Jamun - high density planting and cultivation practices

i think neem is also a good option.
if the surrounding are total barren, it wont help much. i doubt if temperature in such conditions can be reduced by 100-500 trees.

tough temperature in shade will always be less compared to direct sunlight.

Vivek

Friends, here are some pictures of the first jamun trees I planted on October 2013.








1 Like

Good to see. Are you going to prune them?It is right time to prune.

H[quote=Konrad]
Dear Friends, Dear Chandra, Dear Abaxi,

Good morning.

  1. Is it possible please to some friend help me air mailing 200 fresh seeds of Bahadoli jamun variety please?

“Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli, Ratnagiri, Maharashtra has developed a variety called ‘Bahadoli’ which yields large and fleshy fruit with a small seed”

  1. I want to plant those in Brazil, state of Espírito Santo. I have planted already 100 trees 6 meters x 6 meters spacing and wish to reach 500 trees.

Jamun seedlings are not commonly available in large quantities here in Brazil. Therefore - realistically, I will need to cultivate my own seedlings to reach 500 planted trees within next one year.

Getting the Bahadoli jamun variety will help me very much and - I believe can assist in the research and propagation of this variety.

If we can manage please to ship straight to Brazil kindly let me know; otherwise, a second and viable option is to ship to a big friend of mine in Andheri (East), Mumbai; than I ask him to get the Bahadoli jamun seeds air mailed to me.

Kindest Regards; I wish to furthermore contribute in our journey. . .

[/quote]It may not be possible to get seeds without govt permission.Importantly you may not get true quality of the said variety from seeds, you can get true qualities of mother plant through scion and graft with any other root stock plant.

This plant can not be grown through high density planting.Till a plant converts in to full grown tree(4-5 years old) no fruiting can take place.Hence please do not waste your time in funny plans like high density jamun planting etc.It can be done in the case of guava,mango,amla etc

Dear Sri2012,

Thank you very much.

I still did not decide if I will prune to make shorter (easier to pick up fruits) and therefore more economic-oriented.

Though I know that the initial spacing decided 6 x 6 m is counting with pruning… ok.

After a time I thought (and now I am inclined to) to do not supress the growth of the trees. By empirical observation in the roads of Brazil, I see trees that have less branches cut when adult turn into ‘bigger’ trees (better structure = supports better growth).

I am considering to be more eco-oriented (primary goal) than economic-oriented; of course I want a vein of business from the crop, but the expectative is to be a beautiful jamun forest for the birds and other animals (pacas, capybaras, foxes, monkeys);

Perhaps the vein of business I will not be able to rely too much on in natura fruits. Though at that time, we can make/industrialize food products of jamun.

I would like to know more the pros and against about jamun pruning. Some friends here in the region (Laranja da Terra, Brazil) said that the pruning would be similar to soursop tree pruning.

In the meantime, because economic-orientation is not the main driver I am leaving without pruning aiming the easthetic (for the birds) aspect of the forest.

Thank you very much,

Dear rcdixit,

Thank you very much for the valuable and critical information.

I am Ok having fruits after 04 - 05 years; does the spacing 06 meters x 06 meters prevents or hurdles the trees from fruiting?

Now to turn back is not an option. I have profound admiration for the Bharat culture and that is the main reason I am planting jamun trees.

Interesting, I thought farmers in Maharashtra did succeed in high density planting on Jamun.

Recently I had some tiny jamun which was seedless. I bought at a roadside near Lepakshi. Which variety would that be?

Chandra, how is your jamun plantation looking now?

Cheers,
Ronnie

The Jamun tree has got peculiar character.Till it is fully grown it does not bear fruits.Distance of 6x6 metres is inadequate for aforesaid trees.Since you have proceeded ahead do not turn back now.Kindly publish the results which you encounter once the treees are fruit bearing age.Let us know true results out of your trial’s creation.

I heard of this seedless variety too but have not seen it.

Just a few plants going ok. :-X

I would think you have the option of leaving the alternate trees in place should the results be bad in high density.

Thank you very much Friends; yes, I will publish the results once the trees are fruit bearing age.

Yes, thank you, good option to leave alternate trees in case results in high density are below expectation - will keep in mind.

