Flowering, Fruiting and Physio-chemical Characteristics of Bael (Aegle marmelos Correa.) Grown in Northern Districts of West Bengal

Abstract

A study was conducted during the fruiting season of bael, an important minor fruit of tropics and subtropics on medicinal and religious aspects. This was done to determine the flowering, fruiting and physio-chemical properties of the fruits and to evaluate the best accession collected from different locations. The fruits were harvested from distinct locations on North Bengal and were brought to the lab where they were analysed for their bio-chemical properties. The result showed that all the different accessions have different and distinct characters. By going through all the results, clearly it can be concluded that the bael trees growing wildly in North Bengal or in homestead shows wide variations and diversities. Abundance of flowering and fruiting was profuse in ACC-1, ACC-6, ACC-15, ACC-17, and ACC-25. Earliest fruiting was observed in ACC-11 (17th March) and ACC-20 (17th March). Fewer seeds were observed in ACC-3 (14.33), ACC-9 (13.67), ACC-14 (18.33) and ACC-15 (15.67) which is considered desirable for fresh consumption. Thinnest rind was observed in ACC-11 (2.14 mm) followed by ACC-25. Maximum Total Soluble Solids (° Brix) was observed in ACC-25 (16.33 ° Brix). Titratable acidity was recorded maximum in ACC-3 (0.67%) followed by ACC-11 (0.62%). Total sugar was recoded maximum in ACC-11 (11.14%) followed by ACC-25 (10.85%). Maximum reducing sugar was observed in ACC-11 (4.47%) followed by ACC-8 (4.33%), ACC-17 (4.23%) and ACC-25 (4.32%) also showed a high value of reducing sugar content as compared to other accessions. Hence, it could be concluded that ACC-11 (Alipurdwar) is the most superior accessions followed by ACC-25 (Hilli).