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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Gum is natural biopolymers and formed via process of gummosis due to biotic and abiotic stresses i.e. injury, infection, drought, heat, high temperature, asby product of metabolic pathway and cannot re-enter in the system. Gum karaya (Sterculia urens Roxb.) is a dry deciduous tree belonging to the family Sterculiaceae distributed throughout India and Chhattisgarh. Karaya gum is the dried exudate obtained from trees of Sterculia species. Karaya gum is predominately used for many industries such as petroleum and gas, textiles, paper and pulp, pharmaceuticals, medicine and several other products. The commercial tapping of karaya is done by blazing, peeling, or by making deep cuts at the base of the bole using an axe or a cycle. These methods often lead to the death of the tapped trees. On account of crude tapping methods and over exploitation the population of karaya trees has markedly declined. The harvesting methods currently used are traditional and injurious due to which often obtained inferior quality of products. Hence, the study was undertaken in ICAR Network Project to develop the scientific tapping technique for sustainable harvesting in major gum producing tree of Chhattisgarh state to enhance the livelihood of the rural areas as well as to protect the plant and generate the revenue of the government. The various chemical methods are used for tapping purpose. Chemical tapping method using ethephon and IAA injected by battery operated drill machine. However, temperature and relative humidity also play significant role in gum exudation. The ethephon @ 3.9% in 4 ml in two consecutive doses in 45-60 days intervals at high temperature in month of April to June was found significantly effective for maximum gum production during both the year 2015 and 2016. The physiochemical properties of exudated gum were investigated and gum was found to be mild acidic, least soluble in cold water but absorb water and swell, soluble in hot water but insoluble in organic solvent.