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ELEPHANT APPLE (Dillenia Indica) : January 2019
ELEPHANT APPLE (Dillenia Indica) : January 2019
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Table 1: Different names of elephant apple
Table 2: Nutritional value per 100 g of edible
1.1. Nutritive value elephant apple flesh
Nutritional value per 100 g of edible elephant
Sl. No. Composition Value
apple flesh is listed in Table 2.
1 Calories 59 kcal
While, Gopalan et al., 1993 reported that 2 Protein 8%
Dillenia indica fruits contain 82.3% 3 Fat 22.5%
moisture, 0.8% protein, 0.2% fat, 0.8% 4 Fiber 2.12.5%
minerals, 2.5 % fibre, 13.4% carbohydrate, 5 Ash 3.54%
0.016% calcium and 0.026% phosphorus.
6 Calcium 16mg
7 Phosphorus 26mg
1.2. Chemical constituents 8 Ascorbic acid 4mg
terpenoids like lupeol, betunaldehyde, betulin, betulunic acid, mallic acid, âsitosterol,
stigmasterol and phenolics (Khanum et al., 2007; Khare, 2007). The chemicals like
betulin, betulinic acid and âsitosterol is present in almost all parts of Dillenia indica and
Dillenia pentagyna. According to, Mandal and Mazumdar (1995), the average weight
per fruit is 592 g, specific gravity as 0.98, stalkstylar length as 8.8 cm, total sugars 0.61%,
reducing sugars 0.43%, nonreducing sugars 0.17%, total titratable acidity (equivalence of
citric acid) 0.69% and the vitamin C 20 mg per 100 g of pulp.
3. GENUS, TAXONOMY AND DIFFERENT SPECIES
The scientific classification of Dillenia indica is depicted in Table 3.
Table 3: Classification of Dillenia indica
Kingdom Plantae Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida Dicotyledons
Subclass Dilleniidae
Order Dilleniales
Family Dilleniaceae – Dillenia family
Genus Dillenia L. – dillenia
Species Dillenia indica L. chulta
(Source: Talukdar et al., 2012)
412 MINOR FRUITS: NUTRACEUTICAL IMPORTANCE AND CULTIVATION
The elephant apple belongs to the genus Dillenia had around 60 species, of which
Dillenia indica, Dillenia pentagyna, Dillenia alata, Dillenia suffruticosa, Dillenia
papuana, Dillenia excelsa, Dillenia serrata, Dillenia ovate, Dillenia phillipinensis,
Dillenia megalantha, Dillenia reifferscheidia, Dillenia turbinata, etc. Among these
species Dillenia indica Linn. and Dillenia pentagyna Roxb. are found in India (Dickison,
1979).
Dillenia indica Dillenia pentagyna
It is a medium sized evergreen trees upto 30 m tall. It is a deciduous trees upto 15 m tall.
Bark is reddish brown in color, exfoliating. Bark is grayish in color, exfoliating.
Young branchlet is brown pubescent, glabrescent Branchlets are glabrous and stout.
and contains leaf scars.
Leaves are fasciculate at the ends of branches; Leaves are petiolate, glabrous, with
veins are close, running into serratures not forking narrow wings
at the margins.
Bud is more than 5 cm in diameter. Buds are less than 2 cm in diameter.
Flowers occur in May June Flowering starts in April May
Fruits are aggregate and globose, 1015 cm Fruits are globose, 0.51 cm in
in diameter. diameter.
Seed contains 5 or more per carpel, exarillate, Seeds are exarillate (Metcalfe and
imbedded in glutinous pulp, compressed, Chalk, 1983).
with hairy margins (Kirtikar and Basu, 1984 & 1999).
4. BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
Dillenia indica is an evergreen large shrub or small to medium sized semi deciduous,
branches spreading tree growing to 15m tall. Leaves are fascicled at the end of the
branches, oblonglanceolate, acuminate, 2030 cm long and sharply serrate (Sunil et al.,
2011). The leaves are darkgreen, leathery, often minutely toothed, and blunt or notched
at the apex, are dotted with oil glands and slightly lemonscented when crushed. The
flowers are white color and large upto 15 cm in diameter and solitary towards the end
of each branchlet.
Dillenia has the largest and stoutest flowers in the Dilleniaceae family. Dillenia
species has two forms, one with spreading stylar branches and two sets of stamens with
heteranthery (roundabout flower) and this form is prominent, because roundabout flowers
are otherwise rare in angiosperms (Weber, 1993; Endress, 1994) and the other form with
more connivent stylar branches and without two distinct sets of stamens, although stamen
size diminishes more gradually towards the periphery of the flower (revolver flower). The
reflexed anthers or stamens, seems to be a constitutive feature of Dilleniaceous floral
buds (Kubitzki, 1971). The flowers are with 5 white petals and numerous yellow stamens.
