Tamarind monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

are leafless for a brief period, though they often remain foliated. Spasmodic
or incidental shoot growth continues into the dry season but in May the trees
are usually quiescent. Trees are often foliated, but may be briefly leafless for
short periods in hot, dry localities (Chaturvedi, 1985). Shoot growth
continues through the rainy season into the dry season. The new leaves
appear in March to April.
Flowers emerge on new shoots produced in the spring or summer in most
countries. However some trees flower as late as July or August in the rainy
season. This common phenomenon is a problem in orchard management,
particularly orchards of sweet tamarind. In India early, mid and late
flowering types of tamarind have been identified and those with delayed
flowering habit are reported to be high yielders (Usha and Singh, 1994). In
East Java, the flowers appear from April to June. In Zambia, flowering
occurs in the hot dry season (October onwards). North of the equator,
flowering is from April to May. In Ethiopia, flowering is from March to
July (FAO, 1988). In Sri Lanka, the fruiting season is from February to June
(Macmillan, 1943; Worthington, 1959). Mass flowering is common in
tamarind during the flowering season (Plate 10). However, in some trees
flowers can be seen at any time during the year and may be due to genotype
x environment interactions (Jayaweera, 1981; Coronel, 1992; Nagarajan et
al., 1997).
The period from flowering to pod ripening is 8-10 months. Ripe fruits,
however, may remain on the tree until the next flowering period. In most of
the tamarind producing countries the fruits are harvested from February to
March/April, but sometimes the harvesting period may extend to June
(Coronel, 1992). In India, fruits are harvested from April to May although in
Kerala and other parts of South India fruit collection may be over by the end
of February. In Florida, Central America and the West Indies the ripe fruits
are available from April to June (Bueso, 1980). In Hawaii, ripening takes
place in summer and late fall. In Nicaragua, the harvesting period is early,
usually from December to March. In the Philippines, the ripening period is
from May to December with a peak in August-October. In Sri Lanka, fruits
ripen from January to February to June (Macmillan, 1943; Worthington,
1959). Pods ripen in the spring at high altitudes. In Thailand the fruiting
season is December to February. In the Philippines, the fruiting season is
from May to December with a peak in August to October (Coronel, 1992).
North of the equator, fruit ripening is late in autumn or winter (December to
January). In Zambia, fruiting is in the following cool dry season after the
main dry season (July to November). In Ethiopia, fruiting is during the dry
season, September to April (FAO, 1988). Mahadevan (1991) has observed a
noticeable tree-to-tree variation in flowering and fruit ripening in India.
Similar observations were also observed in Sri Lanka.
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