  1. Also, sharing: thehindu.com/sci-tech/a-shor … 104923.ece

Friends,

I am having challenges with leafcutter ants and our jamun trees. Please see pictures. Leafcutter ants are attacking from the bigger trees (planted on October 2013) up to the smaller baby-trees just planted… it looks they cut the leafs first from the top of the tree down to the bottom;

I am managing the situation with Mirex based chemical product against ants; I know that it is not the most ecological, but many eco-products are more labor intensive during preparation or application, (or less easily accessible),

I heard that leafcutter ants attack mostly during winter, that now with the rain season in Brazil starting November - December ants will decrease their attack on jamun leafs.

But I am also concerned the leafcutter ants societies made standard their food production using jamun leafs (easier for their management);

Friends please be comfortable to share experiences, inputs, knowledge,

Thank you,




Updated pictures of the jamun trees: (September - October 2014):

. Smaller trees planted on mid January 2014; bigger trees planted on end October 2013.
. I looked forward planting saplings of different suppliers looking after a variety of genetics in the cultivar; which in the end sacrificed little bit the quality of some saplings; now on October 2014 I purchased more saplings from the supplier that gave me higher quality - I could see the difference within the first one year.
. Up to today we planted ~ 650 trees; according to local inspection and estimate calculation we lost ~ 60 saplings/baby-trees due: lack of rain, damaged by intercrop practices with okra, fast growing weeds suffocating the jamun saplings, leafcutter ant damage, accidental mechanical damage, lower quality of sapling et al.;

On the edges of the cultivar, starting August 2014, I planted few blackberrys and Surinam Cherry (Pitanga) in an effort to in future increase biodiversity and food production for fauna when dry season (out of jamun season);

Thank you very much Friends,






More pictures:






The best way to control ants is to bring in more dominants ants. For example red ants hate humans not black ones. Farmers here collect black ants in pot luring with sweet and release it in their farm. Black ones dominate and eliminate the entire red ant colony.

I am not sure of you having this in Brazil.

Turmeric powder is ant repellent. During seed balls preparation this is only solution help to prevent seeds from ant attack. but I dont know how you will use this for leafcutter ants.

Americans have developed a fungi based repellent for this. I remember reading an article on this.

Jamun starts fruiting after about 5-6 years.It picks up height of approximately 50-60 feet in natural conditions.The fruits grow on new branches only.Now in dwarfed plant till the time sufficient branches do not shoot,where will fruits form?This experiment needs long time to fructify .The experiment will commence in the coming monsoons and I shall submit the true report in 2019-20.In case the experiment is successful farmnest members can reap rich dividends in case it fails no harm done except an authoritative report can be viewed for non practicability .Currently I am carrying out trial on chausa variety of mango plants grown in 1/10 th prototype of an acre i.e. 400 sq mtrs plot in High density model.This experiment will not take much time and shall be reported to members in year 2017-18.
rcdixit

1 Like

Dear Friends,

I have been through lot of experience and happiness planting jamun trees.

  • I asked several friends here in Brazil about more dominant ants that could eat leaf-cutter ants, nobody here knows of those ants, we dont know yet any ant that eat leaf cutter ants.

  • I am still suffering a lot with leaf-cutter ants, in every 02 or 03 weeks I have to apply “fipronil (grão verde)” formicide; ants get an impact but after 04 - 05 weeks they recover;

  • some trees I believe did not resit after being cut several times by ants, now, leafless, they dried and died (some trees);

  • I will come with other solutions such as wrapping PVC film on the base of the tree, or placing one pet bottle in the base of each tree. As soon I have someone living in my farm (mother-in-law most possibly) I will ask her to raise chickens, I heard that chickens will decrease the ant population;

  • I have pruned some trees, in the bottom, I noticed that once the lower branches are pruned, the tree grows tall faster; I dont mind the tree growing tall as I am priorizing the paisagistic aspect of the crop, rather than leaving the trees small;

  • the first seedlings that I planted 18 months ago are those bigger trees in the pictures; many seedlings I had to replant two or three times, some died because of the ants, some because of lack of irrigation and competition with weeds;

  • some baby-trees were forgotten and hidden among many weeds, still they survived;

  • one baby-tree catched fire (accidental fire) and it is still alive and growing beautiful: because of that, my brasilian friends recognize that jamun is really a sacred/holly tree;

  • because of the presence of jamun trees and lack of “conventional agriculture”, now many bees and birds visit my crop, the birds are already planting several guava trees only by visiting my crop, I can say that I have identified up to now at least 20 guava trees planted by birds;

  • I planted around 700 trees, if I have 500 trees now I consider myself lucky; but I will persist and plant more as soon I clear some land for that;








1 Like

some trees that suffered with leaf-cutter ants




I am following your posts. Please keep posting your new findings.