340 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



October 29, 1910. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



THE BAMBARRA. GROUND NUT. 



In Bulletin No. 21 of tlie .Station Aijroiiijinique, ilauri- 

 tius, much attention is given to the Bambarra ground nut 

 ( Voancheia suhterranea), which is known in Jlauiilius as 

 ' Pistache nialgache', and in Madagascar as ' Voandzou'. It 

 is from this bulletin that most of the information contained 

 in the following article is taken. Interesting facts concerning 

 the plant may also be found in the Kew Bulletin, 1906, 

 pp. G8 and 192; and in Dcr Tropen/if!an-er, Vol. Ill, p. 169 

 Short mention was made of it in the Aijrindtaral Xews, 

 Vol. V, p. 276. 



oiiiGiN. In the first of the references that are made 

 above, to the Keir ISulletin, it is stated that the plant is of 

 African origin, and that it derives its name of the Bambarra 

 ground nut from a district on the upper Niger, near Tim- 

 buctoo This does not give a full idea of its occurrence, 

 however, for it is cultivated throughout Tropical Africa, 

 from the Sahara to Natal. 



DKSCEIPTION. The Mauritius bulletin, to which refer- 

 ence has been made, states that this plant belongs to the 

 family of leguminous plants, and that it is thus capable of 

 making use of the nitrogen of the atmosphere. It is somewhat 

 similar to the ordinary ground nut {Arachif: ht/pof/aea), but its 

 development of leaves is le.ss abundant; it affords a smaller 

 amount of vegetable matter after it has been harvested, and 

 its cultivation improves the .soil to a smaller extent than that 

 of the ground nut. None the less, it is claimed that the cultiva- 

 tion of this plant deserves e.xtension, becau.se it is capable of 

 furnishing useful quantities of nutritious material, and because 

 the digging of the nuts is conducted in a far easier and 

 cheaper manner than that of ground nuts. 



The two plants possess a similar \egetation, but the 

 Bambarra ground nut forms its fruits around the principal 

 stalk, and does not possess trailing branches. It produces 

 a bunch of upright leaves, and the fruits are developed close 

 around the stem, at a very small depth in the soil, so that 

 they may be readily harvested by simply pulling up the 

 bunch of leaves, Avhen nearly all the nuts come out of the 

 ground, attached to the stalk. It is thus seen that the 

 produce of the plant may be quickly collected; the speed of 

 harvesting is also increased by the cin-umstanee that even 

 those nuts that are left behind, when the plant is jiulled np, 

 all remain at the same, very small, depth below the soil. 



The Kew Bulletin, 1906, p. 70, states that the fruit is 

 very^like that of the ground nut but that it is shorter, and 

 usually only contains one seed, at maturity. It posse.sses 

 a prominent ridge which forms a further means of disting- 

 uishing it from the fruit of the ground nut. There is 

 a faint network of ridges on the sides; the total length of 

 the pod is about J inch. The resemblances to the ground nut 

 are more superficial than otherwise for it belongs to 

 a different tribe of the leguminous family, being much more 

 closely allied to the Haricot bean. Bir T)-openflan\er, Vol. 

 Ill, p. 170, describes the seeds as being almost spherical and 

 of very varying, but always very pronounced, colours. 



CULTIV.\TI0N. Returning to the liulletin that has been 

 already quoted, this states that the requirements for the 

 cultivation of the Bambarra ground nut are the same as those 

 for the ordinary ground nut. It is planted and harvested in 

 the same seasons; it covers the soil well, and as it only 

 produces a bunch of upright leave.s, it lends itself especially 

 to cultivation between rows of sugar-cane. For this pur[)Ose, 

 it is sown in small pockets, between the rows, at a distance 

 of about IS inches each way. In sowing, three or four seeds 

 are put into each pocket, at a depth of about 1 inch. 



The nuts are collected when the leaves commence to dry 

 up, or this may be done a little sooner if it is desired to 

 consume them while still green. If they are required to 

 provide seed, it is preferable to wait for a short time before 

 harvesting them in order to permit of their ripening com- 

 pletely in the earth. 



YIELDS. The yields obtained from the Bambarra ground 

 nut are at least equal to, and generally greater than, those 

 from the ordinary ground nut. When cultivated between 

 every other cane row, in the way described above, 960 kilos, of 

 green nuts and 1,120 kilos, of green leaves have been obtained 

 per arpent (1-013 acres). The undried (green) nuts, when har- 

 vested thoroughly rijie, only lose 50 per cent, of their weight 

 on drying; whereas if they are dug a little before they attain 

 maturity, they give scarcely 40 percent, of dry nuts. 



.STORAiiE. If ithas to be kept for any time it is natur- 

 ally necessary to permit the nut to ripen completely in the 

 air and to dry it in the same way as this is done for the 

 ordinary ground nut. It keeps well, when it is dry, and is 

 not attacked in storage by insects, as far as has been observed 

 in Mauritius. 



