Ker/Kair or karira or kerda (Capparis deciduas, Family - Capparaceae / Caparidaceae, Genus - Capparis) is an important indigenous leafless shrub or small tree with dense thorny branches It provides food (pickle and vegetable), medicinal products, cosmatics, fodder, carving wood, and fuel. Fruits (berry) are valuable integral source of nutrition and income for the rurals.

1. KAIR (Capparis decidua) – A TREASURE HOUSE FOR INCOME AND
EMPLOYMENT GENERATION
Dr Jai Singh (ARS)
M Tech Ph D
Former Director ICAR – CIPHET
Mob:8958463808 E-Mail:jsingh.sre@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION
Ker/Kair or karira or kerda (Capparis deciduas, Family - Capparaceae /
Caparidaceae, Genus - Capparis) is an important indigenous leafless
shrub or small tree with dense thorny branches widely distributed in
arid and semiarid regions of India (Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,
Haryana, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh, deccan peninsula). It provides food
(pickle and vegetable), medicinal products, cosmatics, fodder, carving
wood, and fuel. Fruits (berry) are valuable integral source of nutrition and
income for the rurals. Sami, Pilu and Karir species also referred in
Mahabharat as a treasure house of potential drugs. It is grown along farm
boundaries, orans, gochars (local grasslands) wastelands. It grows better
in sandy soils and has fair tolerance to salinity, alkalinity, drought and
heat.
Local Names: Karira in Sanskrit, Karel/Karer or Kurrel (Hindi), Kair,
Kareal, Kerro, Taint (Rajasthan), Kera/Ker / Kerada (Gujarat), Karir / Karil
(Uttar Pradesh), Dela / kair (Delhi and Punjab), Teent (Haryana), Chippuri /
Nispatige (Kannad), Nepati (Marathi), Sirakkali / Shengan (Tamil) and
Kariramu / Enugadanta (Telegu), Karimullu ( Malayalam) Caper berry
(English) and Titali (Urdu).
Variety / Accession: Named varieties not available. ICAR – NBPGR,
ICAR – CAZRI, ICAR – CIAH , SKRAU maintained 32 accessions, among
which CZJK-8, CZJK-9, CZJK-4, CZJK-15, CZJK-21, CZJK-14, CZJK-33,
CZJK-34 and CZJK-35 were assessed at ICAR – CAZRI, Bikaner.
Propagation: It is propagated by seeds or root suckers or stems.
Mature seeds are sown in nursery or in polythene bags. Nursery
raising takes about a year. Plantation is done in rainy season.

2. Planting : Pit planting is done at 3m x 3m spacing. FYM and soil 50 :
50 is filled in pits. Newly planted plants need adequate moisture for
survival.
Flowering and Fruiting: Vegetative propagated plants flower in 4 – 5
years while seedling plants take 7 – 8 years. Fruiting occurs 2 – 3
times in a year (March – April , May – July and October - November).
Fruit ripens from green to white and finally light cherry red. Harvesting
is done during driest period just before on set of monsoon (July –
August).
Health Benefits: It is treasure house of numerous health medicines
and drugs such as to cure toothache, arthritis, asthma, cough,
inflammation, intermittent fevers, malaria, rheumatism, swelling cholera,
dysentery, urinary purulent discharges, cardiac troubles, trachoma,
constipation, ulcer, piles , skin diseases, etc. The plant has antioxidant,
antidiabetic, antibacterial, anti-microbial, insecticidal, termicidal, antiviral,
anti-arthritis, antiplatelets, hypolipidimic, analgesic, properties. It is also a
rich source of basic mineral nutrients, calcium and potassium, electrolytic
minerals essential minerals ( Fe and Zn).
Harvesting: Hand picking of fruits is a common practice or by beating the
crown with wooden sticks. Kair fruit are harvested at three stages
(immature, semi-mature and fully-mature).
Yield: 1 – 2 kg tender green fruits / per bush. A tree yields 6 - 8 kg fruits.
Processing: Fruits are washed, cleaned,stalks removed and graded (small,
medium and bigger). The unripe / ripe fruits are not eaten freshdue to acrid
(unpleasant bitterness) taste. The fresh fruits are astringent due to the
presence of tannins and phenolic substances These are blanched and
cured for vegetables, pickles, punchkuta (sangria, Kair, Kachri, kumat and
mango/kamal kakri) and dehydrated products.Ker fruits are also cooked as
vegetables with the fruits of Prosopiscineraria(sangri)and seeds of Acacia
senegal (Kumat).
Blanching and Curing: Fruits harvested at immature stage (20 days after
fruit set) are blanched for 3 minutes followed by curing in salt (5%) for the
first 6.days and salt 10% + buttermilk 25% for the next 6 days for better
taste and rehydration ratio. The fruits are sun dried to 5 – 7 % moisture for
future use..