ELEPHANT APPLE 413
They arise solitary at the ends of the twigs, facing downward. The sepals are rounded
and yellowish green.
As floral visitors mainly bees, among them sometimes large bees (Xylocopa), but
often small bees, which are probably not pollinators are indicated (Burkill, 1916,1919), also
honey bees (Nowicke and Meselson, 1984). Xylocopa and Melipona are good pollinators
of Dillenia suffruticosa (Heide, 1927) and Apis, Xylocopa and Ceratina are visitors/
pollinators of Dillenia pentagyna (Raju, 1988). Bees, small beetles and flies are probable
pollinators of Dillenia (Corner, 1988; Steinbach and Gottsberger, 1994).
4.1. Reproductive biology
The juvenile period is from 8 to 10 years from seed. Flowers are borne on the current
season’s growth and are solitary towards the end of small shoots. In India, flowers open
in late July and flowering continues for about 3 weeks. Anthesis is reported to start
between 12.30 a:m and 11:30 a:m and lasts about 3 hours. Anthers dehisce 56 hours after
anthesis. Flowers are cross pollinated and pollination seems to involve bees and flies
(Janick et al, 2008).
5. VARIETY
There is no standard cultivar of Dillenia indica. Only one desi variety is found to grow
in our country (Das and Das, 2003).
6. CLIMATE AND SOIL
It grows well in warm tropical areas with high mean annual rainfall of 2000 mm and
temperatures of 2435ºC. It is found in tropical rain forest, usually near the banks of
creeks or rivers from sea level o 1100 m. It thrives in full sun or light shade, in moist soils
of pH 5.57.0 and is frost intolerant (Lim, 2012).
414 MINOR FRUITS: NUTRACEUTICAL IMPORTANCE AND CULTIVATION
7. PROPAGATION
7.1. Seed
It is mainly propagated by seeds and cuttings, although airlayering and invitro shoot
multiplication has also been reported. Seeds should be collected from ripe fruits. Freshly
extracted seeds are sown in the seed bed for raising seedlings. Seedlings can also be
raised in polythene bags. Ideal time for raising seedlings is rainy season. Seeds cannot be
stored well for a long time as it losses viability soon. The seeds take nearly 30 days to
germinate under appropriate conditions (Thapliyal et al, 2008).
7.2. Cuttings
The hardwood cuttings treated with IBA 250 ppm showed superiority in respect of length
of the longest primary root and cuttings treated with IBA 2000 ppm exhibited superiority
over in respect of days required for rooting and survival percentage (Angami et al, 2011).
7.4. Micro‐propagation
An efficient protocol was established for in vitro shoot multiplication of Dillenia indica
using nodal explants. For explant sterilization, Clorox was used at 15% for 10 minutes
which gave a decontamination rate of 85% with survival percentage of 95%. The maximum
shoot multiplication rate (7.1 shoots per plant) was achieved with MS medium enriched
with 2.0 mg/L benzyl amino purine (BAP). Shootlets which were produced from multiplication
stage were successfully rooted on half strength MS medium supplemented with 10 mg/
L silver nitrate in combination with all IBA concentrations used (0.5, 0.75, 1.0 mg/L) and
silver nitrate at 5 mg/L plus at 0.75 and 1.0 mg/L. All plantlets produced in vitro have
been successfully acclimatized (Abd ElKadder et al, 2012).
8. CULTIVATION
8.1. Planting
The best time for planting is JuneJuly. Pits of 60 x 60 x 60 cm should be dug out 20
25 days before planting. Pits are dug at a spacing of 78 m apart. Pits are then filled with
soil and FYM mixture. Age of the seedlings for planting should be 78 months old
seedling. Height of the seedling should be kept uniform at 30 cm. seedlings are planted
in the centre of the pits and the soil around the base are gently pressed.
ELEPHANT APPLE 415
8.2. Training and pruning
A clear bole should be maintained to 1m and then pruned to shape. Regular pruning is
not frequently carried out although removal of dead branches, diseased and crisscross
branches is a must (Janick et al, 2008).
8.3. Nutrition
Being hardy in nature, manuring is not usually practiced by the growers, however manuring
and fertilization should be adopted for commercial cultivation. 25 kg FYM and 2 kg wood
ash should be applied per pit before planting. For a full grown tree apply 20 kg FYM on
the onset of monsoon for the general health of the tree and economic return.
