The Agronomy and Economy of Important Tree Crops of the Developing World

354 Pages·2010·3.55 MB·English

by  K.P. Prabhakaran Nair

The Agronomy and Economy of Important
Tree Crops of the Developing World
The Agronomy and Economy
of Important Tree Crops of
the Developing World
K.P. Prabhakaran Nair
Distinguished Visiting Scientist,
Indian Council of Agricultural
Research New Delhi, India
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I dedicate this electronic book, which was compiled under very trying
circumstances, to the memory of my late parents, my father, Kuniyeri Pookkalam
Kannan Nair and my mother Kodoth Padinhareveetil Narayani Amma, both of whom
left me an orphan at a very young age, but, whose boundless love and blessings
made me what I am to day
Introduction
Industrial tree crops contribute substantially to the economy of many developing
countries on the Asian, African, and Latin American continents. With the World
Trade Organization (WTO) substantially focusing on agriculture, the commercial
aspects of growing these crops assume considerable economic significance. Within
the developing world, there are countries whose sole economic sustenance depends
on these crops. Even within the geographical boundary of a country, there are states
whose economy is exclusively linked to certain crops. For instance, within India,
arecanut, coconut, and rubber contribute substantially to the economy of the State of
Kerala in Southern India. Within the Asian continent, oil palm contributes substan-
tially to the economy of Malaysia and Indonesia.
Palm oil, a cheap source of cooking oil, is fast replacing fossil fuel as “green
fuel” from which diesel is extracted. Currently, while a ton of crude oil costs around
US$600 (though the price surge seems unstoppable as this book is being written),
palm oil is quoted at more than US$800 a ton. The global commercial impact of
these developments can well be imagined. With global warming becoming a very
serious issue of human survival, as has recently been amply demonstrated in the
Copenhagen Summit on climate change, with fossil fuel consumption considered the
main culprit, there is an ever-growing need for green fuel. Palm oil fits the bill.
Within the African continent, tea, coffee, and cocoa contribute substantially to
the economy of countries like Kenya, and The Republic of Cameroon. On the Latin
American continent, rubber is a very valuable foreign export. India grows some of these
crops that contribute substantially to the country’s economy. The ministry of commerce
under the Government of India deals with several aspects, and there are commodity
boards like the Coconut Board, the Rubber Board, the Tea and Coffee Boards, and
others that coordinate research, development, and commerce in these crops. The Rubber
Board in India has played a very effective role in the research, marketing, and devel-
opment of natural rubber. Historically, tea, coffee, and rubber were raised as “planta-
tion crops” on the Asian and African continents by the colonial powers. One can see
very large estates, running to hundreds of acres, of these crops in the countries on these
continents. For instance, in India, huge estates of tea exist in Northeastern India and of
rubber in the State of Kerala to the south. And most of these estates were controlled by
the colonial powers, primarily the British. With the political changes that took place
in these continents starting late 1950s and early 1960s and the emergence of inde-
pendence from the colonial powers that followed, the pattern of ownership changed
to native hands. Simultaneously a large number of small holders came into existence.
This has also happened with arecanut, coconut, and rubber in Kerala.
xiv Introduction
Arecanut is a masticatory nut that is paired with “betel leaf” (an annual twiner)
and tobacco along with lime (CaO), which gives a red color to the saliva, for the
practice of “chewing,” a popular habit in many parts of India and Pakistan. In fact,
an important market for arecanut from India is Pakistan. In addition, the dried nut is
processed into a scented end-product known locally as Supari, which is very popular
both in India and Pakistan.
Coconut is known as Kalpavriksha, a term derived from the ancient Indian lan-
guage Sanskrit meaning “Heaven’s Tree.” Coconut provides materials for culinary
purposes from its endocarp (the grated pulp), which is essential in South Indian food
preparations, especially those in Kerala. The edible oil—most of the cooking in
Kerala is done in coconut oil, which has a high percentage of unsaturated fats, now
considered “unhealthy” by the medical fraternity, though the opinion is divided—has
a large market. The oil extracted from the shell is an industrial lubricant. The tender
coconut water is a highly nutritive and invaluable health drink. It can even be used to
culture cells.
Tea and coffee are beverage crops. Cocoa is not only a beverage crop, but is the
main source for chocolate manufacture. Cashew is turning out to be a very important
industrial tree crop of India. A highly nutritive nut, free of cholesterol, it has a global
market and finds its use in bakery, sweet (particularly Oriental type) preparation,
and the cashew nut shell oil (CSL) finds its use in many industrial purposes. Of late,
its false fruit is increasingly used in the production of ethanol, another green fuel.
In rural India, the false fruit goes into the manufacture of illicit alcohol. Wattle
produces the bark from which tannin is extracted for tannery industry.
In summary, the book is an invaluable compendium of scientific and develop-
mental information and that would serve a large audience of academics, researchers,
developmental policymakers, and the millions of students of agriculture from the
developing world.
1
Arecanut (Areca catechu L.����
