Ziziphus en by Bioversity International

11 Conservation and Sustainable Use of Genetic Resources of Priority Food Tree Species in sub-Saharan Africa

Ziziphus mauritiana

Ber

Ber plantation for fruit production Common name Ber, Indian jujube, Indian plum, Indian cherry, Indian date (English) Jujubier (French)

■ Antoine KALINGANIRE Bréhima KONÉ World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), BP E5118 Bamako, Mali

Scientific name Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.

Synonyms Ziziphus jujuba (L.) Lam., Z. jujuba (L.) Gaertn. (including var. stenocarpa Kuntze), Z. tomentosa Poir ., Z. rotundata D.C., Z. aucheri Boiss., Z. insularis Smith, Z. sororia Roem. and Schult., Z. orthacantha DC.

Family Rhamnaceae

This leaflet highlights the nutritional and socio-economic potential of ber and provides information to assist those working with the species. The focus is on conserving genetic diversity and promoting sustainable use of ber. The leaflet presents a synthesis of current knowledge about the species. The recommendations provided should be regarded as a starting point, to be further developed according to local or regional conditions. These guidelines will be updated as new information becomes available.

Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana B Socio-cultural group

Vernacular name

Country

Tigrinya

Ethiopia

Kiswahili Boran Turkana Luo Pokot Chewa Yao

Kenya, Tanzania Kenya Kenya Kenya Kenya Malawi Malawi

Wolof

West Africa – Sahel

Fulbe

West Africa – Sahel

Serer

West Africa – Sahel

Jola-Fonyi Bambara Mandinka Hausa

West Africa – Sahel West Africa – Sahel West Africa – Sahel West Africa – Sahel

Hassanya

West Africa – Sahel

Mooré

West Africa – Sahel

Tamachek

West Africa – Sahel

Gourmanché

West Africa – Sahel

Karamajong Nyanja Tonga Bemba Shona, Tangu

Uganda Zambia Zambia Zambia Zimbabwe

Abateri, gaba-artgie, gewa-ortigi Mkunazi Kwkurrah Ekalati Olongo Tolumuro Masao Msondoka Sédeem, sideem, deem, dim Jaabé, jaabi, tabi, n’giobi Ngit, ngic, gic, ingnic, ngel Bu sédem, tôbôro Ntomono Tômônon Magaria Sider, sidar, neggaie, nabagaya Bagende, magunuga, mugulanga Ajzen Batenluongu, bu sakonhionabu, inakpayuani, nan janlwane Esilang Masau Musawce Akasongole Musawu, masua, yanja

Geographical distribution Ber is widely distributed throughout the warm subtropics and tropics of South Asia and Africa. It isfound in the arid to semi-arid zonesofallSahelian countries in West Africa, and of East and southern Africa (Sudan and Kenya to Mozambique and Angola).

Importance and use

Ber is preserved in farmers’ fields primarily because of its nourishing fruit. A survey in Burkina

Fruits from domesticated trees and from wild trees

Faso, Mali, Niger and Senegal revealed that this species is among the ten species most valued by farmers. However, the small size of the fruit of the local cultivar and its sensitivity to parasite attacks limit its cultivation. The main product from ber is the fruit pulp which is consumed fresh or dry and also made into a juice. In addition, leaves are used for fodder and the leaves, roots and bark are used for medicinalpurposes. The wood isused for handles, kitchen utensils, firewood and charcoal. Increasingly it is planted together with other tree and shrub species as live fences to protect Uses Food and drink Fodder Live fence, erosion control Fuel wood/charcoal Medicines Handles, kitchen utensils

Part of plant Fruit Leaves, branches, fruits Whole tree Trunk, branches Leaves, roots, bark, fruits, seeds Wood

er Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Ecology and biology

Ber is most abundant in savannah parklands in semi-arid lowlands with an annual rainfall up to 800 mm and maximum temperatures up to 45°C. It is a drought tolerant species but also cultivated in higher rainfallareas. Itgrowson a wide range of sites but prefers free-draining soils, though it tolerates short-term water logging. Outside its native area, ber can become a problem, forming dense thickets, hampering livestock production and reducing pasture production.

