2012

Prin

ted

and

publ

ishe

d by

D

epar

tmen

t of A

gric

ultu

re, F

ores

try a

nd F

ishe

ries

Obt

aina

ble

from

R

esou

rce

Cen

tre

Dire

ctor

ate

Com

mun

icat

ion

Ser

vice

s

Priv

ate

Bag

X14

4

PR

ETO

RIA

00

01ag

ricul

ture

,fo

rest

ry &

fish

erie

sD

epar

tmen

t: Ag

ricul

ture

, For

estry

and

Fis

herie

sRE

PUBL

IC O

F SO

UTH

AFRI

CA

Fur

ther

info

rmat

ion

can

be o

btai

ned

from

Dire

ctor

ate

Pla

nt P

rodu

ctio

nP

rivat

e B

ag X

250

PR

ET

OR

IA 0

001

Tel

+

27 1

2 31

9 60

72F

ax

+27

12

319

6079

Em

ail

DP

P@

daff.

gov.

za

Baobab

Baobab

Har

vest

ing

met

hods

The

age

of t

rees

whe

n le

aves

can

be

harv

este

d fo

r pro

cess

-in

g in

to le

af

po

wd

er

is v

ari

ab

le a

nd

ma

inly

de

pe

nd

s e

s-se

ntia

lly o

n si

te c

ondi

tions

. T

rees

can

be

harv

este

d fr

om

an

y a

ge

. In

ge

ne

ral,

lea

f u

tilis

atio

n c

ou

ld s

tart

be

fore

th

e si

xth

ye

ar

wh

en

site

co

nd

itio

ns

are

fa

vou

rab

le.

Wo

me

n tr

aditi

onal

ly s

tart

har

vest

ing

whe

n le

aves

beg

in to

dev

elop

a

nd

th

e p

eri

od

va

rie

s a

cco

rdin

g t

o a

gro

eco

log

ica

l zo

ne

s (A

pril

to M

ay).

Mas

s le

af h

arve

stin

g is

don

e in

Sep

tem

ber

and

Oct

ober

. T

he b

ark

is a

lso

harv

este

d at

the

sam

e tim

e as

the

leav

es. T

he fr

uit i

s ha

rves

ted

whe

n th

e sh

ell i

s br

own,

be

twee

n D

ecem

ber

and

Apr

il. T

he to

ols

used

in h

arve

stin

g th

e l

ea

ves

are

th

e s

ickl

e a

nd

do

lé.

Ha

rve

stin

g b

y h

an

d pi

ckin

g is

don

e le

ss fr

eque

ntly

sin

ce it

is d

iffic

ult t

o cl

imb

a ba

obab

tree

.

Use

sB

aoba

b pr

ovid

es f

ood,

em

erge

ncy

wat

er a

nd f

ibre

. It

has

a

lso

me

dic

ina

l u

ses.

Fib

re f

rom

th

e s

trin

gy

inn

er

ba

rk

prov

ides

item

s (o

r is

use

d fo

r ite

ms)

suc

h as

rop

e, t

hrea

d,

bask

et, n

ets,

sna

res,

fish

ing

lines

, str

ings

for

mus

ical

inst

ru-

men

ts, a

nd a

pap

er s

tock

toug

h en

ough

for

bank

note

s. T

he

fibre

is e

ven

used

for

wea

ving

. Som

e is

wov

en in

to fa

bric

s th

at a

re v

alue

d fo

r m

akin

g th

e ba

gs u

sed

for

carr

ying

and

st

ori

ng

eve

ryd

ay

go

od

s. B

ao

ba

b t

ree

s su

pp

ly f

oo

d a

nd

trad

ition

al m

edic

ines

for

bot

h hu

man

s an

d th

eir

lives

tock

. A

ref

resh

ing

drin

k, p

repa

red

from

the

pale

yel

low

or

whi

tish

frui

t pu

lp c

alle

d cr

eam

of

tart

ar,

has

been

use

d to

tre

at f

e-ve

rs, d

iarr

hea

and

appa

rent

ly a

lso

haem

opty

sis.

The

leav

es

are

use

d a

ga

inst

fe

ver,

to

re

du

ce p

ers

pir

atio

n a

nd

as

an

astr

inge

nt. T

hey

also

com

e in

har

dy in

trea

ting

othe

r af

flic-

tions

: as

thm

a, k

idne

y an

d bl

adde

r di

seas

es,

inse

ct b

ites,

fe

vers

, mal

aria

and

sor

es.

