production technology of ber

1. by
PRABHUGOUDA PATIL
College of horticulture, rajendra nagar Hyderabad

2. poor man’s fruit
poor man’s apple

3. Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana) is a hardy fruit,
cultivated throughout the country, often called
poor man’s fruit.
Origin;
Ber has been mentioned in ancient
Sanskrit literature, it is said to be originated
in India and China area.

4.  India is the largest
producer of ber.
 In Punjab ber has been
planted on 2500
hectares.
 with annual production
of 42847 MT.
AREA AND
PRODUCTION

5. Distribution
 It is found growing wild, semi wild and also cultivated in
almost all parts of India.
 The major growing states are Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
 Accurate statistics about the area is not
available.However, it is estimated that there is about
12000 ha area under ber in India.

6.  The cultivated Indian ber is distinct from the
Chinese ber which is less rich in sugar and vitamin
C.
 The Indian ber is a tree with a spreading canopy
and vine-like branches and leaves which are dark
green on the upper surface.
 It flowers in autumn, bears fruits at the end of
winter.It sheds leaves during hot weather after
fruiting and does not withstand cold conditions.
 Ber is eaten fresh and to a certain extent processed
as candy.
 Although, ber orchards in the country are
widespread, its systematic cultivation is sporadic.

7. Indian jujube (Ber) - Fresh Fruit
Nutritional value per 100 g
Energy 24.76 kJ (5.92 kcal)
Carbohydrates 17 g
Sugars 5.4-10.5 g
Dietary fibre 0.60 g
Fat 0.07 g
Protein 0.8 g
Vitamins
Thiamine (B1) 0.022 mg
Riboflavin (B2) 0.029 mg
Niacin (B3) 0.78 mg
Minerals
Calcium 25.6 mg
Iron 1.1 mg
Phosphorus 26.8 mg
Other constituents
Water 81.6-83.0 g
NUTRITION

8.  Ber fruit contain 13 to 20 percent TSS and 0.2 to 1.0
percent acidity.
 It contains Vitamin C (120 mg l00g of pulp), protein
(0.94%), calcium (0.03%), and phosphorus (0.036%), iron
(1.14%), p-carotene (Vit. A) 80 ug/l00g pulp also contain
about 5.50% sucrose, 1.50 glucose and 2.0% fructose
sugars.
 Ber trees are used for rearing lac insect, the leaves along
with tender shoots are used as fodder, wood is used as
fuel and for medicinal purposes. ‘Ber fruit is usually eaten
fresh.
 It can be used for the preparation of murabba, candy and
chutney. Squash or nectar can be prepared from the pulp.
The fruits of wild varieties particularly malah ber (Z.
numularia) are dried in sun and are sold during off
season.
 Ber has been a popular fruit of the rural India. In
Punjab it has specific sanctity since some ber plants,
i.e., ‘Baba Budha Ber’
Uses of ber

9. MEDICINAL USESFruit
 Applied to cuts and ulcers, used for pulmonary ailments and fevers; mixed with salt
and chili peppers, can be given for indigestion and biliousness.Dried ripe fruit is a
mild laxativ.
Seed
 The seeds are sedative and taken, sometimes with buttermilk, to halt
nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pains in pregnancy. Powdered seed is
used to treat chronic diarrhea, jaundice and dysentery. Mixed with oil, they
are rubbed on rheumatic areas.
Leaves
 The leaves are applied as poultices to wounds and are helpful in liver
troubles,asthma and fever.
Root
 Used to treat fever, wounds and ulcers. Juice of the root bark is said to
alleviate gout and rheumatism. Strong doses of the bark or root may be
toxic.
Flowers
 Internally used as a remedy to cure jaundice and externally to cure eye
disease and skin ulcers

10. Climate and Soil
 The ber is found growing under tropical and subtropical
climate all over India and thrives upto an elevation of
1000 m above MSL.
 New growth, flowering and fruiting are probably
dependent on the length of summer and the time when
the monsoon sets in. Accordingly, the period of flowering
and fruit maturity vary from region to region.
 In Northern India, the growth starts from late June to
early July with the advent of monsoon and fruits mature
during February to April.

