Prosopis juliflora: A Miracle Species of Hot Arid and ... - Popular Kheti

Tewari et al., 2013, Pop. Kheti, 1(2): 53-59up to pressure 160 kg/cm 2 to make it as ablock. The volume reduction was foundmore than 80 percent, which is veryhelpful for storage and transportation; andas well as enhancing the shelf life.Products for Human ConsumptionProsopis coffee: P. juliflora coffee ismajor one amongsome of humanconsumption productsdeveloped from P.juliflora. The coffeehas given brand nameas ‘Juli Coffee’. Thetechnology of P.juliflora coffee preparation has beenstandardized and passed to partnerindustry of the project. However, toxicityanalysis for human consumption of P.juliflora pod flour is in progress at NIN,Hyderabad. Once a clean chit is obtainedin this context, P. juliflora coffee will alsobe launched in the market. The coffee wasprepared by roasting P. juliflora pod flourat different temperatures and mixingchicory (Cichorium intybus) with rawcoffee powder. The prepared coffeecontained 70% P. juliflora pod powderand 30% chicory mixture (containing 20%raw coffee powder + 10% chicorypowder).Prosopis juliflora syrup: Ripe and soundpods were selected, washed and brokeninto small pieces. One liter of water isadded to 350 g of pods, and then boiledfor two hours. The product is then sifted toseparate the coarse particles. One hundredgram liquid was obtained from 350g pods.To obtain the syrup, the liquid is boileduntil it reaches thenecessaryconsistency. Thisthick liquid wasyellowish brownin colour and canbe used as abeverage. It can also be mixed with milkand fruit juices. This syrup is widely usedin Latin and South America countries. Theresidue left after preparing the syrup wasused for processing fine flour and finefiber. The quantum of fine flour and fiberobtained from used 350g pods was 62 gand 26 g, respectively. The flour obtainedby this process was quite fine, which washighly suitable for use in confectionaryitems. The process technologystandardized for these products is givenbelow:A. Concentrated carbohydrate extract with characteristicssimilar to those of molasses, but with a bitter taste.B. Pulpy mesocarp with better taste; it can be concentrated, andis being studied for jelly production.C. Contains peelings, coriaceous endocarp and seeds.D. Residue remaining after sifting; it contains 11% protein andcan be used for animal feed.Fig. Schematic representation of processtechnology to prepare Juli Syrup, Fine PodFlour and Fine Pod FiberPopular Kheti ISSN:2321-0001 55

Tewari et al., 2013, Pop. Kheti, 1(2): 53-59All these above mentioned products are fewexamples of Prosopis pod utility. There canbe numerous uses of its pods and other plantparts. The general uses of P. juliflora arementioned as follows:1. Used as fuel: Although the initialplantations in India were mainlyestablished for the purpose ofconservation, Prosopis juliflora hasbecome the main source of fuel in ruralareas and to a large extent, in urban andsemi-urban areas also. Today it fulfilsmore than 70 percent of the firewoodrequirements of the rural people in thetropical arid and semi-arid regions ofIndia (Harsh and Tewari 1998).2. Use of Prosopis juliflora wood: Largerbranches and trunks yield a highquality timber, comparable in colour,finish and physical attributes to Indianrosewood and other commercialhardwoods. Its exceptional property isits negligible shrinkage (4.17%) whichis much less than for oak, maple orwalnut trees (14-16%). Because of thisquality furniture items made fromProsopis wood develop little or nocracking or warping later on (Singh,2008). In India use of Prosopis woodin furniture industries is very limitedbecause of non-availability of straightbole trees and also some extentbecause of a lack of knowledge. Inother countries, Prosopis species arewidely used for making furniturebecause of their high quality wood.The wood of P. juliflora is soluble tovarying degrees in water, sodiumhydroxide, alcohol and benzene, whichmeans that it can be successfullypulped for the production of writingand printing papers, textile fibres, tyrecord or cellophane. Tests haveindicated that writing and printingpapers could be produced from Prosopisjuliflora logs having 30 to 50 cm in girthwith 50 per cent cellulose and 30 percent lignin (Madan and Tandon, 1991).3. Use of Prosopis juliflora biomass:Prosopis juliflora is the most efficientspecies to convert energy intobiomass. It is an excellent candidatefor short rotation energy plantationsconsidering its fast growing nature,higher biomass production potential,drought and heat tolerance andexcellent coppicing ability. Itproduces biomass about 25 to 30tons/ha/year at the short rotation ageof 4 to 5 years (Patel, 1986). It wasreported that total biomass fromProsopis juliflora ranked first amongstthe high biomass producing nativetrees of arid and semi arid regions ofIndia. (Singh, 2008). Prosopis julifloratrees maintain their greenery andcontinue to grow even during severestof the severe droughts in desert stateslike Rajasthan. It will be worthwhile tomention here that during 2002 droughtin India, it were the Prosopis trees whichprovided livelihood security to therural population, settled in arid andsemi arid drought prone regions of thecountry. Wherever thickets of Prosopisjuliflora are creating danger ofencroachments to agricultural fields,they can be harvested to generatePopular Kheti ISSN:2321-0001 56