In t

he L

impo

po P

rovi

nce

the

pow

dere

d se

eds

are

give

n to

ch

ildre

n as

a h

iccu

p re

med

y. U

nder

sur

viva

l str

ess

man

can

us

e m

any

part

s of

the

baob

ab a

s fo

od o

r ob

tain

wat

er fr

om

its r

oots

, bra

nche

s or

leav

es. A

cru

de, c

offe

e-lik

e be

vera

ge

can

be p

repa

red

by b

akin

g th

e ba

obab

see

ds. M

any

peop

le

fin

d s

he

lte

r fr

om

th

e b

liste

rin

g s

un

in

th

e a

mp

le s

ha

de

prov

ided

by

its s

turd

y tr

unk.

You

ng le

aves

whe

n m

ixed

with

pe

pper

and

sal

t an

d ad

ded

to a

ste

w g

ive

it a

good

tas

te.

You

ng,

fres

h le

aves

are

cut

into

pie

ces

and

cook

ed in

to a

sa

uce.

Som

etim

es th

e le

aves

are

drie

d an

d po

wde

red

and

used

for

cook

ing.

Ack

now

ledg

emen

tM

em

be

rs o

f A

gri

-Afr

ica

/Ka

rwil

Co

nsu

ltan

cy a

re h

ere

with

ac

know

ledg

ed fo

r th

e in

form

atio

n pr

ovid

ed.

Ref

eren

ces

Va

n W

yk,

B-E

., V

an

Ou

dts

ho

orn

& G

eri

cke

, N

. 1

99

7.

Me

dic

ina

l pl

ants

of S

outh

Afr

ica,

Pre

toria

: Briz

a P

ublic

atio

ns.

Ha

rdy,

D.S

. 1

98

4.

Mu

vhu

yu—

the

ba

ob

ab

; O

rbe

a v

err

uco

sa v

ar

fuco

sa. A

loe,

21:

43–

45. T

he N

atio

nal L

ibra

ry o

f Sou

th A

fric

a.

http

://w

ww

.bao

babf

ruitc

o.co

m

http

://w

ww

.icuc

-iwm

i.org

/file

s/P

ublic

atio

ns/B

aoba

b_m

anua

l.pdf

Bac

kgro

und

Bao

bab

is a

dec

iduo

us t

ropi

cal f

ruit

tree

ran

ging

in h

eigh

t fr

om 5

to 2

5 m

and

is d

istr

ibut

ed in

bel

ts in

low

-lyin

g ar

eas

acro

ss A

fric

a, M

adag

asca

r, In

dia,

Sri

Lank

a an

d A

ustr

alia

. It

be

lon

gs

to t

he

fa

mily

ca

lled

Bo

mb

aca

cea

e.

It is

a v

ery

lo

ng-li

ved,

fast

-gro

win

g tr

ee a

nd h

as a

life

span

of h

undr

eds

to th

ousa

nds

of y

ears

. The

gro

wth

of t

he b

aoba

b is

mai

nly

ma

na

ge

d a

nd

pro

tect

ed

by

loca

l p

eo

ple

. B

ao

ba

bs

are

w

ide

spre

ad

th

rou

gh

ou

t th

e h

ot,

dri

er

reg

ion

s o

f tr

op

ica

l A

fric

a,

ext

en

din

g f

rom

Mo

zam

biq

ue

, th

e n

ort

he

rn p

rov-

ince

s of

Sou

th A

fric

a an

d N

amib

ia t

o E

thio

pia,

Sud

an a

nd

sout

hern

fri

nges

of

the

Sah

ara.

In

Sou

th A

fric

a th

e tr

ee is

fo

und

in th

e fr

ost-

free

are

as n

ear

Wat

erpo

ort i

n th

e W

este

rn

Sou

tpan

sber

g of

the

Lim

popo

Pro

vinc

e.

Clim

atic

and

soi

l req

uire

men

tsB

ao

ba

bs

occ

ur

in s

em

iari

d t

o s

ub

hu

mid

tro

pic

al z

on

es.

T

hey

grow

on

man

y di

ffere

nt s

oils

incl

udin

g sa

ndy

loam

but

de

velo

p be

st o

n ca

lcar

eous

sub

stra

tes

and

on d

eep,

slig

htly

m

ois

t si

tes.