11.  In Western India where monsoon sets in early and
the winter is mild and warm, fruit maturity is early
and happens between December and March.
 In Southern India, flowering takes place from May to
July and fruits mature during October to November.
 The ber prefers dry weather for high quality fruits.
 Ber is capable of growing under wide variety of soils
ranging from shallow to deep and from gravely and
sandy to clayey. It can tolerate salinity, alkalinity and
even water logged conditions to a certain extent

12. Varietal classification
On basis of Area
Extremely Dry Gola, Seb , Mundiya
Dry region Banarsi, Karaka, Kaithali, Umran,
Maharwali
Humid Mehrun, Sanaur No. 2
On basis of Maturity
Early Early Umran, Gola, Seb
Mid Rashmi, Kaithali, Mundiya, Banarsi
Late Umran, Illachi
Recently released new variety
Thar Sevika Seb x Katha
Thar Bhubraj Selection from Bhusavar area of
Bharatpur
Goma Kirti / Ganesh Kirti selection from Umran

13. Kaithli
 The cultivar is selection from kaithal
in Haryana.Pulp is soft with 18%
TSS. Fruit ripen in end March.
Average yield per tree is 100 kg.
 This is excellent table purpose ber
fruit but sometimes can be attacked
by powdery mildew.
Thar Sevika[2007]
Developed by the hybridization
from a cross Seb x Katha.
 This is an early maturing variety.
Average fruit yield is 30-32 Kg/tree.

14. Thar Bhubharaj [2007]
 A selection from local material of Bhusavar
area of Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, having
an average yield potential of 30-36 kg/tree.
 The fruits are very juicy, sweet with a TSS
content of 22-23%.
Sanour
 This is one of the selections made from
village Sanour in district Patiala. The tree is
spreading and less vigorous than umran. TSS
of pulp is 15-18 percent.
 Fruit ripens in second fortnight of March.
Average) deld 150 kg/tree. It is resistant to
powdery mildew, disease and can be
cultivated in humid areas

15. Z.G. 2:
 The trees are spreading with drooping branches. The fruit is
medium in size and roundish in shape, Very soft to eat.The
colour of the fruit become light green at ripening.
 The pulp have excellent blend of acidity with TSS 13-15%. It
ripens in end March. Average yield 150 kg per tree. Less
susceptible to powdery mildew disease.
Wallaiti
 Tree is semi-erect growing and vigorous growing. Fruit size
medium to large and oval in shape. Epicarp light golden yellow in
colour at ripening.
 Pulp soft and sweet with 15% TSS. It is an early ripening cultivar
and ripens in March, Average yield 100kg per tree. It is also
susceptible to powdery mildew.

16. HOW TO GROW BER TREES
There are two basic methods of propagating ber trees,
seed propagation and vegetative propagation
 Seed propagation;
 involves the collection, preparation and direct planting of the
seed into soil or compost (see section 4.3 of this manual).
 This method is very simple, however the growth, fruiting and
fruit quality of the trees raised cannot be guaranteed and the
time taken for the tree to reach bearing age is usually longer
than for trees propagated using vegetative methods.
 However, seed propagation is most often used to raise
rootstocks for the purpose of vegetative propagation.

