BER
1.
INTRODUCTION
Ber or Indian jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) is one of the hardy
minor fruit crops suitable for cultivation in arid conditions. It is native to India.
2. OBJECTIVE
The main objective of this report is to present a one acre bankable model for high quality commercial cultivation of the crop. 3. BACKGROUND
3.1
Area & Production
The major
ber-growing states are Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
3.2 Economic Importance
Fruits are rich in Vitamin C, A and
B complex. About 5.6% digestible crude protein and 49.7% total digestible
nutrients are present in the leaves making it a nutritive fodder for animals.
Ber can be processed to prepare murabba, candy, dehydrated ber, pulp, jam and
beverage.
4.
PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
4.1
Agro-climatic requirements
Ber grows under varying climatic
conditions at elevations upto 1,000 m. above m.s.l. It can withstand extremely
hot conditions but is susceptible to frost. High atmospheric humidity is not
suitable for its cultivation.
Ber grows on a wide variety of
soils-sandy, clayey, saline and alkaline soils.
4.2 Growing and Potential Belts
The state-wise growing belts are
given in the following :
|
State |
Growing belts |
|
Haryana |
Hisar, Rohtak, Jind, Panipat,
Mahindergarh, Gurgaon, |
|
Rajasthan |
Bharatpur, Jaipur, Jodhpur |
|
Punjab |
Sangrur, Patiala |
|
Gujarat |
Banaskantha, Sabarmati |
|
Karnataka |
Bijapur, Bellary, Gulbarga, Belagaum,
Raichur, Bidar |
|
Tamil Nadu |
Tirunelveli, Ramanathapuram,
Dharmapuri, Salem |
4.3
Varieties Cultivated
Important ber varieties cultivated
in India are Gola, Umran, Banarasi Karka, Mundia, Kaithli, Umran, Mehrun,
Parbani, Elaichi and Sanam 5.
4.4
Land Preparation
Land is prepared by ploughing,
harrowing, leveling and removing weeds.
4.5
Planting
4.5.1
Planting Material
Ber is vegetatively
propagated by ‘I’ or ‘T’ (shield) budding method.
Seeds are sown in
well-prepared nursery bed at 30x30cm. spacing and at 2cm. depth during
March-April. These seedlings are either transplanted in the field during
July-August for in-situ budding or can be budded in the nursery beds. In
irrigated conditions, transplanting can be done in bare rooted stage during
January-March after treatment with 12% Waxol or after defoliation.
In rainfed areas,
seeds are sown in 300 gauge polythene tubes of 25 cm. length and 10 cm. diameter,
filled with a 1: 1: 1 mixture of farmyard manure, sand and clay. In northern
India, sowing is done during April in north India so that the seedlings become
buddable during July. The budlings become ready for transplanting 1-2 months
after budding. The budlings raised by this technique retain their deep rooting
tendency and prove to be suitable under low rainfall drylands. In drylands, ber
orchard can also be raised by transplanting tube-raised ber seedlings with the
onset of monsoon, leaving them to grow in the field until the forthcoming
summer for budding in-situ.
4.5.2
Planting season
Planting is usually
done at the beginning of monsoon.
4.5.3
Spacing
Planting is done at a spacing of 6
m. in low rainfall areas and 8m.in the irrigated condition or in areas
receiving high rainfall. In irrigated areas, ber plants can also be
transplanted during January-March.
4.5.4
Planting Method
Pits of 60x60x60 cm. are dug during
summer and refilled after mixing two baskets of farmyard manure and 50 g. of heptachlor
dust to protect from termite attack.
4.6
Nutrition
A fertilizer dose
of 750 g. N/tree gives highest yield whereas 250 g. N and 250 g. P2O5
increase fruit yield. Application of K does not give any response.
4.7
Irrigation
Irrigation is provided at an
interval of 3-4 weeks. Irrigation provided during October results in shedding
of flowers and that during March-April causes fruit spoilage and delays
ripening.
4.8
Training & Pruning
Trees are trained to develop a
strong framework during the first 2-3 years after planting.
Annual pruning is essential to
induce maximum no. of new healthy shoots which would bear good quality fruits.
The undesirable, weak, intecrossing, diseased and broken branches are removed
from time to time in order to encourage healthy growth for maximum fruit
bearing. Pruning is done during the dry season when the tree sheds leaves and
enters into dormancy. Spraying with 3% thiourea or potassium nitrate once in
two days before pruning induces bud sprouting from maximum no. of nodes.
