Local Name : Lakh

Lac is a natural resin of insect origin and is commercially important as a versatile raw material, useful for variety of purposes. It is the secretion of Laccifer lacca, a certain specie of insects, encouraged to grow on specific ‘host’ trees and is collected as encrustations on the twigs. The lac acts as a protective covering for the insect. End product of lac cultivation is Stick lac and it is obtained as a result of scraping of lac encrustation of the soots of host tree. The refined form of lac is called shellac. Lac is available in market in the form of seedlac for commercialisation.
Lac is found primarily on three types of trees

• Palash
• Kusum
• Ber

The Kusum lac is more valuable, but less extensively cultivated due to less occurrence of Kusum tree. After Kusum lac comes ber lac and the lowest in quality and value is the palash lac. Due to the presence of large number of palash tree, considerable quantity of lac is produced in the district of palamau. The principle crop of the palash lac is obtained in the month of April and May and is known as the Baisakhi crop. Some of the lac is then left on the trees until October and November which becomes fit to be gathered and sold as brood lac (lac seed). This is the Kartiki crop.

Main commercial varieties of lac are

• Lemon No. I
• Lemon No. II
• Standard I
• Golden Kusumi
• Golden Baisakhi
• Manbhum Fine
• Fine Baisakhi etc.

Phenology
Lac is a resinous incrustation found on the twigs of certain trees (Palash, Kusum & Ber), which is produced round the bodies of the colonies of the lac insect. The latter subsists on the sap that it sucks up by means of a proboscis from the succulent tissues of the tree. When the young insects escape from the dead body of the female, they crawl about in search of fresh sappy twigs. This is known as swarming and at this time the twig of trees infected with the lac insect will often be seen to assume a reddish colour, owing to the countless number of tiny insects that are moving all over them. Those that become fixed drop their legs and at once proceed in the process of digestion to transform the sap sucked by the proboscis and to exude from their bodies the resinous matter with which they become ultimately incrusted. At this stage when it becomes evident that the swarming is beginning, the twigs of an old tree with the insects on them are cut off and tied on a fresh tree which it is proposed to bring under cultivation, at the base of the new source which grown as the result of previous pollarding. After a time the insect crawls up the branches of the fresh tree, and, piercing the bark at some place where it is sufficiently soft, fixes itself down and commences to exude lac. The greater and the better part of the lac is exuded by the female after mating. The quality of the lac depends upon the brightness of the colour, the thickness of the incrustation, and the comparative freedom from parasites. The primary collector lops off the tree on which lac has formed with an axe and then seperates the lac from the twigs with a sickle.

Lac Insect- Distribution
The lac insect is a member of the Hemiptera or bug order and the super family Coccidac which comprises of the scale insects and mealy bugs. Coccidac contain a number of extremely injurious species, and some useful species as the lac insect Laccifer lacca. Laccifer lacca falls in the family lacciferidae. The geographical range of the family is very wide and the species have been recorded from all continents except Europe.

Distribution
Following are the major lac growing areas in the state of Jharkhand are Ranchi, Gumla, Palamau, Latehar, Garhwa, E & W Sighbhum, Sraikela, Hazaribag, Chatra, Simdega, Lohardaga.

Production Pattern
The production of lac in Palamau forms 26% of the total National production of lac . For normal crop total production of Baisakhi lac, on an average, for Palamau, is 4000 ton per year which forms 40 – 50% of the total lac production. For Kartki crop the total production, on an average, for Palamau, is 1000 ton per year which is 35 – 40% of the total lac produced. According to a market study carried out by Suman Kumar and Dhruba Basu of SPJIMR, Mumbai, to explore the market potential for lac, The total market potential of lac is around 6408.91 Tonnes / Year. Out of this 2085 tonnes / year potentential is that of Balrampur market and around 4323.91 tonnes / year is the requirement of the industry sector in India.

Yield
The yield of lac from host tree varies considerably depending upon a number of factors:

• Host tree:

A Kusum host generally gives a higher yield than other hosts but is slow to recover and throw out new branches after pruning.

• Size of the host:
• Condition of the host
• Nature and extent of Infection
• Quality of Brood lac used
• Weather and soil Conditions and
• Damage due to insect attack

Collection Process
The different crops are known after the names of the Hindu months in which the collection commences. The two crops from hosts other than Kusum are known as Baisakhi and Kartki (also called Rangeeni) after the months Baisakhi(April-May) and Katik (October-November) respectively.
The crops from Kusum hosts are known as Jothua or Jethwi and Aghani after the months Jeth (May-June) and Aghani (November-December). The Aghani crop is usually reffered to as Kusmi

Collection Period:

The Baisakhi crop is the biggest and the most important commercial crop. The harvesting of this crop extends over a period of three months. A part of the crop is harvested in April and May, and a part is left on the trees for natural infection of Kartki crop and the rest is harvested. Kartki crop is generally cut in October – November both for sale and brood for Baisakhi crop. This crop is generally smaller than the Baisakhi crop from the same hosts. While Baisakhi crop generally results from artificial infection of hosts with Kartki brood, Kartki crop is usually from natural infection of Baisakhi lac left on trees. In case of Kusum host, the winter crop Aghani is the bigger of the two crops. It matures in January – February but the cutting of the crop begins in November – December and continues till February. The Jethwi crop is comparatively a small crop. It is usually cut in June – July and is largely used as brood for Aghani crop.

