Mimusops elengi, Linn. |
Family : Sapotaceae |
| Common Name : Indian medlar, Bullet wood |
Telugu Name : Pogada, Bogada |
General :
It is not found wild in forests except in small patches of Northern Circar areas. Identifying features are dark grey scaly bark and blaze pink with red streaks, exuding a milky juice. It grows on a variety of soils including laterite. It is one of the best plants recommended for avenue plantations because of its scented flowers, edible and dense crown.
Flowering :
The star shaped dull white scented flowers appear from February to April.
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| Fruiting : |
| The fruits ripen in the following year in February to July. |
| Morphology of the Fruit / Seed : |
Fruit is a berry, ovoid, smooth, fleshy, 2.5 to 3.8 by 1.3 to 1.7 cms in size, yellow when ripe, young fruits hairy. Seed solitary, 1.5 to 2.3 by 1 to 1.3 cms in size, blackish or greyish brown, ovoid, compressed, shining, smooth with a hard testa and soft, whitish albumen. |
| Seed Collection and Storage : |
The seeds are collected in June to July. Because of the fleshy fruits, the pulp is washed and seeds are dried. The seeds do not retain their viability for long. |
| Seed Biology : |
No. of fruits per Kg. |
No. of seeds per Kg. |
Germination percentage |
Time taken for germination in days |
No. of seedlings per Kg. of seed |
600 |
2150 |
30 to 40 |
90 |
650 |
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Pretreatment : |
Mild boiled water treatment may be given because of the hard testa. |
Nursery Technique : |
The pretreated seeds are sown singly in polythene bags in July. It is better to put pregerminated seeds. The growth of the seedlings is slow. Two years old seedlings are planted.
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