4.9
Intercultural Operations
Inter-cultural operations are
carried out on regular basis to remove the weeds.
4.10
Mulching
Black polythene mulch has been found to be
useful in conserving soil moisture and the growth of trees.
4.11
Inter-cropping
Under rainfed conditions, leguminous
crops viz. mungbean, moth bean and cow pea can be grown. Gram, chilli and other
vegetables can also be grown as inter-crops till the trees occupy full space.
4.12 Plant Protection Measures
4.12.1 Insect Pests
Insect pests mostly observed are fruit fly, fruit borer, leaf-eating caterpillars, mealy bug, scale insect and thrips. Selection of healthy planting material and suitable inter-cultural operations apart from application of pesticides are effective in controlling the pests. 4.12.2 Diseases
Main diseases reported are powdery mildew, leaf spot, rust and black spot. Application of Kavach Rovral/Mancozole (2 g./l.)/wettable sulphur etc. depending on type of infection has been found to be effective in most cases.
4.13
Harvesting and Yield
Ber matures 150-175 days after
flowering. A pre-harvest spray of 750 ppm. 2-chloro-ethyl phosphoric acid (ethephon)
induces early maturity. Fully mature fruits are harvested by picking which is
usually done in the forenoon.
The time of harvesting is
October-November in southern India, December-March in Gujarat, January-March in
Rajasthan and during February-April in north India.
Under rainfed conditions, bearing
starts from second year. Budded plants
come to bearing after 3-4 years.
The average yield during the prime
bearing period (10-20 years) ranges from 80 to 200 kg./tree. In dry areas,
under rainfed conditions, 50-80 kg. fruits/tree can be obtained. Trees remain productive for 25-30 years.
5. POST HARVEST MANAGEMENT
5.1
Grading
Fruits are graded on the basis of
their size into large, medium and small-sized ones. The damaged, over-ripe,
unripe fruits are usually discarded.
5.2
Storage
Pre-cooling of fruits at 100 C
immediately after harvest increases the shelf life by about 3 days when
subsequently stored at room temperature. The storage life of the fruits can be
prolonged to 30-40 days when stored at 30 C and 85-90% relative
humidity.
5.3
Packing
Fruits are generally packed in cloth
sheets or gunny bags for local markets. Packing is done according to the grades
for long distance markets. Good quality
fruits are packed in perforated cardboard cartons of 6 kg. capacity with paper
cuttings as cushioning material. The fruits of lower grades are packed in
baskets or gunny bags.
Majority of the growers sell their
produce either through trade agents at village level or commission agents at
the market.
6.
TECHNOLOGY SOURCES
Major sources for technology are:
(i)
University
of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad-580005, Karnataka.
(ii)
Chaudhary
Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hissar-125004, Haryana.
(iii)
Indian
Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessarghatta, Banglore-560089, Karnataka.
(iv)
Directorate
of Horticulture, Lalbagh, Bangalore, Karnataka.
7.
ECONOMICS OF A ONE ACRE MODEL
7.1
High
quality commercial cultivation of crop by using high quality planting material
and drip irrigation leads to multiple benefits viz.
·
Synchronized growth, flowering and harvesting;
·
Reduction
in variation of off-type and non-fruit plants;
·
Improved
fruit quality;
Costs & Returns
7.2
A one
acre plantation of the crop is a viable proposition. The major cost components
of such a model are given in the table below The project cost works out to Rs. 1.00 lakhs. (vide Annexures
I & II).
Cost Components of a One Acre Model Ber Plantation
(Amount in Rs.)
|
Sl. No. |
Component |
Proposed Expenditure |
|
|
1. |
Cultivation Expenses |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Cost of planting material (6x6m) |
2400 |
|
|
(ii) |
Manures & fertilizers |
3000 |
|
|
(iii) |
Insecticides & pesticides |
2000 |
|
|
(iv) |
Cost of Labour |
4000 |
|
|
(v) |
Others, if any, (Power) |
3600 |
|
|
|
Sub Total |
15000 |
|
2. |
Irrigation |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Tube-well/submersible pump |
35000 |
|
|
(ii) |
Cost of Pipeline |
- |
|
|
(iii) |
Others, if any |
- |
|
|
|
Sub Total |
35000 |
|
3. |
Cost of Drip/Sprinkler |
15000 |
|
|
4. |
Infrastructure |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Store & Pump House |
10000 |
|
|
(iii) |
Agriculture Implements |
1000 |
|
|
(iii) |
Others, if any, please specify |
- |
|
|
|
Sub Total |
11000 |
|
5. |
Land Development |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Soil leveling |
4000.00 |
|
|
(ii) |
Digging |
- |
|
|
(iii) |
Fencing |
20000 |
|
|
(iv) |
Others, if any, please specify |
- |
|
|
|
Sub Total |
24000 |
|
|
Grand Total |
1,00,000 |
|
N.B.: Cost of land, if
newly purchased, can be included in the project. This will be limited
to 10% of the total project
cost.
