Betel nut / Areca nut

Betel nut / Areca nut: Areca catechu

Family: Palmae
• Areca nut (Betel nut) is an extensively cultivated
tropical palm.
• It is cultivated primarily for its kernel obtained
from the fruit which is chewed in its tender, ripe or
processed form.
• It is originated in India and South Eastern
Countries and commercial cultivation is confined
in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
• It is a tall stemmed erect palm reaching a height
of 30 m.
• The plant is monoecious, producing both male
and female flowers on the same tree.
• The inflorescence of areca nut is spadix produced
in the leaf axil and is completely enclosed in a
sealed boat shaped spathe
• A grown up palm produces on an average 294
female flowers.
• The fruit is one seeded berry
• It is a cross pollinated crop, pollinated by honey
bees and air.
Soil and climate
• Areca nut is capable of growing in a variety of
soils and climates.
• It thrives best in deep and well drained soils. It
grows well in loamy and alluvial soil.
• It is sensitive to moisture deficit and should be
grown where adequate water facilities are
available.
• It grows well within the temperature range of 14ºC
and 36ºC and is adversely affected by temperatures
below 10ºC and above 40ºC.
• Adequate protection from exposure to South-
Western sun is essential to avoid sun-scorch.
• Extremes of temperature and wide diurnal
variations are not conducive for the healthy growth
of the palms.
• Altitude: up to 1000 m
• Rainfall: Annual rainfall 750 – 4500 mm.
Propagation:
It is propagated by seeds. The selection of proper
planting material is very important as it is perennial crop.

Selection of Mother Palms:

The criteria for the selection of mother palm are:
-early bearing and regular bearing habit
-large number of leaves on the crown
-shorter internodes and high fruit set
-age of the palm should 20-40 years
Selection of seed nut:

• Fully ripe nuts should be used as seeds.

• Undersized, malformed and light weight nuts should
be discarded.
• Fully ripened nuts having weight of above 35 g should
be selected.
• The nuts selected should float vertically with calyx-
end pointing upwards when allowed to float on water.
• These nuts produce the seedlings of greater vigour.
Raising of planting materials:
• For raising seedlings seed nuts from mother palms of
outstanding performance are selected and sown soon
after harvest at a spacing of 5 - 6 cm apart in seed
beds under partial shade with their stalk end pointing
upwards.
• The seed nuts are covered with sand and irrigate
daily.
• Germination starts about 40 days after sowing
• After the sprouts have produced 3 to 4 leaves, they
are transplanted to a polythene bag (30 x 10 cm)
filled with soil and are allowed to grow for 12 to 18
months under partial shade.
• The seedlings can also be transplanted in secondary
nursery beds with a spacing of 30 cm on either side.
Periodical watering should be given.
Areca nut seedlings Areca nut seedlings in
poly bags
Planting
• Dwarf and compact seedlings with more number of
leaves should be selected.
• Seedlings of 1 - 2 years age are planted in pits of
about 90 cm x 90 cm x 90 cm at a spacing of 2.75 m
either way and covered with soil to the collar level
and pressed around.
• Provide shade during summer months. Growing
Banana or other crops in advance may also provide
shade.
• Manuring:
• A steady and high yield will depend much on the
adequate availability of plant nutrients in the soil.
• The application of NPK fertilizers for adult palms @
100:40:140 g/palm/year and 12 kg. of each of green
manure and compost is recommended.
• 1/3 dose of the fertilizer and full dose of green
manure and compost should be applied during first
year.
• 2/3 dose of fertilizer and full dose of green manure
and compost during second year and full dose-from
third year onwards during September-October.
Irrigation and drainage:
• Palm respond well to irrigation. The palms should be
irrigated during hot and dry periods at regular
intervals of 3-5 days.
• Drainage channels are constructed (25-30 cm deep)
between the rows and water should be drained out
during periods of heavy rainfall to prevent water
logging.
Cultural Operation:
• Light forking or digging may be required when the
monsoon ends to break up the crust and also to
uproot weeds during October-November.
• The raising of green manure-cum-cover crops in
April-May with the onset of pre-monsoon rains and
cutting burying the same in September-October have
been found to be suitable.
Intercropping:
The crops which can be grown successfully in areca nut
garden without loss of areca nut yield are:
 Banana
 Cocoa
 Pepper
 Pine apple
 Betel vine
 Sweet potato
 Ginger
 Turmeric
 Elephant foot yam, etc.
Harvesting and processing
• The bearing starts after 5 years of planting.
• The colour of the fruit during its growth changes
from green to different shades of yellow and red
during ripening.
• Nut matures 8-9 months after fertilization
 The stage of harvesting depends on the types of
produce to be prepared for the market.
1. Dried ripe nuts
• The most popular trade type of areca nut is the dried,
whole nut. Fully ripe, nine months old fruits having
yellow or orange red colour is best suited for this
purpose
• Ripe fruits are dried in the sun for 35-40 days on dry
levelled ground
• For drying and dehusking, sometimes the fruits are
cut longitudinally into two halves and sun dried for
about 10 days. Then the kernels are scooped out and
given a final drying

