SIMARUBA GALAUCA A NEW FOREST PLANT IN SINDH-PAKISTAN

SIMARUBA GALAUCA A NEW FOREST PLANT IN SINDH-PAKISTAN

Abstract

In the year 1994-95 the share of forestry in value added of agriculture sector was Rs.132,349 million, while forestry was 1,452 million, percentage share of forestry in agriculture was 1.10% and percentage share of forestry in GDP was 0.27%. The area of forest and range lands under the control of forest department total was 10,664,000 acres while in Sindh it was 1,168,000 hectares. In 1994-95 the area under afforestation was 14,700 hectares while in Sindh it was 1600 hectares.

The Panhwar farm is located 25° 30’N, 68° 30’N South-East of Hyderabad and receives on average 300±50 chill hours. The region has a subtropical climate receiving between 100-550 chill units and 3700-4500 heat units. The region has great potential for new crops.

Simaruba Glauca is a nut tree yielding about 40% edible oil was planted at Panhwar fruit farms Khesano Mori near Tando Jam in 1990 from seed brought from Hawaii (USA). It grows wild in tropical forests of Central America in Hondurus, Guatemala, Panama etc. it is expected to fruit after a decade as in natural conditions of mother countries, but flowered and fruit earlier in year 8 with us. In wild it yields 500 kgs of edible oil each year per acre. Oil cake is toxic, unless processed and processing can remove toxins making it good feed for animals. Without processing it is a rich fertiliser like other oil cakes.

Simaruba Galauca furits can hlep in meeting oil deficit if planted on waste land and along field embankments or watercourse embankments.

Some of its oil can be used directly for cooking without further processing, it is of immense importance to rural economy. At age of 8 years tree is about 12 feet tall and can easily survive on field embankments without any care. It does not seem to have disease or pest problems, except fungal attacks on nuts, if harvest is delayed and nut are exposed directly to rains, but since rains in Sindh came in July and fruit is harvested in June, there is not going to be any problem at least 90% of the years.

The more research is needed to study Aceituno (Simaruba Galauca) botany, its propagaiton, adaptation to various environment, selection of high yielding varieties, control of insect and pests and find the toxin element present in press cake of accituno kernels and methods to remove this toxin
.
Introduction.

Simaruba Galauca have different names in different places. Like

Various names of Aceituno or Olivo in Costa Rica, aceituno or negrito in Nicaragua; negrito in Honduras; Chapascuapul Jocote de mico, pasac or zapatero in Guatemala, pasac in Mexico (Oaxaca); palo blanco in Cuba; tree of heaven in Florida; mountain damson in Jamaica and aceituno in El Salvador. Simarouba glauca (acetuno) is a vegetbale oil crop. With 100 trees/acre yield in the 10-12 years can be about 1 tonne of seed or 600-700 kgs of oil equivalent to Rs.15,000 per acre. The tree is dark green, shiny foliage, is herbaceous vegetaiton. It can reach up to the height of 60-65 feet. Aceituno is a backyard tree in the rural areas.

Flowers

Leaflets 3-21, dioecious, inflorescence a complex mixed panicle. The staminate large with more numerous flowers than the pistillate. The staminate flowers with gynophore present but the corpel absent; ovules 1 in each carpel; fruit of several distinct drupes.

It gives flowers in 6-8 years. Flordal variation are as under:

• Pistillate form (female tree).
• Staminate form (male tree).
• Andromonecious form: tree having hermaphroditic flowers on certain branches of the same tree.

It produce male and hermaphroditic, while hermaphrodite tree bear little or no fruit. They use as yokes for oxen. The only 50% of tree were productive and that the remaining stuminate (male) flowers only. The plant is polygamo-dioecious with considerable range of variance.

Soil

It can grow at various soils. Its structure from granular to blocky, inconsistence from friable to very firm and plastic. With permeability from moderate to slow, with slightly to moderate acidic but it show good result even at pH 8.5. With deep permeable loamy. The soil is moderately permeable and has good moisture holding capacity. It contain organic matter 8.5%. Surface soil was dark loams and clay loams, the sub-soils brown clay loams and substrata loams.

Propagation

Sexual propagation will take 5-8 years from seed germination to the first flowering. While a sexual propagation stability of infloresence types and sexual characteristics again in 18 months to 3 years.

Propagation done by grafting and cuttings while the method of graftings are: whip, and tongue graft. Usually June, July and August are good months for grafting although grafting is correlate to the age of rootstock. Budding is not successful.

The rooted cutting are unsuccessful. The cuttings of 4 to 6 inches diameter and 8 feet long inserted at monthly intervals are successful.

The seeds are placed in a row nine inches a part and one inch depth only. The germination of seed take place in 26-35 days. The planting distance varied between 22x22 feet. No irrigation is needed after field plantion. The planting distance of 22x22 feet = 90 plants per acre.

Insect and pest

Major insect pest is the larva of thread worm (Attevaergartica Walshm). These can be controlled by the spray of 5% DDT or Toxaphene at 20% while others are Toume-yella sp; chianaspis sp and ceroplaster sp and mites Brevipalpus phoenicus
Geijskes, it effect on terminal shoot. The fungus attack is soothy mold (capnodium-sp).

Fruit

Aceituno fruits are in two different colours the black and the white. At maturation the black form deep purple to black while white form when ripen turus whitish-yellow. In Sindh the black variety is grown with good results.

Aceituno press cake contains nitrogen 7.7%, phosphorus 1.07%, and potash 1.24% also contain traces of calcium, magnesium and sodium. When kernels are mixed with 20-35% of aceituno hull, with equal proportion of aceituuno press cake, then there is great recovery of oil form the kernels. The endocarp is comparises 7% of the dried furit. The kernel contains 55-65% Fat at 14% moisture content.

Uses

Soap making; a febrifuge made by extracting the astringent juice of the bark; used as remedy of diarrhea.

The selection of high yielding tree is impossible due to lack of a controlled harvest.


Future

Future research is needed to study clonal tree able to vegetative propagation carried out on large scale.

The wood is used in furniture making, boxes making also as fuel, match boxes. Working quualities of wood are similar to those of American bass wood or white pine. Aceituno lumber used as pulpwood, since aceituuno have eight other varieties so we can not say about the pulping quality of wood. The aceituno tree used as soil and watershed conservation. It is a source of lumber suitable for local crafts and match making industry. It is a good forest tree, fast growing, ever-green, results into attract more rains and helps to control soil erosion. The tree also act as a wind break and its wood has many uses, its leaf used as folder and small branches use as fuel-wood in the rural areas. At the same time its fruit is a good source of vegetable oil, which is a source of fat soluble vitamin like vitamin A and vitamin E.A



Author: Farzana Panhwar (Mrs)
Address: 157-C, Unit No.2, Latifabad, Hyderabad
(Sindh), Pakistan.
E-mail: farzanapanhwar@hotmail.com
Farzanapanhwar@yahoo.com
Fax: 92-21-5830826 and 92-221-860410