Q Consider the following statements:

  1. Moringa (drumstick tree) is a leguminous evergreen tree.
  2. Tamarind tree is endemic to South Asia.
  3. In India, most of the tamarind is collected as minor forest produce.
  4. India exports tamarind and seeds of moringa.
  5. Seeds of moringa and tamarind can be used in the production of biofuels.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  • 1, 2, 4 and 5
  • 3, 4 and 5
  • 1, 3 and 4
  • 1, 2, 3 and 5

Answer: b) 3, 4 and 5

Notes:

  • Moringa is a green leafy fast-growing deciduous plant, native to the Indian subcontinent. It is a non-leguminous tree. 
  • Tamarind is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa (and not endemic to South Asia). 
  • Tamarind is collected mostly as the minor forest produce in India. 
  • India exports tamarind and moringa seeds to the US, Germany, China, Canada, South Korea, and other European countries.  
  • Seeds of moringa and tamarind can be used for biofuel. The oil from the Moringa tree is considered to be a more sustainable biodiesel feedstock than jatropha oil.  
Legume
  • A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae, or the fruit or seed of such a plant.
  • Well-known legumes include beans, soybeans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, tamarind, alfalfa, and clover.
    • Legumes produce a botanically unique type of fruit – a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces (opens along a seam) on two sides.
  • Legumes are notable in that most of them have symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in structures called root nodules. For that reason, they play a key role in crop rotation.
  • Nitrogen-fixing bacteria, microorganisms capable of transforming atmospheric nitrogen into fixed nitrogen (inorganic compounds usable by plants).
  • Two kinds of nitrogen-fixing bacteria are recognized.
    • The first kind, the free-living (non-symbiotic) bacteria, includes the cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae) Anabaena and Nostoc and genera such as Azotobacter, Beijerinckia, and Clostridium.
    • The second kind comprises the mutualistic (symbiotic) bacteria; examples include Rhizobium, associated with leguminous plants (e.g., various members of the pea family); Frankia, associated with certain dicotyledonous species (actinorhizal plants); and certain Azospirillum species, associated with cereal grasses.
Minor Forest Produce (MFP)
  • MFP includes all non-timber forest produce of plant origin and includes bamboo, canes, fodder, leaves, gums, waxes, dyes, resins and many forms of food including nuts, wild fruits, honey, lac, tusser etc.
  • It provides both subsistence and cash income for people who live in or near forests. They form a major portion of their food, fruits, medicines and other consumption items and also provide cash income through sales.
  • The Central government had introduced a minimum support price (MSP) for a select list of MFP through “Mechanism for Marketing of Minor Forest Produce through Minimum Support price and development of Value Chain of MFP” Scheme in 2011 to provide a social safety net to these underprivileged forest dwellers, and to aid in their empowerment.
  • TRIFED, as the apex national organisation involved in the improvement of the livelihood and empowerment of these tribal people, is the nodal agency for the implementation of the scheme.
    • The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED) was established in 1987, under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act, 1984. 
    • It is administered by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.