Ripe fruits Drying of fruits

2. Kalipak:
Processing
• Kalipak is prepared by boiling tender areca nuts.
• The nuts of 6-7 months maturity are harvested
• At this stage the outer skin of the husk is dark green
and nuts are soft and finger nails can be pressed into
it.
• Kernels are separated from the husk and soft nuts
are cut into pieces.
Boiling
• Cut pieces of nuts are boiled in water in a container
till the water becomes thick syrup.
• Dilute extract from previous batch of boiling can be
used
Kali coating :
• Kali is the extract obtained during boiling of tender
nut.
• Usually the same water is used for boiling 3 to 4
times.
• At this stage the water becomes concentrated called
Kali.
• After boiling the areca nut are given coating with Kali
to improve colouring.
• Kali coating is repeated to get glossy appearance.
Kali contains many polyphenols.
Drying:
• It can be dried under sun or in an oven after draining
the adhering liquid.
o A well dried product of Kalipak will have
-Dark brown colour
-Glossy appearance
-Crisp chewing feel
-Well toned astringency and
-Absence of over matured nuts.
 Raw fruit Raw kernels

Sun drying Final Kalipak Areca nut

3. Scented areca nut:
There are many varieties of scented areca nuts. Dried
areca nuts are broken into bits blended with flavour
mixture and packed.

De-husking of areca nut is traditionally done by skilled

manual labour with the help of a tool, which has a sickle
shaped small pointed blade fixed on a plant
Yield:
More than 10 kg of ripe nuts per palm at the 10th year is
considered as normal yield in any plantation
Alternative uses of Areca nut
• Many studies have been conducted to find out the
alternate use of the crop.
• The main constituents of areca nut are polyphenols,
fat, polysaccharides, fibre and protein.
• It was found that tannins, a by-product from the
processing of immature nuts can be used in dyeing
clothes, tanning leather, as a food colour, etc.
• The nuts contain 8-12% of fat, which can be extracted
and used for confectionery purposes. The refined fat
is harder than cocoa butter and can be used for
blending.
Pests and diseases
Pests
1. Mites:
Symptoms: Both adults and young ones suck the lower
parts of the leaves and the leaves turn yellow or bronze
colour.
Control measures:
Spraying with 0.05% dicofol
2. Inflorescence caterpillar
Symptoms: Caterpillar feed on the flowers and clamp the
inflorescence into a wet mass of silky threads
Control measures:
Infected spadices may be forced open and sprayed with
malathion 0.05%
Diseases:
1. Bud rot (Phytophthora palmivora)
Symptoms: Affected spindle appear yellow, later
changing brown and finally the whole spindle rots.
Control measures: Early removal of the infected tissue
and treat the healthy tissue with Bordeaux mixture
2. Yellow leaf diseases (Mycoplasma like
organisms):
Symptoms: Leaves become yellow, smaller, stiff and
pointed, crown gets reduced, palm remains stunted with
few or no nuts
Control measures: Regular manuring, ensuring
drainage, growing cover crops, removal of affected
plants