Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

Nematodes are also reported to attack tamarind. The major nematodes are:
Radapholus similis, the burowing nematode, and Meloidogyne incognita, the
common rootknot nematode. In South India in particular the burrowing
nematode is reported to be a serious pest of both tamarind and the coconut
palm (Sosamma and Koshy, 1977).
Much more research is needed on the biological control of many of the pests,
using natural parasites or predators, in order to reduce the use of chemicals
and move towards an environmentally friendly form of husbandry.
Monkeys are reported to devour the fruits greedily while animal browsing
causes damage to seedlings unless effectively protected in the early stages
(Hocking, 1993).
5.5 Major and minor production areas
Precise data on production and acreage of tamarind are quite difficult to
obtain, often because most of the fruit is collected from the wild by rural
people or harvested from small isolated areas. It is only grown on a major
plantation scale in a few countries, e.g. India and Thailand. Thus,
information on area and quantity of production are either non-existent or
unreliable and most are estimates. In this section attempts are made to gather
as much information as possible on the existing production areas as well as
on other areas potentially suitable for tamarind growing.
5.5.1 Present production areas
At present tamarind is cultivated in 54 countries of the world: 18 in its native
range and 36 other countries where it has been introduced The major areas
of production are in the Asian and American continents.
In most countries, tamarind is a subsistence tree crop used to meet local
requirements, although some of the crop is also exported. Consequently,
although it is grown in many countries, production and export data are not
available. The major product is the fruit, which is used for culinary purposes,
making juices, chutneys, sauces etc, while the seed is the main component
used in industrial applications. The timber although hard, has little
commercial value, but is used at the local level. Product diversification is
taking place slowly in a few countries such as Thailand, Indonesia,
Philippines and some African countries. Although the potential is high, this
species remains underutilised.
India is the world’s largest producer of tamarind products. The tree mostly
grows wild, although it is cultivated to a limited extent. It is particularly
abundant in the Indian States of Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. In Bajapur, on the Deccan Plateau,
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