3. Processing / Value addition
Flowchart of Kair pickle
Harvesting of tender Fruits
↓
Cleaning and removal of fruit stalk
↓
Store the fruits in earthen pot
↓
Mix curd (250 g) and salt (50 g) kg-1 fruit
↓
Add water till the fruits are properly embedded
↓
Keep the pot in sunny place after closing the lid
↓
Drain the water after 4 days
↓
Repeat the process at least 4 times
↓
Taste the fruit, as it gives flat and salty taste and repeat the process once more, if
needed
↓
Ready to use
Oil :- seeds contain 20.3 % high quality edible oil.
Food Uses: Flower buds and unripe fruits as vegetable, pickle, mixed
aachar, panchmal-ka-sag or pachkuta,curry. Flower buds for food flavoring
and fruit extract as a flavor agent in the food processing industry. The
dehydrated fruits are used as off-season vegetable,
Storage:
The fruits are stored either in pots or in plastic containers. Processed dried
fruits are stored in flexible poly bags at ambient conditions of temperature
and relative humidity. Dried (5 – 7 % moisture) fruits can be stored in poly
bags without any deterioration in the quality long time (2 – 3 years).
Fodder: The fruit is relished by camels and by goats.

4. Kair / Capparis decidua – Potential Income Generation Plant in Waste Lands
Kair- C. deciduas Deserts Ravinous wastelands Deccan peninsula
Kair Propagation and Production Technology
Kair- C. Decidua seeds Kair- C. Decidua
seeds
Nursery plot Poly bags nursery
Seedlings Vegetative proogation Invitro Propagation Field with pits
Pits with water
conservation
Pit making machine 4 hole pitter Pitting machine
Kair planting Kair bush crop Kair bush crop Kair grown up bush

5. Kair tree
Kair bush in flowering Kair tree in flowering Kair flower buds
Kair fruiting Kair fruit Kair unripe fruit Kair ripe fruit
Kair fruit variation Kair unripe fruit lot Kair ripe fruit lot Kair seed
Kair ( Capparis decidua) Processed Products
Processing and Curing:
Kair fruit with stalk Kair fruit with stalk De stalked fruits Washer cleaner
Basket washer
Wirenet rinser
Kair washing cleaning
6 days curing in in 5 %
salt water

6. 6 days curing in 10 %
salt water + 25 %
butter milk
Draining excess
water Draining excess water Cured berry sorting
Sweep sorting Sun drying 5 – 6 %
moisture
Solar drying Poly house drying
Mechanical drier
Dried Kair
Dried Kair grinder Kair seed powder
Product Development
Kair fruit powder
Kair dietary fiber
Kair local aachar Kair pickle
Kair seed Kair roots Kair root bark
Kair root bark powder

7. Kair Flower powder
Kair leaf and shoot
powder
Kair seed oil 20 %
Kair Powder bath soap
Kair green fruit paste Kair flower buds and
fruit wax 14 %
Kair soup mix Kair mix papad
Kair bark dye Kair flowers dye Whple plant extract
- Antibacterial and
antifungal
Flower, leaves & seed mix
powder- Antidiabetic
Root bark, shoot &
seed powder - Anti-
parasitic
Flower, root bark &
seed powder -
Microbicidal fresh twigs-tips
powder Kair cosmetics
Anticancerous – root
bark & stem powder
Wood - tool handles
Commercial Products: Food, oil, Pharmaceutical products (vinegar; dried fruit
powder; fruit, flowers and bark alcoholic extract; fruit – flower extract; root bark extract;
fruit, flower, shoot and bark extract; drugs) , cosmetics, wooden toys, wooden tool
handles, surface wax, dye, etc.
Literature consulted: ICAR – NBPGR, ICAR – CAZRI, ICAR – NAHRI and others

8. Kair (Capparis decidua): A potential ethnobotanical weather predictor
and
livelihood security shrub of the arid zone of Rajasthan and Gujarat
Dheeraj Singh1 & Ranjay K Singh2*
1Krishi Vigyan Kendra,CAZRI, Pali-Marwar 306 401,Rajasthan; 2Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal 132
001, Haryana
Assessment of in-situ Variability in Kair (Capparis decidua) Germplasm for
Utilization in Genetic Improvementthrough ex-situ Conservation H.R. Mahla* and
J.P. Singh Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station,
Jaisalmer 345 001, India
Kair cultivation variety ICAR – NBPGR india