Th

ey

thri

ve w

he

re t

he

ave

rag

e a

nn

ua

l te

m-

pera

ture

is 2

0 to

30

°C. G

erm

inat

ion

is a

chie

ved

only

whe

n so

il te

mp

era

ture

exc

ee

ds

28

°C

. B

ao

ba

bs

are

ext

rem

ely

su

scep

tible

to fr

ost t

hrou

ghou

t the

ir lif

e cy

cle.

Cul

tura

l pra

ctic

es

Soi

l pre

para

tion

La

nd

pre

pa

ratio

n is

do

ne

in t

he

su

mm

er

or

at

the

on

set

of t

he r

ainy

sea

son

to p

rese

rve

the

soil

stru

ctur

e. T

he s

oil

shou

ld b

e pl

ough

ed 3

to 4

wee

ks p

rior

to tr

ansp

lant

ing,

then

a

ga

in a

fte

r 1

5 d

ays

, a

nd

th

en

ag

ain

just

be

fore

pla

ntin

g th

e s

ee

dlin

gs.

Th

e s

oil

sho

uld

be

leve

led

an

d h

ave

go

od

drai

nage

.

Sci

entif

ic n

ame:

A

dans

onia

dig

itata

Com

mon

nam

es:

Ba

ob

ab

, M

on

key

bre

ad

, E

thio

pia

n s

ou

r g

ou

rd,

Cre

am

-of-

tart

ar

tre

e (E

nglis

h); K

rem

etar

tboo

m (A

frik

aans

);

Mu

vh

uy

u (

Ts

hiv

en

da

); S

him

uw

u (i

si T

son

ga

); I

sim

uh

u,

Um

shim

ulu

(i

siZ

ulu)

; M

owan

a (S

etsw

ana)

; M

oyo

(Nor

ther

n S

otho

).

Pla

ntin

g

See

dlin

gs a

re m

ainl

y ra

ised

and

tran

spla

nted

into

the

field

at

10

m x

10

m s

paci

ng.

The

hol

e si

ze is

60

cm x

60

cm x

6

0 c

m,

bu

t sm

alle

r m

ay

be

su

itab

le (

40

cm

3).

Th

e t

ree

s,

plan

ted

in a

row

, sh

ould

be

give

n w

eekl

y vo

lum

e of

wat

er

whi

ch v

ary

from

10 l f

or th

e fir

st tr

ee, 1

5 l f

or th

e se

cond

and

3

0 l

fo

r th

e t

hir

d.

Pla

ntin

g is

do

ne

wh

en

th

e r

ain

y se

aso

n ha

s st

arte

d. C

uttin

gs s

houl

d be

5 c

m to

10

cm in

leng

th a

nd

push

ed s

trai

ght i

nto

the

soil

to a

dep

th o

f abo

ut 2

.5 c

m. F

or

leaf

pro

duct

ion

only

, pla

ntin

g sh

ould

be

done

0,2

m x

0,5

m

and

for

leav

es a

nd fr

uit i

t sho

uld

be 4

m x

4 m

.

Pro

paga

tion

Bao

babs

can

be

prop

agat

ed fr

om s

eeds

as

wel

l as

vege

ta-

tivel

y. V

eget

ativ

e pr

opag

atio

n in

volv

es th

e gr

owth

of a

new

tr

ee fr

om a

sho

ot, b

ud o

r cu

tting

from

a g

ood-

qual

ity m

atur

e tr

ee. T

he tr

ees

have

trad

ition

ally

bee

n pr

opag

ated

by

tran

s-pl

antin

g na

tura

lly r

egen

erat

ed s

eedl

ings

.

Fer

tilis

atio

n

Org

anic

and

min

eral

fert

ilise

rs c

an b

e us

ed a

nd it

is r

ecom

-m

ende

d to

use

farm

yard

man

ure,

com

post

or

gree

n le

gum

e m

anur

es, e

spec

ially

at t

he ti

me

of p

lant

ing

for

inte

nsiv

e le

af

prod

uctio

n.

Irrig

atio

n

The

vol

ume

of w

ater

req

uire

d va

ries

with

the

size

of t

he tr

ee

and

is d

epen

dent

on

loca

l clim

ate.

