White Jamun

Ever seen a white jamun?

Even I hadn't seen till yesterday. Grown in a friend's farm 30 kms north of Secunderabad, it resembles the normal black jamun in shape, size and taste. White jamun is slightly sweeter and its tree is shorter in height. The leaves are a bit broader. Its scientific name is Syzygium cumini. Black jamun is also called Indian Blackberry. 

It grows in SE Asia but not as common as the black jamun. Like the black jamun, it is good for diabetic patients. White jamun has a higher amount of pectin, which is good for lowering the cholesterol. Few readers after seeing the initial pictures commented it as 'eggs hanging from a tree'! But the white jamun is much smaller than an egg.

The farm had only ten trees of white jamun, The farm is basically a mango orchard with close to 4000 mango trees spread over 8 acres. See the pictures and a short video clip below which also shows the rain water harvesting. In one season, the water table has risen considerably.

It is always a treat to visit a farm. It was a pleasure planting two saplings before leaving. Thanks Devendar Ahuja for this privilege.

Some of our previous stories on mangoes, guavas, trees and plants are listed below. Just click to browse.

Guava- A Powerhouse of Nutrients

Dussehri- The Thrill of the First Harvest - from the first two mangoes five years ago, the tree gave more than 200 mangoes this year!

Plants and Leadership

Learning Patience from Nature

Hope you enjoyed the story of White Jamun.

We end with a quote by Claude Monet, the famous painter, who loved Nature. We have superimposed his line "My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in the corner of Nature" on one of our pictures taken at the farm.

Stay connected for more stories on Nature, Wildlife and Learning.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with inputs from DK Ahuja/ Secunderabad/ 21st May 2023

#WhiteJamun #Diabetes #Trees #Syzygiumcumini #IndianBlackberry #Farming #Mangoes #Nutrition #Naturalprotein #guavas #plants #nature #lessons #picturesquequotes #PQ #claudemonet #jamun #blackjamun

CDs On A Mango Tree

What are the CDs doing on a mango tree?

Some weird decoration by tech-gardeners?

Or, some IT nerds gone crazy?

Actually, none of that!

The CDs have been hung on the mango trees to keep the langur away from attacking the mango crop! Simple.

Yes, the idea seems to work. First time Ghumakkad saw it in Uttarakhand while driving to Munsiyari. The house owner was finding it difficult to save the fruits from the marauding monkeys on a forested hillside. The shining CDs did the trick! That was in May-2019. Now four years down the line, it worked again in Secunderabad. Different monkeys, different fruit trees, different climate, yet the concept works! See the pictures and a short video clip below.

Here is a short video clip shot on our terrace showing the CDs protecting the fruits on both the mango and guava trees.

Of course, while driving on highways in India, CDs have a different connotation as seen from the picture below. The picture quizzed the readers in the 18th edition of online contest Kaun Banega Ghumakkad KBG-18 . CDs in road side dhabas ढाबा  (roadside eatery) could contain unwanted stuff. But no, don't be so naughty! See the remarks in the picture below.

More than 100 correct responses were received for KBG-18 Contest. You may browse the story linked below.

CD is Cold Drink - The highway eateries terminology!

So, if you have a home garden and the monkeys are a menace, try hanging some CDs from the branches of the tree. It should be free hanging so that it rotates with wind. It startles the monkeys and keeps them away. 

Requesting our zoologist-readers to educate us how it works? Hope it does not cause any other harm to the marauding monkeys.

More stories from Ghumakkad on the world around us!

Thanks for browsing

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 5th April 2023/ Secunderabad

Postscript: Readers from different parts of the world shared their experiences on above story. Excerpts:

5th April: Sujata Das from Canada writes: "We have been doing this CD track for years to protect our cherries, plums, and peaches from long-beak birds. And it works for birds."

5th April: J Ramamoorty from Hyderabad writes:  "In New Delhi's South Block,  two wheeler owners keep bricks on the two seats for the same reason i.e. to protect the seats being torn by the monkeys!"

5th April: Pramod Lakhotia from Germany writes: "In Germany we have no monkeys free jumping around. Hence no problem. But birds do make our Cherries a problem and we are using CDs on the trees effectively."

30th April: It has been close to four weeks since we hung the CDs on our fruit trees in home garden. Apart from the langurs, the CDs have kept the bats and the birds away so far.

#monkeymenace #maraudingmonkeys #langursinthegarden #homegardening #savingthemangoes #homeremedy #CDs #CDsonamnagotree #CDstostartlethelonkeys #ewaste #upcycling #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Thrill of the first harvest

India.
Scorching summer.
Mangoes.
Who doesn't love it?

Couple of years back we sowed few seeds guthli गुठली of dussheri mangoes in our yard. Two plants came up. One grew into a big tree while the other remained short. The smaller tree flowered earlier this year. We were delighted. The bigger tree had to be pruned last year due to an attack by weaver ants. As happens with all flowering, only few flowers survive as fruits. In our case, it started with two digit survivors and dwindled to just two mangoes. Every passing day was full of excitement as well as anxiety. Recent hail and thunderstorm posed additional threat. But the two mangoes held on stoically like the soldiers guarding their posts.

Finally, it was time to pluck them today for fear of attack by parakeets and other birds. Sharing the tiny 'crop' with you. If you are a garden enthusiast, you will appreciate the thrill!

Thanks for browsing.

   -Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Neeta Bhargava/ 14th May 2018

#Mangoes #Dussehri #Backyard #IndianSummer #AamKaMaza #KitchenGarden #GhumakkadHB #GhumakkadHarsh