ConselVation and Sustainable Use 0 Genetic Resourcesof Priority Food TreeSpecies in sub-Saharan Africa

----Semi-processed and packed tamarind fruits for sale at a market in Mombasa, Kenya

Common nameTamarind,Madeiramahogany,Indiandate(English)

Scientific nameTamarindus indica L.

SynonymsTamarindus occidentalis Gaertn,Tamarindus officinalis Hook,Tamarindus umbrosa Salisb.

FamilyFabaceae

Tamarinde,tamarinier(French)

subfamilyCaesalpinioideae

• Benard 0 MUOKAfrican Centre for Technology Studies (AC75), PO8aK 45917-00100 GPO Nairobi, Kenya

• Sheferaw AlEMEthiopian Institute of Agricltural Research, ForestryResearch Center, PO 8aK 30708. Addis Ababa.Ethiopia

This leaflet highlights the nutritional and socio-economic potential of tamarindand provides information to assist those working with the species. The focus ison conserving genetic diversity and promoting sustainable use of tamarind. Theleaflet presents a synthesis of current knowledge about the species. The rec-ommendations provided should be regarded as a starting point, to be furtherdeveloped according to local or regional conditions. These guidelines will beupdated as new information becomes available.

Socio-cultural Country Vernaculargroup name

Afrikaans

Amharic

TigrinyaBoranaKambaLuoMasaiMeruPokotTurkanaChichewaNkondeYao

Mandinka

FulbeGuizigaToupouriKapsikiMassaHausa

Wolof

Jola-FonyiSomali

Kiswahili

ArabicNubaKiswahiliAcholiBari/Ma'diKakwaKaramojongLangiLugandaTesoBembaNyanjaTonga

South Afnca TamanndeHumer, hem or, hornor,;

Ethiopia humar, komar, tomma

IRoka, racahu, dereho,dindie, ghroma,gianko,omar

Ethiopia ArabebKenya RokaKenya Rakhai, hamarKenya Chwa waa

j Kenya,Tanzania Ol-masamburaiKenya MuthithiKenya OranKenya EopduranMalawi Ukwaju, bwembaMalawi NkewesuMalawi Mkewesu

1

M I" I. Tomi,timbingo, timbimb,a I tombl

Nigeria Dabe, jammeth, jammiCameroon MbulamCameroon Baare, zoulgo, mblarCameroon OumblaCameroon ChitnaNigeria, Niger Tsamiya

I S I I Daharg, dakah, dakhar,enega ndakhar

Senegal BudaharSomalia Rakhai, hamarSomalia,. Msisi mkwajuMozambique 'Sudan Ardeib, aradeibSudan Shekere, kuashi, danufiTanzania UkwajuUganda Chwa/oUganda ItiUganda PiteiUganda E/apedura (fruit)Uganda Chwa/oUganda Mukoge

I Uganda I Esukuru, esuguguru (leaves)Zambia MushishiZambia MwembaZambia Musika

Geographical distribution __

Tamarind is widely distributed in Africa and Asia.Its origin is unknown, although it is commonlybelieved to be indigenous to the drier savannahsof tropical Africa. However, it has long beennaturalized in tropical Asia. Tamarind is nowcultivated throughout the tropics and iseconom ically important all overSouth-EastAsia.It was introduced to the tropics in the western

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Distributionrangeof tamarind

hemisphere in more recent times, probablyduring the early years of the West Africanslave trade. The capital of Senegal, Dakar,was named after the local word dakhar fortamarind.

Thespecies is thoughtto be native to BurkinaFaso, Northern Cameroon, Central AfricanRepublic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia,Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar,Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

Tamarind is used as a source of food, foodpreservatives, fodder, drugs, timber and firewood. Tamarind fruit pulp is very rich in tartaricacid and it is used as a preservative in thepickle industry. The hard green pulp of unripefruit is too sour to be consumed directly, butis often used as a component of savoury dishes.

Uses Part of plantFood Fruit leavesBeveral!e FruitPreservative FruitFodder Pods, leavesFuel wood Stem, branchesMedicines leaves, fruit, barkFishing FlowersSoil protection Whole treeTimber, furniture WoodRecreation Whole tree

The ripe fruit is edible and popular, as it issweeter, but is still very acidic. It is used indesserts such as jam, blended into juices orsweetened drinks or eaten as a snack. It isalso consumed as a natural laxative. Thespecies has many traditional uses in differentsocieties in Africa.

