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

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

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