Ziziphus Jujuba, Red Date, Ber- 0.5 kg Seeds

Ziziphus jujuba (Ziziphus jujuba), the Chinese jujube or red date, called ber, is a small to medium deciduous tree growing 5-12 m with spiny, often zig-zag branches and glossy, three-veined oval leaves. It bears tiny greenish-yellow flowers followed by oval, datelike fruits that ripen from green through red to dark brown, sweet and crisp when fresh and chewy when dried. Of East Asian origin and long cultivated, it is grown across the drier northern and central plains of India for its hardy, productive nature.

It is grown chiefly as a fruit tree, the vitamin-rich fruits eaten fresh, dried or candied, and the dried red dates are widely used in traditional medicine as a tonic. The tree is drought hardy and thrives on poor soils, so it is also planted for fruit-based agroforestry, windbreaks, fuelwood and the hard, fine-grained wood used for tools and turnery.

• Family: Rhamnaceae
• Native region: China and temperate Asia (cultivated in India)
• Mature height: 5-12 m
• Growth rate: Moderate

Sowing the seed: the very hard, stony seed is strongly dormant, so crack or scarify the woody endocarp and then soak the seed in water for 24-48 hours before sowing to break dormancy. Sow about 2-3 cm deep in well-drained sandy loam in deep polybags and keep warm and moist; germination is slow and erratic, usually taking 30 days or more. Grow the seedlings on for a season and transplant when 30-50 cm tall, ideally at the start of the monsoon; selected varieties are often grafted later.