Cultivation
The cultivation of lac is carried on by

• Introducing the lac insects to the lac hosts, this process is called infection or innoculation.
• Harvesting the crop by cutting the branches on which lac encrustattions have been formed.

Infection or Innoculation
The process is carried out in two ways, viz., artificial infection and natural infection.

Artificial Infection
A few sticks of brood lac, i.e lac from which larvae are about to emerge are placed on a host tree, which has previously been pruned in time so as to put forth good new shoots. The larvae on emergence crawl about and settle down on succulent shoots. Prunning in the correct way and at the correct time is of great importance from the point of view of the quantity of lac obtained from a host. The extent of pruning required by a host depends on its condition

Natural Infection
All or part of the lac secreted on a tree is left there and the larvae after swarming out settle down on the new shoots. The larvae may sometimes be carried by wind from one host tree to another or they may crawl on the interlacing branches.
Natural infection, inspite of its simplicity, is inferior to artificial infection because it tends to favour the multiplication of parasite enemies and yields brood lac of poor quality on account of its having larger amount of Phunki lac from the previous crop.

Processing
The processing at primary collector level includes collection of lac from the host trees in the form of sticks (pieces cut from branches and twigs of trees) and scrapping. Generally scrapping of lac is taken up soon after the twigs are cut though sometimes they are stored and the scrapping is done later on at leisure.

The processing done at the trader level includes spreading the scrapped lac in thin layers under shade for drying. It is occasionally raked more frequently in the beginning- to allow uniform aeration. If scrapped lac is exposed to direct action of the sun’s rays, the edges of the grain are likely to melt and form into compact “blocks” from which the extraction of dye becomes very difficult. The drying of scrapped lac is sometimes undertaken at the primary collector level also. After the lac is dry it is often winnowed to remove large pieces of sticks, stones, wood and other foreign matter.

Processing at the industry level
Stick lac is passed through sieves to separate smaller grains and dust from the bigger pieces. The latter are then grinded in hand Chakki (stone mill) or crushed in roller corn crushers, especially in the case of kusmi stick lac which is often received without being scrapped. The crushers are usually operated by manual power but in some of the large factories they are driven by mechanical power. The space between the rollers is so adjusted that lac is broken from the sticks. Pieces of sticks which pass with the lac are seperated by subsequent sifting and winnowing. The crushed and sifted stick lac in the form of granular fragments is known as Kachcha Chowri. Kachcha Chowri is then washed in a cup shaped stone or cement pots commonly known as nands. About 40 lb. of crushed lac is placed in each nand and water added. A labourer known as ghasander enters the nand and leaning on a support rubs the lac against the rough sides of the nand with his feet for nearly half an hour. The rubbing operation crushes the lac cells, releases the lac dye and seperates the dirt from the resin. The water is then allowed to stand for some time and the surface scum consisting of wood and dead bodies of insects is removed. After this the coloured water is scooped out and filtered through a cloth to recover the suspended lac. The process is repeated two to three times till the lac dye, dirt and other impurities are removed. In case of inferior and old stick lac, diluted solution of commercial washing soda is used to facilitate the removal of the dye. After the final washing the washed material, known as chowri, i.e. the seed lac of commercial importance is removed from the nands and spread out on cement floors for drying. It is stirred by means of rakes to avoid the formation of compact blocks. After it is dry, it is winnowed to separate the lac grains from fine particles of dust and other impurities. In some of the large factories, large power driven steel drums fitted with agitating arrangements are used instead of nands for washing purpose.

The Yield of seedlac from sticklac depends on a number of factors

• Type of host and season
• Whether collectedari or phunki
• The amount of impurities and
• The method and extent of washing

As a rule stick lac from kusum tree gives a higher percentage of seed lac than that of Ber and Palash. Similarly Baisakhi stick lac from Ber or Palash tree is stated to yield more seedlac than from Kartki stick lac from the same host. Phunki lac being free from living insects contains less colouring matter and moisture than airy lac, and therefore yields higher percentage of seed lac than the later.

