serrata Roxb.

Fam :

Ayurvedic name Shallaki Unani name Kundur Hindi name Salai English name Indian Frankincense, Indian Olibanum Trade name Salai gugal Parts used Gum - oleoresin of Boswellia serrata

Morphological Characteristics upto West Bengal and peninsular . The plant is medium to large-sized tree Climate and Soil deciduous and balsamiferous, upto 18 m in It prefers dry, hot exposures of rocky hills, height and 2.4 m in girth. Bark is greenish with 50-125 cm rainfall. Usually Plant is grey, yellow or reddish, fairly thick, gregarious, comparatively in open forests. smooth, exfoliating in thin, papery flakes In central and peninsular India. It occupies and resinous inside. Leaves are long up to the hotter slopes and ridges. In its natural 30-45 cm, opposite, sessile, variable in habitat, the absolute maximum shade shape. The leaflets are 2.5-6.3 cm X 1.3- temperature varies from 38-490C and the 3.0 cm ovate-lanceolate. absolute minimum from 1 to 70C and the Floral Characteristics normal rainfall ranges from 50-125 cm. Plant produces root-suckers, coppices and Flower is small, white, in auxiliary pollards. It can be grown in red, lateritic to racemes or panicles. Petals are long and rocky soils of dry deciduous forests and on ovate. Fruit is trigonous, 12 mm long dry sand stone ridges. It is also grown on drupe, splitting along 3 valves. drier ridges of metamorphic rocks and Distribution easily planted in shelter-belts, windbreaks and hedges too. Tree is common at the foot of the Western Himalayas, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Planting Material Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, It is propagated by seeds as well as cutting. Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and also found in Seeds are germinated immediately after dry forests from all over North-West India collection. The rate of germination was

4 Agro-techniques of Selected Medicinal : Volume - III found to be 25-30%. About two months old Ÿ Intercropping System: seedlings of 15-20 cm height is ready for During initial 5-6 years, crops like planting in the field. A cutting of 1.0-2.0 ginger, turmeric, aloe, pine apple etc. cm thickness recorded 26% success but has can be grown as catch crops in poor survival in the field. between the trees. 2 Agro-technique Ÿ Irrigation Practices: Nursery Technique Crop requires irrigation at 15 days interval during dry season beginning Ÿ Raising Propagules and from December to June. Transplanting: Ÿ Weed Control: Seeds obtained during May-June from selected plus trees. Seeds are sown Hoeing and weeding is done during during July-August and about two first few years of growth. months old seedlings are planted in the Ÿ Disease and Pest Control: field at a spacing of 5m x 5m. Thus, about 400 plants per hectare are No disease or pests or any other required for raising plantation. physiological disorder was observed in its cultivation. However, it would be Planting in the Field advisable to dust pesticide against Ÿ Land Preparation and Manure white-ants. Harvest Management

Application: Ÿ Crop Maturity and Harvesting: Cross ploughing is done early in April Its flower occurs during January-April followed by furrowing till a good tilth and seeds mature in May-June. of soil is obtained and field is made Experimental cultivation recorded free of weeds. Well decomposed Farm growth of 2.75 m in height in 3 years. It Yard Manure (FYM) is added @ 20 may require 8-10 years to get the bark t/ha during land preparation. It should and yield gum. be spread well and thoroughly mixed Ÿ Post-harvest Management: the soil. Tapping for the oleoresin is done after

2Agro-technique study carried out by RRL, Bhubaneswar 5 Agro-techniques of Selected Medicinal Plants: Volume - III plants reach a sizeable girth which is attained after 8 to10 years. Therapeutic Uses Ÿ Chemical Constituents: It has astringent & antiseptic properties Boswellia oil is very similar to and is useful in diarrhea, dysentery, piles, turpentine oil. The hydrolysis of the ulcers, tumor, skin diseases, and in pure gum of Boswellia serrata yields genitourinary affections. The oleo-gum- mainly pentose (65% as arabinose) resin contains α, β and γ boswellic acid and small quantities of Galactose and having antitumor, analgesic and sedative Xylose. The gum also contains properties. It contains marked anti- oxidizing and diastatic enzymes, and inflammatory and anti-arthritic activity. It 3.03% of total nitrogen.

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