Lard fruit(Hodgsonia macrocarpa) is found in NE India. It has large seeds. It can be a promising commercial oil plant due to its exceptionally high oil content in its big seeds.
It is a perennial climber reaching a size of up to 30m and showing a life span of over 70 years.
The plant is dioecious, and distinguishing sexes is so far not possible until it starts to flower at the age of 1-3 years . Flowering and fruit setting is strongly dependent on season and temperature, respectively. Low temperatures seriously hamper fruit setting probably due to low activities of pollinating moths.
Flowers open only during one night. Natural pollination efficiency seems very low, meaning that only few flowers are pollinated and most flowers are aborted. Artificial pollination increases fruit setting significantly. Economically, the outstanding feature of Lard fruit is the nutritional value of its seeds. They show a very high seed-oil content between 72% and 77% ,high degrees of unsaturated fatty acids, as well as proteins. They are also reported to have a very pleasant taste.
Propagation with ‘seeds’ (actually pyrenes containing 1-3 seeds) does not encounter problems .But due to the dioecious habit it may take until first flower setting - after 1-3 years - to discover if a plant is male or female and thus if it produces fruits or not. Thisis unwanted in a plantation scheme. The vines may be propagated by air layering. Plants can start flowering and fruiting after oneyear. Fruit setting, and thus harvest, is not continuous but depends on weather conditions during the flowering period. One plant can provide about 2,5 liters of oil per year.
The oil might be an interesting product fitting in the modern market environment, e.g. as cooking oil or for cosmetics. The seeds also seem to have promising properties, e.g. as snack.
Pharmadig
It is a perennial climber reaching a size of up to 30m and showing a life span of over 70 years.
The plant is dioecious, and distinguishing sexes is so far not possible until it starts to flower at the age of 1-3 years . Flowering and fruit setting is strongly dependent on season and temperature, respectively. Low temperatures seriously hamper fruit setting probably due to low activities of pollinating moths.
Flowers open only during one night. Natural pollination efficiency seems very low, meaning that only few flowers are pollinated and most flowers are aborted. Artificial pollination increases fruit setting significantly. Economically, the outstanding feature of Lard fruit is the nutritional value of its seeds. They show a very high seed-oil content between 72% and 77% ,high degrees of unsaturated fatty acids, as well as proteins. They are also reported to have a very pleasant taste.
Propagation with ‘seeds’ (actually pyrenes containing 1-3 seeds) does not encounter problems .But due to the dioecious habit it may take until first flower setting - after 1-3 years - to discover if a plant is male or female and thus if it produces fruits or not. Thisis unwanted in a plantation scheme. The vines may be propagated by air layering. Plants can start flowering and fruiting after oneyear. Fruit setting, and thus harvest, is not continuous but depends on weather conditions during the flowering period. One plant can provide about 2,5 liters of oil per year.
The oil might be an interesting product fitting in the modern market environment, e.g. as cooking oil or for cosmetics. The seeds also seem to have promising properties, e.g. as snack.
Pharmadig