7.3
The
major components of the model are:
·
Land
Development: (Rs. 4.0 thousand): This is the labour cost of shaping and
dressing the land site.
·
Fencing
(Rs. 20.0 thousand): It is necessary to guard the orchard by
barbed wire fencing to safeguard the valuable produce from animals and prevent
poaching. This is post cost of fencing
in one acre.
·
Irrigation
Infra-structure (Rs. 35.0 thousand cost per acre of tube well which would serve
2 ha): For effective working with drip irrigation system, it is
necessary to install a bore well with diesel/electric pumpset and motor. This is post cost of tube-well.
·
Drip
Irrigation & Fertigation System (Rs. 15.0 thousand): This is average cost of one acre drip system.
The actual cost will vary depending on location, plant population and plot
geometry.
·
Implements
(Rs. 1.0 thousand): Improved manually
operated essential implements.
·
Building
and Storage (Rs. 11.0 thousand): A one
acre orchard would require minimally a grading/packing room –cum-pump house.
·
Cost
of Cultivation (Rs. 15.0 thousand): Land preparation and planting operations
will involve 57 days of manual labour, the cost of which will come to Rs. 4000. The cost of planting material works out to
Rs. 2400 i.e. 120 plants @ Rs. 20 per plant.
7.4
Labour
cost has been put at an average of Rs. 70 per man-day. The actual cost will vary from location to
location depending upon minimum wage levels or prevailing wage levels for
skilled and unskilled labour.
Inter-cropping
Since the orchard would be start
giving yield from 3rd year onwards, it is proposed to take up
inter-cropping in the initial years particularly off season vegetables which
would cost Rs. 10000/- per acre and would yield on average 6 tonnes/acre. Valued at Rs.30,000 per annum.
7.5
Recurring Production Cost: Recurring production costs are
exhibited in Annexure III. The main
components are planting material, land preparation, inputs application (FYM,
fertilizers, micro-nutrients liming material, plant protection chemicals etc.),
power and labour on application of inputs, inter-cultural and other farm
operations.
7.6
Returns from the Project: The yield from the plantation is obtained
from third year onwards. The yield per
tree increases from 3 tonnes per acre in the 3rd year to 7 tonnes
per year. Valued at Rs. 8 per kg., the
return accordingly goes up from Rs. 24
thousand to Rs. 56 thousand (Vide Annexure-III).
Project Financing
7.7
Balance
Sheet: The projected balance sheet of the model is given at Annexure IV. There would be three sources of financing the project as below:
Source Rupees
Farmer’s share (50%) 50.00
Capital
subsidy (20%) 20.00
Term
loan (30%) 30.00
Total 100.00
7.8
Profit & Loss Account: The cash flow statement may be seen in Annexure V. Annexure VI projects the profit and
loss account of the model. Gross profit
goes up from Rs. 10 thousand in post operative year 1 to Rs. 37.7 thousand in post operative year 5.
7.9
Repayment of Term Loan: The term loan will be repaid in eleven
equated 6 monthly installments of Rs.2.73 thousand with a moratorium of 12
months. The rate of interest would have
to be negotiated with the financing bank. It has been put at 12% in the model
(vide Annexures VII & VII A).
7.10
Annexure VIII gives depreciation calculations.
Project Viability:
7.11
IRR/BCR:
The viability of the project is assessed in Annexure IX. The IRR works out to 29.42 and the
BCR to 2.2 over a post-operative period of 15 years.
7.12
The
Debt Service coverage ratio calculations are presented in Annexure X. The average DSCR works out to 4.60.
7.13
Payback Period:
On the basis of costs and returns of the model, the pay back period is
estimated at 5.67 years (vide Annexure XI).
7.14
Break-even
Point: The break even point will be reached in the 3rd
year. At this point fixed cost would
work out to 57.5% of gross sales (vide Annexure XII).