The arecanut palm is the source of a widely used masticatory nut, popularly known
as arecanut, betelnut, or supari. While supari is a processed and scented nut powder
for mastication, highly popular in northern India and Pakistan, the term betelnut is
derived from the fact that arecanut is used along with betel leaf (a twiner) for chew­
ing purposes. Since ancient times, the habit of “chewing” is a symbol of friendship
and general well being. Even in Hindu temples during festivals, betelnut and are­
canut are offered to the deities as materials of worship. No Hindu auspicious occa­
sion, such as marriage or a betrothal ceremony, is complete without the offering of
arecanut and betel leaves to the guests. Arecanut palm is a popular crop in India in
the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu in southern India and in Assam,
Meghalaya, and West Bengal in northeastern India. The areca palm is a monocot that
belongs to the family Palmae. The commonly cultivated species is Areca catechu in
most of the countries where it is used for chewing. In Sri Lanka, the fruits of Areca
concinna are occasionally chewed. In the world, the majority of production is in
India, followed by China.
Origin, History, and Geographical Distribution
There is no definitive record on the origin of arecanut. No fossil remains of the genus
Areca exist, but the fossil records of closely related genera indicate its presence
during the tertiary period. The maximum diversity of species that number 24 and
other indicators suggest that the original habitat is in contiguous regions of Borneo,
Celebes, and Malaya (Bavappa, 1963; Raghavan, 1957). There are innumerable ref­
erences to arecanut palm, arecanut, and its various uses in ancient Sanskrit. The anti­
quity of such references has been shown, the most important being Anjana Charitra
(Sisy Mayana, 1300 bc), where the reference had been made to groups of arecanut
palms full of inflorescence and branches presenting an exquisite appearance (Bhat
and Rao, 1962). Although it is not precisely known when arecanut found its way to
the Indian subcontinent, innumerable pieces of evidence exist of its antiquity (Mohan
Rao, 1982). Arecanut is mentioned in various Sanskrit scriptures (650–1300 bc), and
its medicinal properties were known to the famous Indian scholar Vagbhatta (500 ad).
A well­known cave in central India from around 200 bc to 900 ad features an
exquisitely painted arecanut palm providing a backdrop to the Padmapani Buddha.
According to Furtado (1960) one of the earliest references to arecanut dates back to
The Agronomy and Economy of Important Tree Crops of the Developing World. DOI:10.1016/B978-0-12-384677-8.00001-1
Copyright © 22001100 by Elsevier Inc. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
2 The Agronomy and Economy of Important Tree Crops of the Developing World
1510 ad. The abundant uses of arecanut in chewing and auspicious religious func­
tions of the Hindus of India were indicated even during the times of the Aryans, the
early conquerors of India, who were supposed to have migrated from Europe.
In terms of area, India has 57 percent of the world’s total and 53 percent (Table 1.1)
of its production. China occupies the second place, which is followed by Bangladesh
and Myanmar. In Asia, the countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines,
and Vietnam also grow arecanut. Productivity is highest (3752 kg/ha) in China
followed by Malaysia (1667 kg/ha), Thailand (1611 kg/ha), and India (1189 kg/ha).
Details on production and productivity are given in Table 1.1. In India, the crop is
grown largely in the Western Ghats and the northeastern regions. Details on area
and production, in terms of regions in India, are given in Table 1.2. As much as
90 percent of the area and 95 percent of the production are from three states, namely
Kerala, Karnataka, and Assam. Within India, productivity is highest (3947 kg/ha) in
the state of Maharashtra in central India.
The Botany and Taxonomy of the Areca Plant
Though unsatisfactory, as they were not based on real affinities, the earliest attempts
to restrict the genus Areca was that of Martius (1832–1850). Subsequently, vari­
ous species grouped under Areca were separated into different genera and limited
the genus to close relatives of the type of the genus Areca catechu (Blume, 1836).
Furtado (1933) described the limits of the genus Areca and its sections. A list of
Areca species and their geographical distribution is given in Table 1.3. Detailed mor­
phology, floral biology, and embryology have been described (Murthy and Pillai,
1982). The arecanut palm is a graceful looking, erect, and unbranched palm, some­
times reaching a height of 20 m. Shorter varieties have been bred lately. The stem
has scars of fallen leaves in regular annulated forms. The girth of the stem depends
A
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Table 1.1 Country­Wise Area and Production of Arecanut tec
h
u
L
Country Area (‘000 ha) Production (mt) .))
1961 1971 1981 1991 1998 1961 1971 1981 1991 1998
Bangladesh 82.60 40.10 36.43 35.81 36.00 62.99 23.36 25.05 24.12 28.00
China 0.62 1.33 2.83 26.96 46.00 3.71 10.07 24.35 111.09 172.57
India 135.00 167.30 185.20 217.00 270.00 120.00 141.00 195.90 258.50 310.00
Indonesia 65.00 75.00 90.00 95.76 75.38 13.00 15.00 18.00 22.81 32.60
Malaysia 6.00 2.50 1.30 2.20 2.40 6.50 3.00 2.50 4.00 4.00
Maldives 0.003 0.003 0.006 0.030 0.030 0.001 0.001 0.005 0.016 0.016
Myanmar 11.13 24.68 26.47 28.93 29.50 8.00 19.20 25.80 92.27 31.50
Thailand – – – 8.50 9.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 13.25 14.50
Global 300.55 310.92 342.25 415.20 468.31 214.21 211.64 291.62 446.15 593.29
Source: Food and Agriculture Organizations (FAO) of the United Nations; mt, million tons.
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