ARECANUT/BETEL NUT/

SUPARI
Introduction
 Scientific name: Areca catechu L.
 Family: Palmae
 Masticatory/ chewing
 Essential in religious and social
ceremonies
 India is the largest producer and
consumer
 Alkaloid present- Arecoline (0.07-0.1%)
Origin and distribution
 No clarity in centre of origin
 The maximum species diversity (24 species)
and other indicators suggests its original
habitat in Malaysia, Philippines and East
Indian islands
 In South East Asian countries it is a stray
crop
 The major arecanut growing countries in the
world are India, China, Bangladesh, Indonesia
and Myanmar
 India accounts 55 per cent of area and 45
per cent of production in the world
 Statistics
 Area: 518710 ha
 Production: 901780 t
 Productivity: 1739 kg/ha
Area Production Productivity
Karnataka 279.46 606.18 2169
Kerala 94.58 108.52 1147
Assam 80.81 77.90 964
 DASD, Calicut May 2019
 Highest productivity in Andhra Pradesh -6268kh/ha
World scenario

 China leads in productivity- 4164.76 kg/ha

Present Status
 We have attained self sufficiency in our
requirement
 Uses of arecanut other than chewing are
negligible- addiction, carcinogenic
 Limited export potential
Future Policy
 Taking up of replanting and under planting in
the aged and unproductive plantations
 Arecanut palms live for about 60 –100 years
but economic yields are attained up to 30 –
45 years depending on conditions of
management
 Multiple cropping – Inter and mixed
cropping in arecanut plantation to augment
the income from existing plantations
 Alternate uses
Uses
 Arecanut is the fourth most commonly used social
drug, ranking after nicotine, ethanol and caffeine
 It stimulates the CNS and elevates mood
 It is been marketed as ripe nut/chali (whole/split),
tender nut/ kali, fermented product, etc
 Source of tannins
 Source of fat- 8-12%
 Areca husk for making hard boards, plastic and
brown wrapping paper
 Areca husk yields fibre
 Areca leaf sheath
 Stem and leaf
Medicinal value
◦ Digestive and carminative
◦ Anti-diabetic
◦ Used against certain skin diseases
◦ Used as aphrodisiac
◦ Improves eyesight when used as Thamboola
seva
◦ Helps in relieving asthma
◦ For Low Blood Pressure
◦ CFTRI Mysore has developed a soft drink
concentrate called Pan Supari Nectar
Research
 Indian Central Arecanut Committee (ICAC) was
constituted in 1949 (DASD- Directorate of Arecanut
and Spices Development, Kozhikode)
 CPCRI Regional Station, Vittal - Started in 1956
(Central Arecanut Research Station)
 CPCRI Research Centre, Hirehalli (Tumkur)
 CPCRI Research Centre, Peechi (Kerala)
 CPCRI Research Centre, Mohitnagar (W.B)
 CPCRI Research Centre, Kahikuchi (Assam)
 CPCRI Research Centre,Palode (Kerala)= Here main
work is on YLD
 CPCRI centre, Sipighat, Andamans
 Seed farm- CPCRI, Kidu- planting material
Botany and systematics
 76 species in the Genus- Areca
 A. catechu is the only cultivated species
 A. triandra and A. concinna are also used as a
masticatory
 Some species are having ornamental value- A.
triandra
 The species of Areca are distributed in India,
South Asian islands like Sri Lanka, Malaysia,
Sumatra, Indonesia, Borneo, Java, Philippines,
and in Australia
 Somatic chromosome number- 2n= 32
Botanical varieties
 Based on the size and shape of fruits and
kernel
◦ A. catechu var. communis
◦ A. catechu var. silvatica
◦ A. catechu var. batanensis
◦ A. catechu var. longicarpa
◦ A. catechu var. deliciosa (Mysore)
Cultivars
 Cultivars designated by local names
 Calicut-17
 Consistent and high yielding potential
 Average yield of 18.89 kg ripe nuts per
palm per year with a kernel wt. of 4.34kg
per palm per year
 Well placed bunches with round and bold
nuts.
 This cultivar has been released for
commercial cultivation in Andaman and
Nicobar group of islands
 Madhuramangala (VTL-62)
 Higher yield potential than
Mangala, Sreemangala and
traditional varieties
 Suitable for ripe and
tender nut
 Superior in quality and
fetches more price
 Yield: 3.54kg dry
nuts/palm/year and 2.95 kg
tender processed
nuts/palm/year
 Karnataka, Konkan region
 Nalbari(VTL 65)
 Yield outperforms all the earlier released
varieties
 Ripe nut processing
 Tall with medium thick stem with
partially drooping crown
 Regular bearer, consistent in yiield
 Round shaped yellow colour nuts
 High recovery 0f 25.18%
 Bears at 5years of age and ecomic life
span of 40-45 years
 Yield: 4.15kg dry nuts/palm/year
 Karnataka, North Bengal and North
Eastern
Cultivars/ Varieties with desirable
characters