Advanced production technology of wood apple

1. AN
ASSIGNMENT ON
“ADVANCED PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF
WOOD APPLE”
Prepared by:
Pawan Kumar Nagar
M.Sc. (Horti)
Semester:2
Reg. No.: 04-2690-2015

2. Feronia limonia L.
Family: Rutaceae
Origin: India and Ceylon
Chromosome no:2n=18
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3. INTRODUCTION
 Besides woodapple, it may be called elephant apple,
monkey fruit, curd fruit, kath bel and other dialectal
names in India. In Malaya it is gelinggai or belinggai;
in Thailand, makhwit; in Cambodia, kramsang; in
Laos, mafit.
 In French, it is pomme d' elephant, pomme de bois, or
citron des mois.
 The slow growing tree is erect, with a few upward
reaching branches bending outward near the summit
where they are subdivided into slender branchlets
drooping at the tips. 3

4.  The bark is ridged, fissured and scaly and there are
sharp spines :3/4 to 2 in (25 cm) long on some of the
zigzag twigs. The deciduous, alternate leaves, 3 to 5 in
(7.512.5 cm) long, darkgreen, leathery, often minutely
toothed, blunt or notched at the apex, are dotted with oil
glands and slightly lemon scented when crushed.
 Dull red or greenish flowers to 1/2 in (1.25 cm) wide are
borne in small, loose, terminal or lateral panicles. They
are usually bisexual. The fruit is round to oval, 2 to 5 in
(512.5 cm) wide, with a hard, woody, grayish white, scurfy
rind about 1/4 in (6 mm) thick.
 The pulp is brown, mealy, odorous, resinous, astringent,
acid or sweetish, with numerous small, white seeds
scattered through it.
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5.  Climate:
The tree grows up to an elevation of 1,500 ft (450 m)
in the western Himalayas. It is said to require a
monsoon climate with a distinct dry season.
 Soil:
Throughout its range there is a diversity of soil types,
but it is best adapted to light soils.
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6.  Varieties:
 There are 2 forms,
1)one with large, sweetish fruits;
2)one with small,acid fruits.
Sweet fruit Acid fruit 6