Tamarind fruit and other products are sold onlocal markets in Africa as well as on internationalmarkets. Trade in tamarind products is animportant sourceof incomefor farmers in Kenya.The fruits are also commonly marketed in

Karamoja, West Nile and Northern districts ofUganda, and children sell the fruit in Ethiopiantowns and coastal towns in Kenya.

Ecology and biology •

Tamarind grows well under a wide range of soiland climatic conditions, but prefers semi-aridareas and wooded grasslands. It is commonlyfound on light clay (especially red clay), loam,sandy and alluvial soils as well as in rockyareas.It prefers well-drained alluvial soil with anaverage rainfall of 250-1200 mm per annum. Ithas an altitudinal range of 0-1600 m above sealevel. The species is found along rivers in drierregions.

Reproductive biologyThe reproductive biology of tamarind has beenrelatively well-studied compared with otherAfrican fruit species. Flowering coincides withthe production of new leaves. The flowers areshowy and aromatic, hermaphroditic (i.e. bothmale and female) and likely pollinated by bees.

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Flowers are receptive for pollination foralmost 48 hours. Self-pollination often resultsin flower or fruit abortion, indicating partialincompatibility.

PhenologyTrees usually begin to produce fruits atbetween seven and ten years of age. Humansand other large animals are the primarydispersal agents.

Flowering and fruiting times vary betweencountries. In Kenya,for example, flowers appearat the same time as new leaves, from April toJuly. Fruiting occurs from May to August andfruits reach maturity from December toFebruary. In Niger flowering starts in Decemberand ends in May. Fruits reach maturity fromDecember to January.

Related species

Tamarind is the only species in the genusTamarindus.

Morphological traitsand their variation I

The tamarind tree grows to 14 m in height andhas a dense, spreading crown with a cleartrun k. It is considered an evergreen but mayhave a short deciduous phase in some areas.Leaves are compound and long, with 8-18pairs of leaflets. Flowers are small, yellowwith pink streaks and grow in small clusters.The fruit is a pod 5-15 cm long, with up to tenseeds embedded in a sticky pulp. The seedsare dark reddish-brown or black with a hardseed coat.

The species shows a remarkable variationin leaf size, tree form and fruit shape, tasteand size. Different varieties have been reportedfrom the areas where the species has beenintroduced and widely planted.

Tree growth is slow, less than 1 m peryear. Trees established from seed generallydo not start to produce seed until they areat least seven years old, while trees from

grafts usually bear fruit within three to fouryears.

In spite of the species' high value and wide-spread use, little is known about the geneticsof African populations. Earlystudies establishedthat it is a diploid specieswith 24 chromosomes.Preliminary results from provenance trials inBurkina Faso,Mali and Senegal indicate that thevariation in growth, biomass and fruitproduction among different seed sources issubstantial, but results have not yet beenpublished.

A molecular analysis of genetic diversityshowed that populations differ between Eastand WestAfrica. The population from Cameroonhad the greatest diversity among the 10

populations tested, which included populations

from Guadeloupe, India and Thailand, as wellas from Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar,Reunion, Senegal and Tanzania. Relativelyhigh genetic diversity was reported across therange of the species, indicating that there isno immediate cause for concern about geneticerosion as long as conditions allow regenerationof seedlings.

r Local practices •Farmers select trees based on fruit taste andother important traits. Management of treesdiffers between those from which fruit is to beharvested for domestic consumption and thosefrom which fruit is to be sold. For example, inthe region of Ishiara, eastern Kenya,a particulartree with exceptionally sweet fruits wascommunally owned, such that all members ofthe community could harvest fruit for domestic

use but not for sale, while other trees, whichwere less sweet, were allocated to differenthouseholds, which were allowed to sell the fruit.

The main threats to tamarind include charcoalproduction, exploitation fortimber, expansion ofagricultural activities and overgrazing. Urbanization,climate change (drought) and exploitation formedicinal use pose less immediate threats.

Conservation status - - ~

Tamarind is considered endangered in the LakeVictoria region but is locally common in otherareas. It is unknown whether tamarind occursin protected areas such as parks or forestreserves.

