Detail:

Jarabahen Dudha of Valsad district in Gujarat describes a simple procedure to induce fruit-bearing in coconut trees that show growth but bear no fruits.Jarabahen Dudha, of Valsad district of Gujarat, described a simple remedy to induce fruit-bearingin coconut trees that grow taller by the year but bear no fruits. She had one such tree and hadlearnt that driving an iron nail into the trunk of the tree would induce the tree to bear fruit. She drove an iron rod of about half a centimetre diameter and 45 to 60 centimetres length into the trunk at a height of one and a half metres from the ground. She noticed a reduction in the vegetative growth of the tree, and it started bearing fruit the following season. According to Jarabahen, this is a rare practice in the region. (However, it is a very well known practice in other parts of Gujarat, and it is also widely practiced in papaya orchards. -Ed.) According to Dr. S. K. Dave, scientist at the Aspee College of Forestry and Horticulture, Navsari, the practice probably helps in two ways. Firstly, as the heavy black soil of this region is deficient in iron, it may help in rectifying the deficiency. Secondly, because the nitrogen content of the soil is very high, the land is highly fertile and any tree grows vigorously if optimum moisture is provided. Since increased nitrogen in soil leads to an imbalance in the C:N ratio, driving an iron peg in the trunk probably helps in restoring optimum values of the ratio. Jarabahen is a housewife, is 50 years of age, and has no land of her own Jarabahen Dudha drives an iron rod of about half a centimetre diameter and 45 to 60 centimetres length into the trunk of the coconut tree at a height of one and a half metres from the ground. She noticed a reduction in the vegetative growth of the tree, and it started bearing fruit the following season.According to Jarabahen, this is a rare practice in the region. (However, it is a very well knownpractice in other parts of Gujarat, and it is also widely practiced in papaya orchards. -Ed.) <p> According to Dr. S. K. Dave, scientist at the Aspee College of Forestry and Horticulture, Navsari, the practice probably helps in two ways. Firstly, as the heavy black soil of this region is deficient in iron, it may help in rectifying the deficiency. Secondly, because the nitrogen content of the soil is very high, the land is highly fertile and any tree grows vigorously if optimum moisture is provided. Since increased nitrogen in soil leads to an imbalance in the C:N ratio, driving an iron peg in the trunk probably helps in restoring optimum values of the ratio.

Knowledge Provider / Innovator: Jarabahen P Dudha
Agro-Ecological Zone: Western Ghats And Coastal Plain, Hot Humi-per humid eco region (19): North Sahyadris and Konkan Coast, hot, humid eco-subregion(19.1)
Address: Valsad
District: Ahmedabad
State: Gujarat
PIN Code 396001

Crop: Coconut
Crop Family: Arecaceae
Crop Scientific Name: (Cocos nucifera)
Crop Vernacular Name: Nariyel
Ingredients: Iron rod

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PAS 1:

https://evols.library.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10524/48714/mono101.pdf