It is highly drought resistant and approaches the date palm in its tolerance of soil salinity. Sometimes it is planted in dry river beds with alluvial soil. The most ideal soils are deep alluvium, sandy loams, red late rites and medium black soils. The trees bear from May to September with the peak of the crop in June and July. The main season is from December to March. In the tropics, some cultivars bear almost continuously. The fruits mature in four to six months after flowering. The optimum temperature is between 11☌ and 34☌. Rain or cloud weather during any part of the year does not do any harm to fruit set. Areas with an annual rainfall of 125-250cm are highly suitable. The coastal climate is best suited to this plant.Īt higher altitudes, the fruit quality and tree health suffers. The plant prefers warm and moist weather and can grow both in dry and humid areas. A major product of tree is the gummy latex called “chicle”, containing 15 per cent rubber and 38 per cent resin.Ĭhiku is a tropical fruit and can be grown from sea level up to 1,200 meters. The latex is used in filling tooth cavities. The fruit has medicinal also as young fruit is boiled and its decoction is used in diarrhoea an infusion of young fruits and flower relieves pulmonary complaints decoction of old, yellowed leaves is good for cough, cold and diarrhoea tea made from bark is also helpful in diarrhoea and dysentery.įluid extract of crushed seeds and leaves lowers blood pressure paste of seeds is applied on stings and bites. The moisture range from 69-75.7 per cent ascorbic acid from 8.9 to 41.4mg/100g total acid 0.09-0.15 per cent, pH from 5-to 5.3 total soluble solids at the ratio of 17.4:23.7 carbohydrates and glucose range from 5.84 to 6.40 per cent. The fruits not peeled show abnormal amounts of tannin contributed by the skin. The main reasons for its popularity is that there is no danger of pilferage of the ripened in the basket and not on the tree where it remains hard, astringent and rich in latex. The tree bear fruit within three years of planting. The fruit skin can also be eaten since it is richer than the pulp in nutrient value.Ĭhiku is rich in protein, fibre and minerals like phasphorus, calcium and iron. The usual practices are to eat only the pulp. The chiku fruit when fully ripe is delicious to eat. In Pakistan, the mature fruits are also used for making jams as these provide a valuable source of raw material for the manufacture of industrial glucose, pectin and natural fruit jellies. CHIKU is delicious fruit crop of tropical and sub-tropical countries and is cultivated on about 564 hectares with production at 2,018 metric tons.
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