Jamun is known as the indigenous crop of India. Its fruits are used for eating and seeds are used to prepare various drugs. Drugs prepared from Jamun plant is used to cure diabetes and increased blood sugar level. It is an evergreen tree with average height of 30m having brown or grey bark. Leaves are smooth which are 10-15cm long and 4-6m wide. Flowers are yellow in color which is 5mm in diameter and having green fruits which turns crimson red at maturity.  Fruits bear seeds which are 1-1.5cm long. Afghanistan, Myanmar, Philippines, Pakistan, Indonesia and India are the countries where Jamun plant can grow. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Assam and Rajasthan are major Jamun growing states in India.

It is grown in variety of soils because of its hardy nature. They can grow in sodic soil, poor soil, saline soil, calcareous soil and can be grown in marshy soils. They can even survive in poorly drained soil. It gives best result when grown in fertile, deep loamy soil with good drainage system. Avoid cultivation in heavy soil and sandy soil. 

Ra-Jamun: The variety contains large and juicy fruits which are purple in color and have small seeds.

Badama: The variety contains large and extremely juicy fruits.

Kaatha: The variety contains small and acidic fruits.

Jathi: The fruits of this variety mainly ripen in month of May-June.

Ashada: The fruits of this variety mainly ripen in month of June-July.

Bhado: The fruits of this variety mainly ripen in month of August.

The varieties given below are developed by KVKs, ICAR and state agricultural universities.

Narendra Jamun 6: Developed by Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology, Faizabad, U.P.

Rajendra Jamun 1: Developed by Bihar Agricultural College of Bhagalpur, Bihar.

KonkanBahadoli: Developed by Regional Fruit Research Station of Vengurla, Maharashtra.

GomaPriyanka: Developed by Central Horticultural Experiment Station (CHES) of Godhra, Gujarat.

CISH J-42: The variety bears seedless fruits. It is developed by Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) of Lucknow, U.P.

CISH J-37: Developed by Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) of Lucknow, U.P.
 

For Jamun plantation, it requires well prepared land. To bring soil to good level, plough land once. Then pits are dug and filled with Farm Yard Manure in the ratio of 3:1. Transplantation of seedlings is done on raised beds.

Time of sowing:
It is planted in both spring and monsoon season. In spring season it is planted in the month of February-March and in monsoon season it is planted in the month of July-August.

Spacing:
For seedling trees, spacing of 10m on both ways is recommended and for budded seedlings, spacing of 8m on both ways is recommended.

Sowing depth:
The sowing depth should be 4-5cm.

Method of sowing:
Direct sowing is done by seeds.

Seed rate:
One seed per pit is used.

Seed treatment:
To protect crop from soil borne disease and pest, before sowing do seed treatment with Bavistin. After chemical treatment seeds are air dried and used for sowing.

Sow Jamun seeds on raised beds having convenient length and are 4-5cm deep. After sowing beds are covered with thin cloth to retain moisture. To protect crop from virus attack, the seeds are first treated with Bavistin. Germination starts within 10-15 days from sowing.

Pits are dug before monsoon or spring season. Pits are dug with convenient measurements i.e. 1m x 1m x 1m. On these prepared pits transplanting is done. 

Transplanting is mainly done in next monsoon when the seedlings have 3-4 leaves. Water seedling beds 24hours before transplanting so that seedlings can be easily uprooted and be turgid at transplanting time.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/plant/year)

Nutrient Requirement (gm/plant/year)

Apply well rotten Farmyard manure or compost @20-25kg/plant/year in pre bearing period. The FYM dose should be increased when plants get mature i.e. 50-60kg/plant/year is given. Apply fertilizer dose of Nitrogen @500g/plant/year, potassium @600g/plant/year and @300g/plant/year is given to grown up trees.
 

Regular irrigation at regular interval of time is necessary for this plant. Light irrigation is necessary immediately after manuring. For young plant it requires 6-8 irrigations and for mature plant it requires 5-6 irrigations. Along with regular irrigations, once irrigation is required in the month of September – October for good bud growth and one is required in the month of May – June for good fruit growth. If drought occurs for long time then life-saving irrigation is given.

Do frequent hand weeding from the base of plant to keep the field weed free. If weeds left uncontrolled then it will affect the crop growth. Mulching is also an effective way to reduce soil temperature along with weed control.
 

• Pest and their control:
  

Leaf eating caterpillar: The caterpillar will affect the crop by eating the fresh growing leaves and stem.

Application of Dimethoate 30 EC @0.05% or Malathion @0.1% is done to get rid of this pest.
 

Bark eating caterpillar: The caterpillar will affect the crop by eating bark of tissue.

Foliar spraying of Dimethoate @0.05% is done to get rid of this pest.

Jamun leaf caterpillar:The leaf roller will affect the crop by rolling the leaves.

To get rid of caterpillar pest spraying of Dimethoate 30EC @1.2ml/ltr should be done.
 

Jamun leaf roller: The leaf roller will affect the crop by rolling the leaves.
 
Treatment with Chlorpyriphos 20 EC @2ml/ltr or Endosulfan 35 EC @2ml/ltr is done to cure from leaf roller pest.
 

Leaf webber: The leaf webber with affect the crop by eating leaves and buds.

Treatment with Chlorpyriphos 20 EC @2ml/ltr or Endosulfan 35 EC @2ml/ltr is done to get rid of leaf webber.
 

• Disease and their control:
  

Anthracnose: It causes leaf spots, defoliation and dieback disease in the crop.

Application of Mancozeb @0.2% or Bordeaux mixture @1% is done to cure from anthracnose pest.

 

Flower and fruit drop: In this the flower and fruits gets drop early without maturing. This will result in low yield.

Spraying of gibberellic acid is done two times, one when full bloom occurs and next after 15 days of interval when fruit set.

Harvesting is mainly done daily after the fruit matures. Harvesting is mainly done by the climb pickers. The fruit which is blackish purple in color is chosen for harvesting. While harvesting care should be taken to avoid any injury to fruit. For processing and seed extraction purpose, fully ripen fruits with soft flesh are used.

After harvesting, grading is done. Then fruits are packed in Bamboo baskets or crates or wooden boxes. To increase self-life of Jamun they are kept at low temperature. Perfect packing and quick transport is done for less spoilage of fruits. From fruits various products like vinegar, capsules, seed powder, jams, jellies and squashes are made after processing.