Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future
Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future
Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future
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Chapter 11. Current Situation and<br />
needs <strong>for</strong> Research and Technology<br />
11.1 Introduction<br />
J.T. Williams<br />
Although domesticated, tamarind has tended to remain a useful species<br />
associated with smallholder farmers and also widely ga<strong>the</strong>red from extensive<br />
wild stands. Despite its extensive use it has received minimal research<br />
attention. The research has also been somewhat sporadic. Not a great deal<br />
has been translated into technology development and even less has been<br />
downstreamed to <strong>the</strong> farmers.<br />
In part this situation relates to <strong>the</strong> fact that tamarind is a large, relatively<br />
long-lived tree species which appears to be easy to cultivate and local<br />
demands <strong>for</strong> <strong>the</strong> fruits were always satisfied. In fact trees appear to grow<br />
unattended in backyards, roadsides or on wetlands and hence tamarind did<br />
not become a priority <strong>for</strong> focused development by governments. <strong>Tamarind</strong><br />
remains underexploited even though its potential is widely recognised; it will<br />
remain so if traditional practices continue to result in poor tree management<br />
due to lack of skills in pruning, harvesting and processing of products.<br />
However, <strong>the</strong> past two decades have witnessed three important advances,<br />
namely:<br />
(i) <strong>the</strong> recognition that exploitation <strong>for</strong> commerce of wild and primitively<br />
cultivated tamarind provides cheap raw material <strong>for</strong> industrial purposes –<br />
and local producers hardly benefit;<br />
(ii) a limited number of cultivars have been developed and, as is <strong>the</strong> case <strong>for</strong><br />
sweet tamarind, <strong>the</strong>se can lead to <strong>the</strong> establishment of more intensive<br />
orchards/plantations; and<br />
(iii) an upsurge in <strong>the</strong> need <strong>for</strong> agro<strong>for</strong>estry systems, such as in Asia and<br />
Africa and <strong>the</strong> widespread recognition of <strong>the</strong> value of tamarind in such<br />
systems has resulted in demands <strong>for</strong> better planting materials, and <strong>for</strong> better<br />
management systems, paying attention to <strong>the</strong> potential <strong>for</strong> income generation<br />
<strong>for</strong> resource-poor farmers in all agricultural areas but particularly in <strong>the</strong> more<br />
marginal areas.<br />
11.2 The current situation<br />
The major breakthrough in recent years has been <strong>the</strong> identification of<br />
tamarind types with less acidic pulp, commonly referred to as sweet<br />
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