Fruits for sale in a local market

crops or vegetables from browsing by animals in the dry season. It is also appropriate for planting along contour lines for erosion control. In addition, ber is among the most popular species used in agroforestry systems for the protection and improvement of soils, especially in the Sahelian zone of Africa. Ber fruit development

Socio-economic value

Reproductive biology Ber is an important fruit in sub-Saharan Africa contributing to food security and household income. In Africa, ber trees are not grown on a commercial scale in most of the producing countries and fruits are collected from trees growing in home gardens and in the wild. In West Africa, trade of ber fruits is still limited to localmarketsand managed byruralcommunities. In SADC countries, this trade is well organized. In Zimbabwe, a studyhasshown thatproducersand traders of ber fruits have been able to capture better prices by cleaning and packaging the fruits in plastic bags. In countries such as Botswana, Malawi or Zimbabwe, there are companies specialized in trade of wild fruits and ber is among the best selling ones.

Ber flowers are both male and female. There is a high rate of abortion, especially for young trees. Ber is largely out-crossing. Some trees release pollen in the morning while others release it in the afternoon, thusfavouring cross-pollination. Under controlled pollination, fruit set is greater with cross-pollination than with self-pollination. Observations at Samanko, Mali, show that ber is mainly pollinated by insects, including bees, butterflies and beetles.

Phenology Ber sheds its leaves and becomes dormant during hot, dry periods. In the Sahel it sheds its leaves in March–April. The trees produce new leaves in June and July and fruits mature in December to January.

Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana B Related species Three Ziziphus species apart from ber are found widely in sub-Saharan Africa: ● Z. abyssinica in scattered tree grassland at 400–2200 m above sea level, from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to Zimbabwe and Mozambique. ● Z. mucronata in open woodland at 0–200 m above sea level, from Mauritania and Senegal to Somalia and south to South Africa and Madagascar. ● Z. spina-christi in semi-arid areas at 0–1300 m above sea level, from Mauritania and Senegal to Cameroon and in the Horn of Africa and North Africa.

Morphological traits and their variation Ber is highly variable in size and form, ranging from a spreading shrub to an erect small or medium-sized tree. Height varies from 3-16 m. Branches and twigs may or may not have spines and leaf size and shape also varies. The flowers have an acrid smell and form small clusters. The plum-like fruits are variously coloured and smooth-skinned, and from improved varieties, maybe 5 cm long by3 cm in diameter. The number of flowers varies significantly among trees and is highly correlated with fruit set and ripe fruit number, thus indicating that the number of flowers can be used as a reliable criterion for indirect selection of superior genotypes of ber.

Genetic knowledge

There are very few published studies of ber genetic variation in Africa. Provenance/progeny trials have been established mainlybythe World Agroforestry Centre, in collaboration with the FAO and other partners in Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal during the last decade. Although the provenances trials include low numbers of provenances and

mostwere planted onlyin one location, preliminary results indicate high genetic variation in growth and morphological characteristics. Early results from provenance trials in Mali and Senegal indicated significant differences in growth and biomass production among provenances. Fruit production is just beginning in these trials, but early results suggest that provenances vary. Similar results have been found in India.

Local practices Traditionally, local rural communities do not distinguish variations within the species. It is believed that the trees, mainly once managed in live fences, can habour snakes and rats. Rural farmers rank it as one of the most preferred fruit tree species and the local populations are managed in the wild. However, farmers are more interested in Indian and Thai varieties that produce larger and tastier fruits than African varieties. These are mostly managed in fruit orchards.

Threats Ber is not considered to be threatened. However, deforestation, climate change, bush fires and changes in land use practices are reducing the frequency of the species across the Sahel.