Shellac
Shellac may be prepared from seed lac either by melting or by extraction with suitable solvent. The former method is most commonly used in India. Different quality of seed lac are mixed together according to the trader requirement and the mixture is filled in a cloth bag about 30 feet long and about 2-5 inch in diameter. For the manufacture of high quality shellac double bags are employed. The melting is done over charcoal fire in a Dutch oven shape fireplace known as Bhatta which is about 2.5-4 feet long, 1.5 feet high and 12-16 inches deep. At one end of this Bhatta sits the meltor holding one end of the long bag just near enough the glowing fire to melt the lac resin. The other end of the bag is fixed on to a wooden wheel which is rotated by a boy. The object of rotating the bag is to apply uniform heat to it and the meltor asks the boy to rotate the bag slowly or quickly as needed. The meltor gives a twist opposite to that given by the boy. The lac melts with the heat and begins to ooze out. This is worked up with a large iron spatula to ensure through mixing of lac resin and wax. Over heating is prevented by an occasional sprinkling of cold water on molten lac. When sufficient quantity of such molten lac is collected outside the bag, it is rapidly transferred to the glazed porcelain surface of a horizontal hot water cylinder. An assistant spread the molten mass evenly over the cylinder by means of a palm leaf. After that he takes the sheet and warms it before the fire to keep it plastic and then stretches it by means of his hands, feet and teeth to form a thin sheet. On pulling, the thick edges and the portion showing hard knots, dirt specks and air bubbles are removed and the remaining sheet is broken into small pieces (Flakes) which forms the shellac of commerce. The yield of shellac is greatly influenced by the type and the age of the seedlac used.

Button lac
In this case the stretching process is dispensed with and the molten lac is dropped on to the cool flat surface of a stone or commonly a metallic sheet. The Lac spreads into circular button shaped cakes of 3-4 inch diameter. These are usually stamped with the manufacturer’s or shipper’s mark before they become hard.

Grading

Stick Lac
Stick lac as it arrives in the market contains a good deal of impurities. The amount of such impurities varies greatly in various consignments. The buyers usually make a visual examination of each lot and offer prices based on their estimates of the out turn of seed lac. Another method known as the ‘ Beoli system’ is also practised sometimes. According to this method, a part of the sticklac brought for sale is spread on the floor 8’ – 10’ deep and samples are taken out from various places at random to make up a sample of about 20 kg. of stick lac. Out of this quantity, a smaller sample of about 2 kg. is taken. It is sifted through a 20 mesh sieve. All that passes through the sieve is taken as dust. From the sieved stick lac all pieces of wood, earth and stone are picked out by hand.The cleaned sample is then crushed with a piece of stone and subsequently winnowed to remove more dirt and impurities. The crushed and cleaned sticklac is dried on the floor for about a couple of hours and then weighed. The yield of the cleaned product of stick lac is calculated and the prices offered accordingly.

Seed lac
Seed lac is usually purchased on the basis of impurities insoluble in hot alcohol, the franchise generally being 3%. In the case of best Golden Kusumi, 3% in the case of ordinary Kusumi, Golden Baisakhi and fine Baisakhi and 5% in the case of ordinary Baisakhi. Seed lac is guranteed not to contain any rosin and othe rosinous impurities.

Shellac
It is generally traded on the basis of 3% impurities together with a stipulation regarding rosin content. In purchases made on rosin free basis, the buyer has the option to reject or to claim allowances if rosin is present. Shellac containing rosin is generally purchased on the basis of 12% rosin. Shellac with 3% rosin is sometimes put in the market by mixing pure and 12% rosin shellac in the ratio of 3:1.
The factors that effect the quality of shellac are:

• Hot alcohol insolubles
• Cold alcohol insolubles
• Colour index
• Wax Content
• Softening and melting poits
• Viscosity
• Fluidity
• Life under heat
• Orpiment content
• Qualitative test for rosin

Seedlac/Shellac Manufacturing centers in the state
Ranchi - Khunti, Murhu, Bundu
Palamau – Daltonganj
Latehar
Garhwa
Singhbhum - Chakradharpur, Chandil

Main Marketing center of shellac – Calcultta

Important assembling centers of lac – Jhalda in purulia dist. Of W.B. ; Khunti, Murhu & Bundu in Ranchi dist. Daltonganj in Palamau dist. On an average 60% of Shellac can be obtained from sticklac. Thus from 1Kg stick lac, about 600gm of shellac is obtained.

Traders

• Kedar Prasad Aggarwal
  Zilla School Road, Daltonganj.
• Shrikant (Agent)
  C/O Friends Medical Agency,
  Jain Mandir Road, Daltonganj.
• Shiv Kumar
  Near Post Office Chowk, Nimdi,
  Chaibasa..
• Gautam Rai
  Near Post Office Chowk, Nimdi, Chaibasa.
• Banku Nishad
  SPG Mission Campus, Nimdi, Chaibasa.
• Prakash Sahu
  Murhu, Khunti, Ranchi.
• Subhash Aggarwal
  Balrampur
  Buyer and Exporter List
• Tajna River Industries Pvt. Limited,
  Khunti, Ranchi.
  06528-20508/20636/20144/20049
  Cell:98351-56554
  Email:tajna@vitalmail.com
  rch_tajna@sancharnet.in
• Shri Durga lac Udyog
  Torpa Road,
• Khunti, Ranchi.
• Shyama Saraoli
  Khunti, Ranchi.
• Samar Sigh Jaiswal
  Calcutta,
  West Bengal.

Average Monthly growers Price of Sticklac (Source I.F.P.C.)

Without * - Baisakhi,
* - Jethwi crop
** - Kartki
*** - Aghani