17. SEED PROPAGATION
Seed extraction from the stone;
 Ber seedlings can be raised by planting the
stone, however the percentage germination is
lower, can take up to 4 weeks longer and the
seedlings are less vigorous;
 it is better to remove the seeds from the stone
before planting. The stone should be removed
from the fruit and the seeds extracted by
carefully breaking with a large stone or heavy
object (care should be taken not to damage the
seeds).
 Extracted seeds germinate within a week after
sowing. The seeds can remain viable for two and
half years when kept in a cool, dry environment,
but storage time is dependent on the condition of
the seeds and how well they have been dried
prior to storage.
Seed extraction

18. SEED PRE -TREATMENTS
 Ber seeds can only germinate after a period of
'after-ripening'. 1-2 months after extraction from
the stone, germination increases. Seeds up to 1
year old germinate better than those freshly
extracted.
 Seedling vigour is greatest when sown after 8
months storage. Germination may be reduced
when the seeds are over a year old. Soaking the
seeds in water for 24 hours also increases
germination.

19. SEED SOWING AND GERMINATION
 Seedlings can be raised directly
in the field or in the nursery.
 In the field, sowing should be
carried out during the rainy
season. The seeds should
germinate in about 7 days.
 The seedlings become ready for
in situ budding during the the
spring or summer, i.e. 7-12
months after sowing.
Individual tube
showing seed
depth.
20cm
Nursery bench showing
Tube arrangement

20.  In the nursery, pots or tubes should be arranged with 4
tubes (depending on the space available and number of
seeds to be sown) in an upright position on either side
(width-wise) leaving a 20cm space in the centre to avoid
crowding and to help with irrigation later on.
 The seeds of suitable rootstocks should be sown, 2
seeds per tube at about 2cm deep. The seeds will need
to be watered regularly until they germinate.
 The seeds can also be sown directly into a soil bed at
30x30cm spacing, also at about 2cm depth. Maximum
germination takes place when the temperature is about
30oC and germination is reduced at about 25oC or less.
 The best time for sowing seed is in the summer in
tropical and subtropical climates.

21. VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION
There are two main types of grafting,
 bud grafting ;( budding )
 shoot grafting;
Bud grafting is the most common, economical and easiest
method used for ber
Bud grafting
 Budwood becomes available during the active growth
period in the summer.
 Buds from juvenile shoots should be collected. Juvenile
shoots can be induced to grow by severe pruning of the
mother trees.
 The bud sticks, with well swollen and recently matured
buds (but still not open) should be collected.
 Immature and undeveloped buds from the upper part of
the new shoots are unsuitable, similarly, over mature and
inactive buds should not be used
 Buds collected from a flowering shoot also give very poor
success.
Bud wood

22. Raised seedlings
a) seed sowing in polythene tubes,
b) 30 day old seedling,
c) 100 day old seedling,
d) rootstock seedling prepared for budding

23. PATCH AND SHIELD BUDDING
Separation of bud from budwood
2.5 cm patch
Patch
budding
Patch removed from rootstock
Bud fixed onto patch
Shield budding
I-cut on rootstock
Bud inserted into I-cut
Tying inserted bud on roostock
Budling ready for planting
The best time for successful budding is
during the active growth period. The
active growth period is indicated by easy
and clear separation of the bark from the
wood in both scion and the rootstock.
The best temperature is between 30
and 34°C. Bud take declines when
temperatures drop to 18.5-20oC.
Such conditions occur during the
summer and rainy season in the arid and
semi-arid subtropics
Time of budding

24. NURSERY ESTABLISHMENT
Pots or bags on the ground
Pots or bags on benches
Seed bed on the ground

25. TRANSPLANTING
 Budlings prepared in the nursery beds (9 to 12 months)
 Budlings prepared in polytubes (30 days )
60
cm
60 cm
•Planting pit is
prepared 60 cm deep
and 60 cm in diameter
•The pit is with
manure and soil
about 1 month
before planting.
•A hole is made in the
soil/ manure mix and the
tree placed in the hole
•The roots of the tree are
covered with soil and
flattened

26. Planting
 A spacing of 7m x 7m for budded ber plants is
recommended.
 Pits of 60 x 60 x 60 cm are dug about a month
prior to the period of planting and kept open in
the sun for about a fortnight.
 About 100g of Aldrex dust is dusted on the
bottom and sides of the pit as a precautionary
measure against termite attack and thereafter
filled with the soil mixed with 20 kg FYM.
 The budded plants are then planted and
staked.
 In areas with salinity problem application of 5
kg Gypsum in each pit is beneficial.