Conservation status In addition to the collection of local sources, mentioned in the previous section, the World Agroforestry Centre has varieties from India and Thailand, and has established a genebank in Samanko, Mali, which now contains over 60 clonal accessions, including more than 40 Sahelian selections. Such materialsare conserved ex situ as mother plants for vegetative cuttings, and for on-going and future breeding programmes. These are active collections that support the national and regional ber improvement schemes, rather than static collections for a long-term conservation in gene banks.

er Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Exsitu emphasis has been on live genebanking but ber can also be conserved as seed. The seeds are orthodoxand should be stored atlow moisture content (7-10%) in air-tight containers. At room temperature the seed can be expected to store for at least one year. In cold storage at 5ºC, the seed will retain high viability for several years. Seed is stored temporarily for use in planting and improvement programmes at several Tree Seed Centres in Africa including Burkina Faso, Mali, Malawi, Niger, Senegal, Tanzania, and Togo. It is not known whether ber occurs in any conservation areas that receive effective protection.

Management and improvement Although the potential of ber is evident in the Sahel, farmers face a number of constraints to cultivation, including the limited productivity of localaccessions, limited water availability, infertile soils, threats from pests and diseases, lack of improved germplasm and/or lackof access to the improved germplasm, limited knowledge regarding fruit tree management, and natural resources policies that often prevent farmers from managing trees on their farms. In the West African Sahel, local ber accessions commonly produce about 5-8 kg of fruit per tree at three years of age, without irrigation or fertilizer, compared with 20-50 kg per tree for improved varietiesfrom India and elsewhere. With irrigation and improved management fruit yields of 80-200 kg per tree are achievable. However, the introduced varieties often have pest and disease problems; for example, Indian varieties of ber are attacked by fruit borers, fruit flies and leaf and fruit eaters. The variegated grasshopper (Zonocerus variegatus L.) is one of the major pests, and limits cultivation of most improved varieties in sub-Saharan Africa. The fresh fruit of improved varieties also deteriorates very rapidly after harvest, making transport to the markets difficult. As a result, farmers continue

to grow local varieties even though they have lower production potential.

Selection and domestication Improved cultivars are being produced in China, India and Thailand. The World Agroforestry Centre is also running a selection programme using accessions from Africa, India and Thailand. The aim is to develop improved accessions which combine the heavy fruiting virtues of the Asian varieties with the pest-tolerance and local adaptation of local accessions. In Burkina Faso, introduced cultivars have performed better under irrigation and application of rock phosphate than the localcultivar. Resultsofthe World Agroforestry Centre’s crossing trials between introduced and local cultivars show evidence of significant divergence between the Asian and African populations. Some of the crosses had very low fruit set probably because of a degree of incompatibility between various accessions from India or Thailand crossed with the Sahelian local sources. A programme for the improvement and domestication ofber hasbeen initiated in Senegal to optimize the use of the ber in the agroforestry systems of West Africa’s arid zone. This programme focuses on introducing and adapting improved varieties of Indian origin to the Sahelian zone. These varieties derive from a genetic improvement programme established in India over a century ago. However, when applied in Senegal, the vegetative propagation methods developed in India, including stem cutting and grafting, resulted in low success rates, unsuitable for large-scale use. Consequently, in vitro culture was tested as a means of mass propagation for this species. This was justified by the success of micropropagation in species which do not react well to traditional horticultural propagation techniques. The outcome of this research is the achievement of successful establishment of over 80% of the micrografts. In another improvementprogramme more than 150 ‘plustrees’ have been selected byfarmersand

Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana B

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Carry out population improvement by grafting scionsfrom the besttreesin progeny teststo establish orchards(differenttreeswill likely be best in different areas), and use controlled pollination to produce progeny for the next round of progeny testing. The orchards will serve as sources of cuttings for mass propagation as rooted cuttings and for breeding for continued improvement.

