Ber Cultivation

Common name: Ber

Botanical name: Ziziphus mauritiana

Family: Buckthorns

Origin: India and China

Introduction:

• Ber is the crop suitable for arid conditions.

• It is quite common fruit in India also known as poor man’s fruit.

• It is easy to cultivate and requires less maintenance. This is the reason that its commercial cultivation is in demand.

• Ber is rich in vitamin A, B and C. It is helpful in improving immune system and treating insomnia and anxiety.

• The main states cultivating ber crop are Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu.

Climate:

• Being a hard plant, ber can grow successfully even in unfavorable climate but arid and semi-arid conditions are the best for its cultivation.

• Cultivation of ber requires hot and dry climate and sufficient amount of moisture at the time of fruiting.

• At the time of development it requires dryness in atmosphere.

• Excessive humidity in atmosphere would affect the productivity of the crop.

Soil:

• Ber is resistant to drought and water logging.

• Cultivation of ber is possible in wide range of soil ( saline, alkaline, clayey and sandy soils)

• It performs comparatively well in sandy loam soil.

Season:

• Sowing time of ber is generally done at the beginning of monsoon.

• We can also sow the seeds of ber in the months of January-March in the irrigated areas.

Fertilizer and Manure:

Amount of fertilizer and manure differ on the bases of preferred method of cultivation and climatic conditions.

List of fertilizer and manure is given below:

Land preparation:

• A proper ploughing, harrowing and leveling should be done before the cultivation of ber.

• Land should be free from weed.

Variety:

Varieties of ber with their yield are mentioned below:

Plant spacing:

Plant spacing: 7×7 metre in pits of 60cm×60cm×60.

Irrigation:

• It is essential to irrigate when plant is in stage of dormancy.

• Established tree does not require frequent irrigation.

• Fruit developing is another crucial stage when proper irrigation is needed.

• We can stop the irrigation in second fortnight of March.

Harvesting:

• It is important to harvest the fruit at the right time of maturity.

• We can proceed our first harvest within 2 to 3 years after the period of plantation.

• Harvesting late can cause fruit ripening and can affect the taste of fruit.

Storage:

To increase the life of fruit, pre-cooling of fruit at the temperature of 10⁰c is required.