27. IRRIGATION
 Water is life for every plant therefore, its use should be
judiciously made to save water. No flooding should be
carried out till plants cover whole of the space provided.
 First irrigation should be given in June after pruning for
hoeing of the tree basins and for application of farm yard
manure.
 No irrigation should be applied during rainy season. When
there is drought apply irrigation after fruit set. Thereafter,
give irrigation only at monthly interval up to February.
 Fruit start ripening from March onward and harvesting is
almost complete in April under Punjab conditions. No
irrigation should be given during and after fruit harvest.

28. MANURES AND FERTILIZERS
Manures and
Fertilizers
1st year 2nd year
onwards
FYM 20KG 50 kg
N 200 gm 500 gm
P 100 gm 200 gm
K 200 gm 500 gm
(per plant/year)
 Manuring should be done immediately after pruning.
 Spray 2% KNO3 thrice at monthly intervals in January, February
and March.

29. WEED CONTROL
 Most of the weeds remain under check due to
summer dormant nature of the ber tree. However,
perennial weeds like baru grass, dubh grass,
parthenium and puthkanda, etc. do raise their
head during growing period of trees.
 To check the perennial weeds, spray Round Up
(glyphosate) @ 10ml/litre or Gramoxone @
6ml/litre when the weeds have attained sufficient
vegetative growth (20-30cm height). Gramoxone
can be sprayed in tree basins also. Choose a
clam day for the spray to avoid spray drift to the
ber foliage.

30. INTERCROPPING
 In the first 2-3 years of age, the plants occupy in
little area and most of the land remain vacant. The
vacant land should be judiciously used by growing
compatible crops. No crop should be grown in
kharif season since, it will need irrigation during
dormancy of ber plants. Grow ‘rabi’ crops like
wheat, gram, massar, barseem, sarson, toria, etc.
 For the first two years, later on grow only toria or
winter vegetables so that the field is free during
March-April for easy harvesting of the fruits.
Exhaustive and tall growing crops like bajra or
jawar should not be grown at all.

31. Training and Pruning
 Left to nature, ber plants tend to remain bushy and take
spreading form, creating management problems. Therefore,
proper training to develop balanced and strong framework is
essential
 This exercise should start from the beginning itself.
 At the nursery stage, it should be ensured that plants have
single stem and unhindered straight roots.
 In the field, keep the head clean upto 30 to 45 cm and then
allow 4 to 5 strong scaffold branches.
 On these branches 3 to 4 upright secondary branches are
allowed to grow. During the second year, the secondary
branches should be trained to carry tertiary branches to
complete the training job within 3 years of planting.

32. a b c d
e
f g h
Training in ber
A - Trunk, B - Main branch, C - Secondary branch, D - Tertiary branch.

33. Tree before pruning. Main branches pruned leaving
15-25 nodes depending on
climate.
All secondary
shoots
removed.
• The productivity of the tree is maintained because about 98%
of the fruits produced on any pruned branches are borne on
vigorous shoots, and only 2% on the other shoots
• Pruning also opens up the tree form for sunlight and air
Prune main branches.

40. FRUITS AT VARIOUS STAGES OF RIPENESS

41.  The ber trees if left un-pruned for a number of years may
become uneconomical. These trees produce little crop of
small sized fruits.
 The trees also get infested with lac insect, powdery mildew
etc. In such cases the trees can be rejuvenated.
 Remove the scaffolds with sharp saw by keeping 10-15 cm
long stub. Keep only 4-6 stubs per trees during May. Select,
out growing 2 sprouts on each stub during July-August same
year.
 These sprouts grow very fast, hence, the pinching of tops
should be done in August-September so that side branch my
develop on these sprouts.
 Thus full grown tree is ready upto November- December of
the same year. Give light pruning during May next year to get
some fruit. Such trees can again yield heavy crops for another
thirty years.