Tewari et al., 2013, Pop. Kheti, 1(2): 53-59electricity. Kutch region of Gujarat hasample scope for electricity generationas Prosopis thickets are naturallygrowing in this tract.4. Use of Prosopis juliflora Gum: Prosopisjuliflora exudes gum from the sap wood.On average, about 40 g of gum isproduced from one plant. However, underdrought conditions more gum is exuded.A single person has been estimated to beable to collect 1-2 kg of P. julifloragum/day in India (Tewari, 1998). Thetrade in exudate gum has been increasingin India, with P. juliflora gum estimatedto make up approximately 80% of thattotal gum production in Gujarat (Tewari,1998). P. juliflora gum exudationincreased at higher temperatures andceased completely at the beginning of therainy season (Tewari, 1998). The gumforms adhesive mucilage, with favourablephysical and chemical properties, that canbe used as an emulsifying agent. Prosopisgum also finds use in confectionery,mending pottery, and as an adulterant andsubstitute for gum arabic. (Krochmal etal., 1954). It possesses fairly goodadhesive strength and can be used aspaper adhesive for brown paper and wallpaper (Vimal and Tyagi, 1986).5. Medicinal value of Prosopis: In India,boiling wood chips, a bark extract isused as an antiseptic on wounds, andgum is used to treat eye infections(Vimal and Tyagi, 1986). Researchdone at Central Arid Zone ResearchInstitute, Jodhpur (Azam et al., 2011)resulted in identification of antioxidantcompound which is present inconcentrated form (6-8%) in the heartwood of P. juliflora. The compound wasidentified as (-)-mesquitol (C 15 H 14 O 6 )which was compared with existingpharmacologically / therapeuticallyaccepted antioxidant probucol and α-tocopherol and found that (-)-mesquitol isbetter than probucol and α-tocopheroldrugs. Prosopis wood is reported to havemedicinal value for treatment ofrheumatism and against miscarriage.Some of the alkaloids of Prosopisspecies are reported to be antifungaland antibacterial. In Brazil, P. julifloraflour is used as an aphrodisiac, syrupas an expectorant and tea infusionagainst digestive disturbances and skinlesions (Rocha, 1990).6. Role of Prosopis in Carbonsequestration: Wide spread of Prosopistrees may account for a significantamount of sequestered carbon, thoughtree species in arid and semi-arid zonesare not considered at present forcalculating carbon balances. But aconsiderable quantity of carbon can bestored in woody biomass of the species.Even a single rotation of P. juliflorawould lead to significant amounts of totalcarbon sequestered. Arid zones presentlycontain the lowest levels of carbon in theworld on a per hectare basis, and it isnecessary to consider the role of arid zoneforests in carbon sequestration on aregional and global level.7. Soil Reclamation by Prosopis juliflora:Prosopis litter falling on the groundadds to the humus content of the saltaffected soils. The organic acidsPopular Kheti ISSN:2321-0001 57

Tewari et al., 2013, Pop. Kheti, 1(2): 53-59produced from the decomposed litterreact with native calcium carbonateand release calcium, which exchangeswith sodium on the exchangecomplex. Being highly tolerant to soilsodicity, the Prosopis roots open upotherwise impermeable sodic soil andthus facilitate entry of water in thedeeper layers. The carbon dioxidereleased by its roots during respirationinteracts with water and producesweak acids like carbonic acid. Suchacid facilitate dissolution ofprecipitated calcium carbonate alreadypresent in sodic soils. Thus, help inreclamation of the sodic soil. Itreclaims the soil to such an extent thatagricultural crops can be grown withoutamendments (Singh, 2008).8. Prosopis juliflora combatingdesertification: Desertification is aninternational problem and P. juliflora issolution to this. No single species shouldever be seen as the sole answer but ratheras a tool in the continuing fight againstdesertification, land degradation andresource depletion. Shelterbelts of P.juliflora and P. pallida are planted aroundfields in many semi-arid regions to reducewind speed. This reduces wind-inducedsoil erosion, decreases desiccation byreducing transpiration and consequentlyincreases plant and animal production.Shelterbelts can comprise one or morerows of trees, commonly three but up toten. In India, shelterbelts of P. juliflorawere found to have a positive effect inreducing soil erosion compared with otherspecies and control plots. Gupta et al.(1983) noted a 36% reduction in themagnitude of wind erosion behind P.juliflora shelterbelts. Shankarnarayan andKumar (1986) noted a decrease in areawind speeds of 33-38%, 17-26% and 12-21% at distances of 2, 5 and 10 times theheight of the trees, with consequentreduction in the quantities of soilremoved by erosive forces. In Sudan,wind speed was reduced by an average of14% inside P. juliflora plantations, andwith reductions up to 36% at high windspeeds (El Fadl, 1997). Seed disposal ofthis species on vast areas has helpednatural regeneration and producedsignificant results in creating green beltsand windbreaks to check the rapidlyspreading problem of desertification.ConclusionNo species in the nature is useless; we needto just find out their utilities. The countlessuses of P. juliflora have put it in thecategory of species of economic importance.Gone are the days when Prosopis juliflorawas called for nothing more than a uselessweed. Due to its multiple uses, it has gainedpublic acceptance as a plant of recognizedeconomic value. Today it is the tree speciesutilized for its each and every part in variousways on a commercial basis. However, weneed to spread its usefulness far and wide sothat it can be recognized by everyone. Theinherent capacity to withstand in anyenvironmental conditions (except frost) andhuge productivity potentiality of Prosopiscan be converted into an even greater assetbesides generating tremendous localemployment opportunities and numerousbenefits through application of scientific andtechnical methods.Popular Kheti ISSN:2321-0001 58