It commences flowering in May-June, matures in February-March and harvestingcan be done in March-April under Tumkurconditions. This is a lean period in this region whenthere is less agricultural activity. The farmers canuse this time to process and pack the tamarind toget better price in market. The pulp of“Lakshamana” is of superior quality having lightbrown colour, it is broader in shape which isdesirable for marketing and has less fiber content (Fig.2). The inner cavity is silvery and this enclosesthe seeds. The pulp recovery is high (43%) asagainst 28% in local tamarind trees.

The pulp of Lakshamana has been characterized for nutritional traits (acidity and sugars) and total acidity and total sugar was found to be 20% and 29.78%, respectively. It was also profiled for sugar through liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and organic acid by high- performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Table 2). Glucose and fructose are the major sugars and accounted for 96.8% of the total sugar content. Beside that small amount (<1%) of mannose, ribose, arabinose, rhamnose, myo-inositol, sucrose and maltose were also found. Among organic acid tartaric acid content was highest (18.61%). Although tartaric acid occurs in other sour fruits, but tamarind fruits are reported to be the richest natural source of tartaric acid. Tamarind is known to be simultaneously the most acidic fruit with the sweetest taste because of presence of high levels of reducing sugars (glucose and fructose) and tartaric acid. Combination of organic acid and reducing sugar gives sweet-sour taste to this fruit.

Harvesting and processing of Lakshamana pods starts from February and lasts up to mid-June. The pods fall down on own or the branches are shaken with help of long poles or a person climbs and shakes the branch to break free the pods. The pods are collected and left out to dry in sun for a few days. Processing which involves breaking the shell and removing seeds is carried out to secure better market value. One person can process 15-20Kg pods per day and earn around Rs 400/day. The whole family of Shri Laxmannappa gets involved during this period for processing thus employment is generated. After the shell is removed, the pulp is inverted to discard the seeds. It is stacked in ring shape in bamboo basket with capacity of 50kg. Each basket fetches 1500 Rs. The seed is also sold at rate of 17 Rs/kg and the shell chips at 2.50 Rs/kg. The seeds of “Lakshamana” tamarind are bold type and 1 quintal of pulp produces approximately 40 kg seeds. Thus, primary processing and value addition activities have potential of improving livelihood. Collective marketing and little primary processing can significantly improve family income from this accession.

In recent years several community-based strategies that focus on documenting local diversity, raising awareness of its status and improving its performance through participatory breeding and selection have been developed. Another way to strengthen on farm conservation is to recognize and support individual farmers who make contribution to on-farm conservation (Gruberg et al. 2013). This strategy coupled with emerging scientific and economic interest to promote and commercialize the tamarind products will be helpful in increasing its value through market-based interventions. Tamarind is well suited for the backyard, dry and waste land farming. Hence, identification of this potential accession besides increasing the area and production could also address the issue of sustainability as the crop is climate resilient and profitable. Further, it also contributes towards rural livelihood security and employment for women during lean periods when there is less agricultural activit y. There exists ample scope for area expansion under tamarind with superior fruit types all over India.

REFERENCES

Bioversity International, Rome and Fundación PROINPA, La Paz https://www.indianspices. com/export/major-itemwise-export.html

Gruberg, H., Meldrum, G., Padulosi, S., Rojas, W., Pinto, M. and Crane, T. 2013. Towards a better understanding of custodian farmers and their roles: insights from a case study in Cachilaya, Bolivia.

IR