7. Propogation:
 The most common and simplest method of raising the wood apple
plants is from seeds. Since the seedlings do not carry true-to-type
characters which leads to immense variation in yield and fruit
characters, hence there are very few standard varieties in wood
apple.
 The woodapple is generally grown from seeds though seedlings will
not bear fruit until at least 15 years old. Multiplication may also be
by root cuttings, air layers, or by budding onto self seedlings to
induce dwarfing and precociousness.
 The significance of vegetative propagation in maintenance of
genetic uniformity and preservation of identity of clone or cultivar is
well recognized in horticultural crops. Hence there is an immense
need to find out a suitable method of vegetative propagation for
quick multiplication of wood apple plants.
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8. Field preparation and planting:
 Normally wood apple is not planted in fertile or rich
soils. In wasteland, if mass planting is to be done,
then pit lines are drawn across the slope and pits can
be dug at a spacing of 8mx8m each pit with a size of
1 mx1mx1m.
 Planting should be done at the onset of monsoon
after filling the pit with 20 kg FYM, sand and top soil.
The basins should be formed immediately after
planting in such a way that water harvesting is
facilitated.
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9. Training and Pruning
Wood apple trees are allowed to grow along a
central leader with well spaced branches in all
direction.
 The trees require no pruning except removal of
crisis-cross branches. At initial stage, pruning of
plants to provide a desired shape is essential
 When planted as windbreak and shelter belt, the
trees are allowed to grow tall.
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10. Fruiting
Period of flowering and fruiting is governed by
climate and the period of moisture availability. It
flowers from February to May and fruit are available
in winter. A grown up tree can bear 200 to250 fruit
per annum
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11. Nutrient Management
Manuring is not practiced but it will be benefitted if
manures at the rate of about 25kg FYM or compost
per tree the beginning of monsoon. It will help in
increasing fruit size and quality.
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12. Nutritional Value of Wood Apple
 According to the National Institute of Nutrition’s book, “Nutritive Value of Indian Foods,” wood
apples contain the following values per 100g:
64.2g Moisture
7.1g Protein
3.7g Fat
1.9g Minerals
5g Fiber
18.1g Carbohydrates
61IU Carotene
3mg Vitamin C
.04mg Thiamin
.17mg Riboflavin
.8mg Niacin
130mg Calcium
110mg Phosphorous
.48g Iron
41mg Magnesium
.21mg Chromium
.18mg Manganese
.10mg Zinc
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13. Irrigation
It is a crop of dry region and once the plants had
established, they hardly need any irrigation.
Nevertheless, conservation of runoff rain water in
rhizosphere will enhance the productivity of this
crop.
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14. Season:
 In Malaya, the leaves are shed in January,
flowering occurs in February and March, and the
fruit matures in October and November. In India,
the fruit ripens from early October through March.
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15. Pest:
 Fruit borer: Deudorix isocrates
 Citrus butterfly: Papilio demolious
1.Fruit borer: Deudorix Isocrates
Symptoms of damage
 Caterpillar bores into young fruits and feeds on
internal contents (pulp and seeds)
 Fruit rotting and dropping
Identification of pest
 Larvae: Dark brown, short and stout, covered with
short hairs
 Adult: Bluish brown butterfly, female has V shaped
patch on forewing
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16.  Management
 ETL: 5 eggs/plant
 Collect and destroy damaged fruits
 Clean cultivation as weed plants serve as alternate
hosts
 Endemic areas grow
 less susceptible varieties
 Cover the fruit with polythene bags when the fruits are
up to 5 cm
 Use light trap @ 1/ ha to monitor the activity of adults
 Malathion 50 EC 0.1% or two rounds, one at flower
formation and next at fruit set
 Flowering stage spray
 NSKE 5% or neem formulations 2 ml/l
 Apply dimethoate 30 EC 1.5 ml/l
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17. 2. Citrus butterfly: Papilio demolious
Symptoms of damage:
 Caterpillar feed on the leaves
 Defoliation
Identification of pest:
 Larvae: Early stage larva resembles bird dropping. Grown
up larva –
 cylindrical, stout, green and brown lateral bond
 Adult: Dark brown swallowtail butterfly with numerous
yellow marking
Management:
 Hand pick the larvae and destroy
 Early stage spray
 2 ml of methyl parathion per litre of water
 Field release of parasitoids Trichogramme evanescens
and Telenomus sp on
 Eggs of Brachymeria sp on larvae and Pterolus sp. on
Pupae 17

18. Uses:
Pectin:
The pectin has potential for multiple uses in pectin short India,
but it is reddish and requires purification.
Rind:
The fruit shell is fashioned into snuffboxes and other small
containers.
Gum:
The trunk and branches exude a white, transparent gum
especially following the rainy season. It is utilized as a
substitute for, or adulterant of, gum arabic, and is also used in
making artists' watercolors, ink, dyes and varnish. It consists
of 35.5% arabinose and xylose, 42.7% dgalactose, and traces
of rhamnose and glucuronic acid.
Wood:
The wood is yellow gray or whitish, hard, heavy, durable, and
valued for construction, pattern making, agricultural
implements, rollers for mills, carving, rulers, and other
products. It also serves as fuel.
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19. Medicinal Uses:
The fruit is much used in India as a liver and
cardiac tonic, and, when unripe, as an astringent
means of halting diarrhea and dysentery and
effective treatment for cough, sore throat and
diseases of the gums.
The pulp is poulticed onto bites and stings of
venomous insects, as is the powdered rind.
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20. Harvesting
 The fruit is tested for maturity by dropping onto a hard
surface from a height of 1 ft (30 cm). Immature fruits
bounce, while mature fruits do not.
 After harvest, the fruit is kept in the sun for 2 weeks to
fully ripen. Budded plants come to bearing 3-4 years
after planting. But to reach optimum productivity it will
take about 10 years.
 The crop flowers in February to May depending on the
climatic conditions of a locality and fruits will be available
from July to December depending on the flowering
month. A well grown tree will give 200-250 fruits/year.
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21.  According to analyses made in India
The pulp represents 36% of the whole fruit. The
pectin content of the pulp is 3 to 5% (16% yield on
dry-weight basis).
The seeds contain a bland, non-bitter, oil high in
unsaturated fatty acids.
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