Poor man’s fruit/King of Arid fruits/ Chinese fig / Chinese Date

B.N. – Zizyphus mauritiana

Family – Rhamnaceae

Origin – India to South Western Asia up to Malaysia (China)

Ch. No – 2n = 48 (4x)

Fruit type – Drupe (stone)

Edible part – Pericarp

Inflorescence type – Fasicle (cymose)

Important Point

• Ber is a non-climacteric fruit
• Highly salt tolerant
• Ber is extremely drought resistant.
• Ber is entomophilous (insect-pollinated).
• Gametophytic self-incompatibility is present in Ber.
• Maximum area and production Madhya Pradesh.
• One spray of 3% thiourea or KNO3 2 days before pruning results in bud germination from a maximum number of nodes.
• Irrigation in October leads to flower drop and during March-April the fruits are spoilage and ripening is delayed.
• Ber ripens 150-175 days after flowering.
• The most common method of Ber propagation is I or T budding.
• The ideal time for training is March.
• Harvesting
  
  • South India – October-November
  • North India – February-April.
• Spraying of 750 ppm ethephon at an early stage of color change for early ripening.
• Flowering occurs in the axils of the leaves on young shoots of the current season.

Varieties

Extremely dry area- early maturing

• Gola – Auto Octa-ploid.
• Seb

Dry Area- late maturing

• Umran – Auto tetraploid, originating from Rajasthan Processed and used as ‘Chhuhara’

Humid area

• Mehrun

Mid maturing

• Rashmi
• Mundia
• Banarasi

Other

• Sanaur -2- resistant to powdery mildew
• Dodhia – resistant to fruit fly
• Illaichi – 90% pollen sterility
• Goma Kirti (Gonesh Kirti)- early variety, Selection from Unran.
• Sanaur-2,
• Sanaur-5,
• Kaithali
• Surti Katha,
• Katha phal,
• Jogia,
• Seo

Climate

• Cultivated up to an altitude of 1500 meters
• An arid and semi-arid climate is required for better-quality fruits.
• Tolerant to drought and waterlogging.

Soil

• Successfully grown in marginal lands.
• Being salt-tolerant, can be grown easily in saline and alkaline soils
• Sandy loamy soil with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH.

Propagation

• In India, ber is commercially propagated by budding.
• Budding time – June or monsoon.
• Rootstock – Ziziphus rotundifolia

Planting

• For monsoon planting, pits of 60 cm³ size are dug from April to May.
• In December or January for spring planting.
• The best time for planting is the onset of the monsoon (June-July).
• 4X4 or 6X3, or 6X6 or 6X5 planting distance is maintained.

Manure and fertilizers

• FYM -20-30 kg/plant
• N-400-50gm/tree, P₂O₅– 200gm/tree K₂O- 200gm/tree.
• Half of the amount of Nitrogen and the full amount of Phosphorous and Potash should be applied in the month of June-July.
• The remaining amount of nitrogen should be used during September-October.

Irrigation

• Light irrigation should be given to newly planted ber plants.
• Drip irrigation is also an economical method.
• Irrigation at the time of fruiting increases the fruit size.
• Adopt a limited irrigation pitcher system of irrigation.

Mulching

• Mulching 75% tree canopy around the trunk with dry leaves, grasses, saw dust, etc. conserves soil moisture to a great extent.

Training and pruning in Ber

• For a strong frame of the ber tree, training becomes necessary from the first year of planting.
• The total number of main branches can be 4-6.
• Pruning in ber is highly desirable to maintain the strength and productivity of the tree as well as to improve the size and quality of fruits.
• All branches which are weak, thin, diseased, broken branches, criss-cross should be removed with sharp secateurs.
• The best time to prune is hot, dry weather when the plants shed their leaves and go to rest or go dormant.

PGR

Treatment of GA₃, 2,4,5 – T, 2,4-D, and NAA with 10-15 ppm increases the fruit set.

Interculture and intercropping

• Keep the ber plant free from weeds, regular weeding is recommended.
• Seasonal crops like moong, guar, cowpea, spinach, etc. can be grown in Ber.
• Take intercrop in Ber orchard for 2 to 3 years.

Harvesting

• In North India, harvesting is done from February to April.
• Western Port – December – January.
• South India – Nov.
• When the color changes from green to yellow and golden yellow to brown.
• Due to increasing in sugar, fruits become sweet and acidity decreases.

Yield

80 to 150 Kg / Tree

Pest control

1. Fruitfiy (Carpomyia vesuviona)

• The flies puncture young developing fruits and lay single eggs. After hatching the larvae (maggots) feed inside the pulp of the fruit and pierce the rind.

Control

• Collect and destroy affected fruits
• Spray Monocrotophos (0.04%) or Rogor 30 EC (0.06%)
• Grow tolerant varieties like Sanaur-1, Safeda, Elaichi etc.

2. Bark-eating caterpillar (Inderbela quadinotota)

The caterpillar makes holes in the stem while eating the bark.

Control

• Remove galleries and point bark with 0.05% Monocrotophos 40EC.
• Grow insect-tolerant varieties like Rohtaki Gola, Laddu Glory, etc.

3. Hairy caterpillar (Euproctis fraterna)

During the rainy season, the caterpillars cause damage by eating the leaves.

Control

• Spray Seven (Carbaryl) @ 0.15%.

Disease Control

1. Powdery Mildew (Oidium erysiphoides)

• This disease was first observed in 1946 in Kanpur (UP).
• White powdery spots appear in affected fruits which later cover the entire fruit area.
• A white powdery mass is also spread on flowers and leaves.

Control

• Spray Karathane (Dinocap) 0.1% or Sulfox 0.2%
• Grow tolerant varieties like Sanour-5, Chuhara etc.

2. Sooty mould or Black Leaf Spot (Isariopsis sp.)

• In the month of September-October, black spots develop on the affected leaves on their inner surface.
• Leaves turn yellow to brown and eventually fall down.

Control

• Adopt phytosanitary measures.
• Spray Dithane Z- 78@ 0.2%.

3. Fruit Root (Phoma sp., Colletotrichum sp., Alternaria sp.)

Brown to black spots are formed on the fruits, later these spots surround the whole fruit.

Control

• Spray Dithane [email protected]%.