Propagation from seed Ber is usually propagated from seed. Natural regeneration is very abundant, but ber seedlings can also be raised in tree nurseries. The seed coat ishard and should be cracked or partiallyremoved before planting. The seed is then sown without any further treatment. Seed should be planted in a good growing medium (made of equal parts of sand, silt or clay and organic manure) either in seedbed at a spacing of 30 x 30 cm or in pots or polythene bags. Seedlings should be transplanted to the field during the rainyseason to aid establishment. On well-prepared soils, seed can also be sown directly into the ground, preferably during the rainy season. After the seedlings have developed a strong taproot, i.e. 7–12 months after sowing, they can be thinned to a required number oftrees, at a correct spacing.

Vegetative propagation Several methods of vegetative propagation are available, including cuttings, grafting and air

researchersin partsofBurkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal since 2004 and have been established in genebanks and regeneration plots. Plus trees were selected based on the following criteria: tree vigour, early and high fruit set, sweet fruits, resistance to pests and disease, small seeds, large and round fruits, relatively long shelf life, fewer thorns, large canopy with many branches for greater fruit production. More collections are planned in the future by the World Agroforestry Centre and its partners to ensure that the breeding population has a broad genetic base. The selection of plus trees and their clonal development may be faster and have a greater impact than conventional breeding. However, it is very important to ensure that genetic diversity is not severely reduced in the process. This is particularly important for on-farm breeding populations, because farmers tend to select very few trees/clones to establish orchards. The following isa breeding strategysuitable for ber in the Sahel allowing a broad genetic base: ● Establish and analyze provenance/progeny trials that include provenances and progeny from candidate plus trees. The trials should include seedlings from promising trees throughout the range of the species and be replicated in the range of environments where ber would be grown in the Sahel. Replications should be established not only on experimental stations, but also on farms and the programme should involve the participation of farmers in the evaluation of the variation. ● Select the most promising trees from the progeny trials. Selection criteria include fruit-quality characteristics as determined by market demand and rural preferences; yield and phenology of production (i.e. extend production period); water-use efficiency and drought tolerance; resistance to pests and diseases, and other criteria considered important by rural communities.

Controlled pollination

er Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Ziziphus mauritiana

Grafting ber

layering (marcotting). Top grafting is the most popular technique for propagating this species in the Sahel because it is quick, easy and effective (success rate up to 95%). In the Sahel, T (shield) budding during the active growth period from June to September is 85% successful. Buds should be inserted as close as possible to the ground to minimise the area for emergence of sprouts from the rootstock.

Guidelines for conservation and use Ber is not threatened in the Sahel. Natural populations are plentiful and smallholder farmers preserve the species on-farm. Therefore, the best means of preserving the species is in situ, including on farm and in the forests in the natural ecosystems in which it occurs.

Management Planted treesneed carefultending for bestresults. Plants should be established in holes of 40 x 40 x 40 cm filled with top soil and about 1.5 kg of farm manure. Holes should be prepared one month before planting. Tree spacing varies from 5 x 5 m (i.e. 400 stems per hectare) up to more than 10 x 10 m (i.e. about100 stemsper hectare) depending on climatic conditions and tree characteristics. Young trees should be watered at least once a week during the first year with 20–30 litres of water per tree. This can be gradually decreased as the trees become well established. In the Sahel, farmers are encouraged to apply organic manure and rock phosphate fertilizers to boost production. Ber trees can be pruned to a height of 1.2–1.5 m to facilitate management and harvesting. Thiscan be done bycutting (pollarding) the main stem above the first 2–5 secondary branches to allow the development of lateral branches that will bear the fruits. In the Sahel, pruning is done during the dry season. Cropscan be grown under young ber treesuntil the trees occupy entirely the space provided.