8.4. Irrigation
Regular irrigation is very much necessary for the proper growth and development of the
elephant apple. During the time of establishment proper care should be taken for irrigating
young plants. Irrigation is beneficial especially during dry season. It should be given 710
days interval during winter. Grown up plants do not need irrigation.
8.5. Intercropping
Provision for growing intercrops like ginger, turmeric and tuber crops is done to get
additional income during initial growth stage of Elephant apple when there is sufficient
inter space is available.
8.6.1. Fruit borer
The female lays egg on the young and tender fruits. On hatching caterpillars bore inside
the developing fruits and feed inside. Affected fruits fall down and are not fit for
consumption. Application of sevin 50% W.P @ 3 g/litre of water at 1015 days interval
can control this pest
8.6.2. Stem borer
The caterpillar bore into the stem. The entry holes are covered with silken web and
excreta on the trunk. Infested tender shoots will dry up and affected tree declines in yield.
416 MINOR FRUITS: NUTRACEUTICAL IMPORTANCE AND CULTIVATION
To control this pest, fumigation of tunnels inside the stem with petrol, kerosene or
formaldehyde followed by plugging the holes with wet clay soil.
9. HARVESTING AND YIELD
The fruits of Dillenia indica took about 160 days to reach maturity from fruit set.
Maturity is indicated by change of fruit colour from green to straw yellow with a greenish
tinge (Neog and Mohan, 1993). The ripe fruits are available during the end of rainy
season. Matured and ripe fruits drop off from plants. Fruits should be harvested by hand
picking. Commercial bearing starts from 67 years after planting. A 10 year old tree can
produce 1000 fruits per year under proper management. Average weight of the fruit is
300 g (Das et al, 2003).
10. POST‐HARVEST MANAGEMENT OF FRUITS AND STORAGE
The fruits are nonclimacteric and are harvested when ripe. Fruit can be stored at 4.5 o C
for 1 month (Bhattacharya et al., 2002). Since the fruit is seasonal, it may be processed
to various food products to make it available round the year. Value added products like
jam, jelly, pickle and chutney were produced from Dillenia indica, and these products
were shelfstable up to 12 months in ambient conditions which were highly acceptable
(Burhan Uddin, 2005).
11. UTILIZATION
The elephant apple plants are found to have very good therapeutic values in different
diseases. The different parts like bark, leaves and fruits are used traditionally and
pharmacologically to cure ailments and diseases. Traditionally, the whole plant of Dillenia
indica is used in case of fever, as an aphrodisiac and also promotes virility; decoction of
it can be used as a universal antidote (Nadkarni et al., 1954; Shah, 1978; Khanum et al.,
2007). The roots of Dillenia indica also act as an ingredient of a medicine for burning
sensation in the chest, root bark extract cures food poisoning; paste of rootbark along
with leaf paste applied externally in sprains, young bark and leaf as an astringent, decoction
of Dillenia pentagyna is given in case of body pain twice daily till cure (Khanum et al.,
2007). The stem and bark of Dillenia indica are served as a component of medicine for
sores caused by mercury poisoining, chronic progredient sores and carbuncle as a
prophylactic in the cholera season. Dillenia pentagyna bark powder is given with water
for curing diabetes, also in diarrhea and dysentery. Bark paste is applied on head once
a week for hair growth (Janick and Paull, 2008). Leaves of Dillenia indica are used as
an astringent, antiamphetamine and that of D. pentagyna are used in case of cut and
wounds. The leaf preparation in different forms are also used for treatments like, paste
is applied in bone fracture, decoction is used in skin diseases and body pain (Janick and
Paull, 2008; Anisuzzaman et al., 2007). The sepals are highly acidic and hence, are not
ELEPHANT APPLE 417
possible to consume as fresh. But a number of products can be made from these sepals.
In West Bengal, it is a very popular fruit to prepare chutneys, sour preparations and
pickles. Not only are these, the woods of Dillenia indica also used for making packing
cages (Pareek and Sharma, 1993). The trees and the leaves are graceful in appearance
for which, it is also planted along avenues.
12. FUTURE RESEARCH THRUST
i. So far, there is no variety in our country; therefore, there is a need to make promising
selections to boost the production.
ii. Emphasis should be given for developing value added products for proper exploitation
of fruits.
iii. Strategies need to be worked out particularly to make available quality planting
material to the farmers to overcome constraints of production of planting material.
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