In g

ener

al, d

urin

g es

tab-

lishm

ent,

abou

t 1 l

to 2

l of

wat

er s

houl

d be

app

lied

twic

e a

wee

k to

the

base

of e

ach

youn

g tr

ee. T

he s

mal

l tre

es c

an b

e irr

igat

ed r

egul

arly

to p

rodu

ce h

ighe

r re

turn

s fr

om in

tens

ive

lea

f p

rod

uct

ion

an

d b

ett

er

gro

wth

. M

atu

re b

ao

ba

b t

ree

s re

quire

no

irrig

atio

n.

Wee

d co

ntro

l

The

wee

ds s

houl

d be

rem

oved

from

aro

und

the

tree

dur

ing

the

early

sta

ges

of g

row

th.

Dis

ease

and

pes

t con

trol

Few

sm

all b

aoba

bs a

re e

ver

seen

now

aday

s be

caus

e th

ey

fall

vict

im t

o g

razi

ng

by

catt

le a

nd

go

ats

, g

rou

nd

fir

es,

or

pic

kin

g b

y o

verz

ea

lou

s in

div

idu

als

(fo

r so

up

lea

ves)

bu

t m

atur

e tr

ees

have

few

ene

mie

s. N

eith

er c

attle

nor

goa

ts d

o se

rious

har

m. N

ot e

ven

over

zeal

ous

pick

ers

can

seem

ingl

y se

t bac

k a

heal

thy

old

baob

ab. T

here

are

no

serio

us p

ests

an

d di

seas

es o

f ba

obab

. H

owev

er,

som

e fu

ngal

and

vir

al

dis

ea

ses

ha

ve b

ee

n r

eco

rde

d a

nd

se

vera

l in

sect

s a

tta

ck

the

wo

od

, fr

uit

an

d y

ou

ng

sh

oo

ts.

Th

e m

ost

inve

stig

ate

d co

mm

on p

ests

are

:

• co

tton

bollw

orm

s H

elio

this

arm

iger

a, D

ipar

opsi

s ca

s-ta

nea

and

Ear

ias

bipl

aga;

• co

tton-

stai

ners

(bu

gs)

such

as

Dys

derc

us f

asci

atus

, D

. in

term

eius

, D

. ni

grof

asci

atus

, D

. su

bers

titio

sus,

O

dont

opus

exs

angu

inis

, O. s

expu

ncta

tus;

• O

xyca

renu

s al

bipe

nnis

as

wel

l as

fl ea

beet

les,

Pod

ag-

rica

spp.

SY

MP

TO

MS

The

new

ly e

mer

ged

larv

ae f

eed

on t

he le

af a

nd f

olia

ge o

f th

e p

lan

ts.

Co

tto

n b

ollw

orm

s tu

nn

el i

nto

th

e f

ruits

of

the

baob

ab. T

hey

suck

the

sap

of th

e le

aves

and

you

ng fo

liage

. T

he im

mat

ure

frui

t dro

ps.

CO

NT

RO

L

Reg

iste

red

chem

ical

fert

ilise

rs a

re r

ecom

men

ded

for

use.

A

deco

ctio

n of

the

ker

nels

of

Aza

dira

chta

indi

ca (

neem

) ca

n be

use

d fo

r in

sect

con

trol

. Wee

ding

can

als

o be

use

d as

a

cont

rol m

easu

re.

The

bao

bab

is a

hos

t for

mem

bers

of t

he P

seud

ococ

coid

ae,

the

me

aly

bu

gs,

wh

ich

ca

n b

e v

ect

ors

fo

r vi

rus

dis

ea

ses

of c

ocoa

and

the

coc

oa c

apsi

d, D

ista

ntie

lla t

heob

rom

a. I

n th

e Li

mpo

po a

nd M

pum

alan

ga p

rovi

nces

of

Sou

th A

fric

a,

a ca

terp

illar

, Gon

imbr

asia

her

lina,

can

feed

on

the

leav

es.

SY

MP

TO

MS

Th

e c

ate

rpill

ar

suck

s th

e s

ap

of

the

lea

flets

, m

atu

re a

nd

ten

de

r sh

oo

ts,

lea

f p

etio

le b

ase

s a

nd

yo

un

g f

olia

ge

. T

he

imm

atur

e fr

uit d

rops

. Chl

orot

ic le

aves

and

def

olia

tion

can

be

obse

rved

. The

cat

erpi

llar

feed

s on

the

leav

es.

CO

NT

RO

L

The

affe

cted

par

ts s

houl

d be

rem

oved

. The

cat

erpi

llars

can

be

rem

oved

by

hand

and

cru

shed

.