Research needs — Conduct molecular analyses to determine the likely origin of the species and identify centres of diversity to guide conservation activities — Determine the number ofviable populations in protected natural areas such as national parks — Identify seed handling methods to enhance potential for ex situ conservation — Determine genetic variation in drought tolerance, tree growth and fruit production, and location of important sources of variation — Identify pollinator species, investigate effective pollen flow and determine threats to pollinator species — Investigate effectivenessofseed dispersaland degree ofdependence on fauna thatare rare or threatened — Determine effective population sizes in seminatural farmland populations and minimum viable populations for conservation and longterm sustainable use. ■

Ziziphus mauritiana Ber Bibliography This leaflet was produced by members of the SAFORGEN Food Tree Species Working Group. The objective of the working group is to encourage collaboration among experts and researchers in order to promote sustainable use and conservation of the valuable food tree species of sub-Saharan Africa. Coordination committee: Dolores Agúndez (INIA, Spain) Oscar Eyog-Matig (Bioversity International) Niéyidouba Lamien (INERA, Burkina Faso) Lolona Ramamonjisoa (SNGF, Madagascar) Citation: Kalinganire A and Koné B. 2011. Ziziphus mauritiana, ber. Conservation and Sustainable Use of Genetic Resources of Priority Food Tree Species in sub-Saharan Africa. Bioversity International (Rome, Italy).

Azam-Ali S, Bonkoungou E, Bowe C, deKockC, Godara A and Williams JT. 2006. Ber and other jujubes. Fruits for the Future 2 (revised edition). International Centre for Underutilized Crops, Southampton, UK. 302 pp. Available at: http://www.icuc-iwmi.org/files/Publications/Ber_monograph.pdf. Accessed 21 February 2010. Chevalier A. 1952. Les jujubiers du Sahara. Botanique Appliquée 32:574–577. Dao M, Diallo BO, Tamini Z, Bastide B and Guinko S. 2006. Evolution de la morphologie florale chez Ziziphusmauritiana Lam. (Ramnanceae): mouvements des pieces florales et des étamines. Cameroon Journal of Experimental Biology 2(2):70–76. Diagne A. 2006. Ziziphusmauritiana: Hybridation contrôlée entre jujubierslocauxetvariété Gola de jujubier. Mémoire présenté pour l’obtention du Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies de Biologie Végétale. Université Cheik Anta Diop, Dakar, Sénégal. Diallo I. 2002. Etude de la biologie de la reproduction et de la variabilité génétique chez le jujubier (Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.). Thèse de doctorat de troisième cycle. Université Cheik Anta Diop, Dakar, Sénégal. Kalinganire A, Uwamariya A, Koné B and Larwanou M. 2007. Installation de banques fruitières au Sahel. Note Technique no. 4. ICRAF–WCA/Sahel, Bamako, Mali. Kalinganire A, Weber CJ and Coulibaly S. 2009. Improved Ziziphus mauritiana germplasm for the Sahelian smallholder farmer. Paper presented at the regional workshop on the ‘Potential Role of Wild Fruit Tree and other Food Tree Species for Nutrition, Poverty Alleviation and Biodiversity Conservation in sub-Saharan Africa’, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 23–26 February 2009. Kalinganire A, Weber JC, Uwamariya A and Koné B. 2008. Improving rural livelihoods through domestication of indigenous fruit trees in parklands of the Sahel. In: Akinnifesi FK, LeakeyRBB, Oluyede C, Ajayi OC, Sileshi G, Tchoundjeu Z, Matakala P and Kwesiga FR, editors. Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics: Domestication, Utilization and Commercialization. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, Oxon, UK. pp. 186–203. Koné B, Kalinganire A and Doumbia M. 2009. La culture du jujubier: un manuel pour l’horticulteur sahélien. ManuelTechnique no. 10. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi, Kenya. Ouédraogo SJ, Bayala J, Dembélé C, Kaboré A, Kaya B, Niang A and Somé AN. 2006. Establishing jujube trees in sub-Saharan Africa: response of introduced and local cultivarsto rockphosphate and water supplyin Burkina Faso. AgroforestrySystems 68:69–80. Tembo L, Chiteka ZA, Kadzere I, Akinnifesi FKand Tagwira F. 2008. Storage temperature affects fruit quality attributes of Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) in Zimbabwe. African Journal of Biotechnology 7:3092–3099.

ISBN: 978-84-694-3166-5