42. REJUVENATION OF OLD ORCHARDS

43. Top Working:
 Inferior ‘katha’ ber trees can be top worked with superior
cultivar. For this, head back the major limbs to keep 15 cm
long stubs on one or two scaffolds. Remove rest of the
mature wood judiciously during May.
 Many sprouts emerge on the stubs in July. T-budding should
be done on 2-3 shoots on each stub.
 Remove rest of the sprouts. Continue to remove unwanted
sprouts for a year. Save the sprouted buds from breakage
by giving little pruning initially.
 The newly developed scaffold system from the sprouted
buds come into bearing within two years.

44. FRUIT DROP
•Usually ber fruit does not drop
physiologically, drop is normally due to
pathological reasons.
•Sometime due to increase in
atmospheric humidity and vegetative
growth, there may be fruit drop in
some ber cultivars in October-
November.
•Single spray of 10-20 ppm
Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) one in
mid- October shall be sufficient to
control fruit drop.

45. Pests & Diseases
 Fruit fly,
 bark eating caterpillar,
 hairy caterpillar,
 leaf chafer,

46. Ber butter fly (Tarucustheophrastus )
Recommendation
Spray of quinalphos (0.05%)
during the sprouting and onset of
flowering and repeat the spray at
15 days interval would give better
control of this pest
Stone weevil (Aubeus himalayanus )
Spraying of carbaryl 50 WDP
at 0.1% just before the fruit
setting and repeat spays at
three week interval.

47. Recommendations: Removal of
webbing at junction and injection of
0.05% dichlorvos using syringe would
be effective.
• Collection and destruction of infested
fruits and soli digging during summer
to expose the pupa to hot summer.
•Foliar application of NSKE 5 %
followed by acephate 0.07% and
repeat the NSKE 5 % as a third spray
at 15 days interval.
Bark eating caterpillar(Indarbela sp)
Fruit fly (Carpomyia vesuviana )

48.  Powdery mildew [Oidium ziziphi ]
 black spot of leaves
 alternaria leaf spot
 fruit rot
fruit rot

49.  Flowers appear on the current growth of
shoots from August to November.
 The fruits are harvested from November
to March.
 The budded ber plant begins to bear in
the 1st year itself but the optimum
production starts after the 4th year of
planting.
 The average yield may go upto 150 kg
per tree under irrigation but under rainfed
condition, one can get about 100 kg per
tree.
 After picking, damaged and under ripe
fruits are discarded and the mature fruits
are graded according to size.

50. GRADING AND PACKING OF FRUITS
 After harvesting of ber fruits, grading should be done.
Remove the undersized miss-happened, cankered and wind
damaged fruits. One can make 3-4 grades, i.e.,
 A - grade best fruits of large size,
 B- grade-medium sized good coloured fruits,
 C-grade small sized well coloured fruits and
 D-grade poorly coloured fruits of all sizes and left outs.
 The highest percentage of fruits fall in B-category followed
by A grade.
 C and D grade may have just equal quantities.
 A and B grade fruits are preferred in the market as well as
by the consumers.
 A B and C grade fruits should be packed in corrugated fiber
Board (CFB) cartoons, wooden crates, plastic crates,
polynets or baskets of convenient sizes.
 D-Grade may be marketed in gunny-bags.

51. SHELF LIFE
 Umran fruits can be stored for
three weeks in home refrigerator
(7-8°C) in perforated polythene
bags.
 The shelf- life of fruits can be
enhanced up to 30 days if the
fruits are treated with 6 percent
wax-emulsion and packed in
perforated polythene bags of
100 gauge thickness, before
storing in the commercial cold
storage (7-8°C) and 85-90
percent RH.

52. S