Seed is orthodox so exsitu conservation in seedbanks is feasible, though no seed banks have yetbeen established. Provenance trials are a form ofex situ conservation if they are maintained

properly. Forty-four provenances have been plant-ed in four provenance trials by INERA, BurkinaFaso, but each with only one test site. Clonalgenebanks have been established at tree seedcentres in Burkina Faso (CNSF) and Senegal(PRONASEF)with populations from Burkina Faso,Kenya, Mali, Niger and Senegal.

Trees are generally protected from cutting onfarmers' land but the shade they provide is toodense to allow crops to grow beneath the trees.Tamarind suppresses the growth of other speciesnearby and is thus not as suitable for use in agro-forestry systems as other forest fruit trees. In manyareas little regeneration is observed, which maybe cause for concern.

Managementand improvement I

Selection and domesticationTamarind is not planted in the Sahel regionbut it has high potential for domestication.Plus trees were selected by the World Agro-forestry Centre in collaboration with farmers

tindus indica L. Tamarind Tamarindus indica L. Tamarind Tamarindu<

in 2004-2005 in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali,Niger and Senegal and were cloned for use intree improvement programmes. The selectioncriteriawerevigour, earlyfruit set, fruit sweetness,resistance to pests and disease, long straightpods, large round canopy, high number ofseeds and of pods, and ease of removal offibre and shell from the fruit pulp.

In Asia, tamarind has a long history ofcultivation and intensive management ispractised in some areas. For example, theyoung trees are pruned so that 3-5 branchesform the main structure.

Propagation from seedSeed must be pretreated to achieve good levelsof germination (So%). Pretreatment consists ofpouring hot water (SODC)over the seed and thenleavingthe seedto soakin the coolingwater for 24hours.Alternatively,the seedcoatcanbe nickedtofacilitategermination. Pretreatedseedsshould besown in germination beds or directly into pottingtubes. Germinationtakesplacewithin aweekaftersowing. The seed should be covered by 1.5 cmloose, sandy loam or by a mixture of loam andsand. Seedlings should be at least So cm tallbefore they are transplanted into the field atthe onset of the rains.

In a pure-stand plantation, tree size can becontrolled by close spacing (about 500 trees/ha)and pruning to promote fruit production. TheWorldAgroforestryCentrerecommendsaspacingof 13 x 13 m when establish ing the plantationfrom seed. Spacing may be reduced if usingvegetatively propagated plants, which do notgrow as large as trees established from seed.

Vegetative propagationTamarind can be vegetatively propagated

easily and reliably using grafting and buddingtechniques. Grafted trees bear fruit within threeor four years, compared with at leastsevenyearsfor trees from seed, so are more appealing tofarmers than seedlings.

Guidelines forconservation and use I

Effective conservation of tamarind will requireaction in four main areas: in situ conservation,ex situ conservation, education and research.In order to ensure that wild populations ofvulnerable species are maintained, protectedhabitats that will allow natural processes tocontinue undisturbed should be designatedand monitored.

Ex-situ conservation involves establishmentof plantations, maintenance of living collectionsin farm fields, home gardens, botanical gardensand arboreta located outside the zone of theirnatural occurrence.

Research needsL-

- Determine conservation status of existingpopulations and threats to their continuedexistence

- Determine the number of viable populationsin protected natural areas such as nationalparks

- Determine effective population sizes insemi-natural farmland populations andminimum viable populations for conserva-tion and long-term sustainable use

- Determine genetic variation in droughttolerance and location of important sourcesof variation

- Determine genetic variation in tree growthand fruit production by establishingadditional provenance and progeny trials

- Identify pollinator species, investigateeffective pollen flow and determine threatsto pollinator species

- Investigate effectiveness of seed dispersaland degree of dependence on fauna that arerare or threatened

- Develop seed handling methods to enhancepotential for ex situ conservation. _

This leaflet was produced bymembers of the SAFORGENFoodTreeSpecies Working Group. Theobjective of the working group is toencourage collaboration amongexperts and researchers in order topromote sustainable use andconservation of the valuable foodtree species of sub-Saharan Africa.

Coordination committee:DoloresAglindez(INIA,Spain)OscarEyog-Matig(BioversityInternationaONieyidoubaLamien(INERA,BurkinaFaso)LolonaRamamonjisoa(SNGF,Madagascar)

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