Tamarind

Tamarindus indica

© P. Maundu and B. Tengnäs, World Agroforestry Centre

Uses: 

Firewood, charcoal, timber (furniture, boats, general purposes), poles, food (fruit pulp for drink, fruit, spice), medicine (bark, leaves, roots, fruit), fodder (leaves, fruit), shade, ornamental, mulch, nitrogen fixation, windbreak, tannin (bark), dye and veterinary medicine.

Propagation: 

Seedlings, wildings, direct sowing at site, grafting and budding for best varieties. 

The tamarind becomes a fairly large tree, so keep this in mind when planting the tree. It should be planted in full sun. It is highly wind-resistant with strong, supple branches. 

Tamarind may be propagated from seeds, and vegetatively by marcotting (air layering), grafting and budding. Rootsstocks are propagated from seed, which germinate within a week. Seeds retain their viability for several months if kept dry. Plant seeds 1 to 1.5cm deep in containers. Seeds should be selected from viable trees with good production and quality. Germination is best when seeds are covered by 1.5 cm loose, sandy loam or by a mixture of loam and sand.

Seedlings should attain at least 80 cm before being transplanted to their final location at the beginning of the rainy season. Seedlings should begin to produce fruit in 6 to 8 years. 

Outstanding mother trees are vegetatively propagated; shield and patch budding and cleft grafting are fast and reliable methods, currently used in large-scale propagation in the Philippines. Trees can also be started from branch cuttings, and superior clones can also be grafted onto seed-propagated rootstock. Vegetatively propagated trees come into bearing within 3 to 4 years. They produce more fruits as well as more-uniform fruits than seed propagation. Trees also seem to remain smaller - making them easier to harvest and handle (ICRAF, CRFG; Lost Crops of Africa). Young trees should be planted in holes larger than necessary to accommodate the root system. They should be planted slightly higher than ground level to allow for subsequent settling of the soil and a water basin should be built around each tree to assure adequate moisture for young trees. (Morton 1987) 

Products:

• Food; it has many edible products - flour from seeds may be made into cake and bread, roasted seeds can be matched to groundnuts, fruit is eaten ripe and tamarind juice is just super. The pulp can also be used for souring porridge, drink, seasoning and flavoring.
• Fuel; is a source of firewood and charcoal for cooking.
• Timber; furniture, poles, posts, utensils (pestles and mortars, carts), boat building,
• Medicine; leaves, twigs, bark and roots are used for medicinal purposes.
• Fodder; feed for livestock.
• Bee forage;
• Tannin
• Dye
• Veterinary medicine

Services:

• Shade or shelter: The extended crown of the tamarind offers shade so that it is used as a place for holding barazas. Due to its resistance to storms, it can also be used as a windbreak. It should be noted that this tree species is not compatible with other plants because of its dense shade, broad spreading crown and allelopathic effects.
• Boundary or barrier or support: T. indica can be used as a live fence.
• Ornamental: The evergreen nature and the beautiful flowers make it suitable for ornamental planting in parks, along roads and riverbanks.
• Nitrogen fixing

Slow growing but long lived. Pollarding, coppicing.

Seed:

350 - 1,400 seeds per kg. Germination rate around 90%. 
Tamarind seeds have been used in a limited way as emergency food. They are roasted, soaked to remove the seedcoat, then boiled or fried, or ground to a flour or starch (Morton, 1987). 

Treatment:

Nick or soak seed in cold water for 12 hours. 

Storage: 

Seed can be stored for more than two years if kept in a dry, cool and insect-free place, because seeds are susceptible to attack by weevils.

Husbandry

Young trees are pruned to allow three to five well spaced branches to develop into the main scaffold structure of the tree. Maintenance pruning only is required after that to remove dead or damaged wood (CRFG). 
 

Remarks: 
The dark brown heartwood is hard and heavy, well grained and easy to polish. The fruit pulp is rich in vitamin C. The fruit has many uses and important for nutrition in many parts of the world, including India. It is budded and grafted on a large scale in the Philippines. Recommended for homesteads.