| 10.2 Marking Nuts
It is a moderate sized deciduous tree, reaching
upto a height of 12 to 15 meters, seldom exceeding 0.6 meters
in girth. Trees of 1.2 to 1.8 mt. Girth also recorded in optimum
conditions. The bark of marking nut tree is dark brown, often
with silvery brown patches. It is fairly smooth. It abounds
in a very acrid juice. It exudes a blaze red resin that blackens
on exposure. Leaves are crowded at the ends of branches.
The small greenish yellow flowers commence
appearing along with the new leaves in May and continue till
August-September. The fruits ripen from December to March.
The old leaves that turn bright yellow before falling are
shed in February - March. It is a moderate shade bearer and
is highly resistant to fires. Its seedlings are sensitive
to frost, but show a good power of recovery. It prefers dry
sites but may grow on moderately damp localities.
A fairly well natural reproduction is seen
throughout its habitat. Although a common tree in forest it
is not common in cultivation. It bears fertile seeds at vary
early age. Coppice shoots two or three years old are seen
bearing fruits. As the seeds are not able to retain viability
for long, they should be sown as soon as possible after collection.
The seeds are pre-treated by soaking in cold water for 48
hours. The seeds are sown in poly bags in December. It is
covered with a layer of hay for uniform heat. The plant does
not stand transplantation well. Direct sowing from November
to February can raise it.
Marking nut fruit finds its use in Ayurvedic
medicines. The juice of the nut is used in small doses both
externally and internally. The nut is used in the preparation
of hair oil. It is also used in the preparation of drugs for
syphilis, scrofulous infection, dyspepsia, piles and epilepsy.
For systematic action its purification is done by various
methods. Pouring the nuts into a flask of water tests the
quality of nuts. The nuts settled at the bottom are considered
to be of superior quality and the nuts floating on the surface
are to be rejected. The oil of marking nut finds its major
use in paint industry. It is being used for manufacturing
industrial paints. These are black stoving paints. These paints
are naturally black and act as insulating coating when used
in electrical equipments. The stoving paints manufactured
from marking nut oil are heat resistant upto 500 degree C
and does not need any additive to impart glossiness as it
comes naturally. These paints are quite durable also.
The acrid juice of pericarp is also used
as ink for marking clothes and in ink manufacturing. Communities
in the village use this nut in traditional aspects while arranging
chains for cattle, machines, houses, vehicles etc with these
nuts.
Usually women and children carry out the
marking nut collection. They collect nuts in groups after
the fruit falls down from the tree. The fruits is consumed
by the community or sold. The fruits are believed to be useful
for preventing worms in the stomach. The nut separated from
the fruit is dried under the sun for one to two days and then
sold either to GCC or private traders. GCC holds the monopoly
rights over the produce. AP is one of the major producers
of marking nuts in the country. The major areas of production
and procurement of nuts are Parvatipuram, Paderu, Chintapalli,
R. Chodavaram, Srisilem, Palviancha and Kamareddy.
The procurement after taking a dip in the
90s has again peaked up. But what is worrying is that the
sales have continuously declined for the last 3-4 years. The
procurement prices after showing an increasing trend have
declined sharply in the last year. However, the sales price
is in the upswing till the last year of data available.
Figure
: Procurement and Sales Quantity of Marking nut (in MT)
Figure
: Procurement and Sales Price of Marking nut (Rs./ Kg)
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