Thar Bhubhraj
A selection from local ber trees at Bhusavar in Bharatpur district, Rajasthan, listed by ICAR-CIAH Bikaner. Early maturing, ready from the last week of December to the first week of January, with very juicy, sweet fruit at 22 to 23% TSS and about 35 kg a tree at 6 years.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Starts bearing
- Bears from year 2–3 (grafted/top-worked)
- Expected yield
- About 35 kg a tree at 6 years (ICAR-CIAH)
- Suitable soil
- Sandy / light soil
- Disease resistance
- No disease data published
- Release
- Selected from local material at Bhusavar, Bharatpur district, Rajasthan; listed by ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner. Announced as a new ber in Indian Horticulture 54(1), 2009; the release year itself was not found
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Thar Bhubhraj is a ber variety identified at ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner. It was selected from local ber trees around Bhusavar in Bharatpur district, Rajasthan, not made by a cross. CIAH calls it an early maturing cultivar with an average yield potential of 35 kg a tree at 6 years of planting. The fruits are ready from the last week of December to the first week of January, and staggered picking can run to the third week of January. The fruit is very juicy and sweet at 22 to 23% TSS. We found no fruit weight or release year for it. Its sugar is the reason to grow it, so test your own fruit before you sell it as a premium ber.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Thar Bhubhraj if you sell early fresh ber on taste. ICAR-CIAH Bikaner describes it as a selection from local material at Bhusavar in Bharatpur district, Rajasthan, ready from the last week of December to the first week of January, with very juicy, sweet fruit at 22 to 23% TSS and 35 kg a tree at 6 years. That sugar level is above the Bawal trial's Gola (19.4%) and Umran (17.0%), though the sites and methods differ. Do not choose it for tonnage, since Kaithli gave 119.9 kg at Bawal. No fruit weight or release year is published.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Early: ready from the last week of December to the first week of January, with picking that can run to the third week of January (ICAR-CIAH).
- Very juicy, sweet fruit at 22 to 23% TSS (ICAR-CIAH).
- Selected from local trees that already grow in Rajasthan's dry conditions.
Things to consider
- 35 kg a tree at 6 years is a smaller crop than Kaithli's 119.9 and 88.3 kg at Bawal.
- No fruit weight or release year was found, and the sugar figure is not proven on your land.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Rajasthan
Test the sugar before you price it as a premium ber
Thar Bhubhraj's selling point is sugar: ICAR-CIAH gives a TSS of 22 to 23%. TSS stands for total soluble solids, the dissolved part of the fruit juice, mostly sugar. You read it with a hand refractometer, a small tube you hold to the light, and it is shown in degrees Brix.
Sugar in ber moves with the place, the year and how ripe the fruit is when picked. CIAH's own 2021 report shows Thar Sevika at 21.2 to 23.25 Brix across three ripeness stages. The numbers we hold for other varieties (17.0% to 19.4% for Umran and Gola at Bawal, 16.8 Brix for Seb at Jodhpur) were all taken at different sites, so Thar Bhubhraj's 22 to 23% is not proven to beat them on your land. Treat it as what the variety can reach, not a promise.
So test before you charge more. In the first bearing season pick fruit at three ripeness stages from the same tree, measure the Brix of each, and taste them. Take the samples to a few buyers and ask what they would pay. Only if your own fruit tests at or near 22% should you sell it as a sweet, premium ber. Otherwise the 35 kg a tree will not carry the cost on its own.
Where the planting material comes from
This variety is budded onto a rootstock, not grown from seed. Seed out of its fruit will not come up as this variety, so it cannot be kept as seed. Buy budded plants from a registered nursery or a government farm, so the plant is true to the variety and free of disease.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Ber (Indian Jujube) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banarasi Karaka | Farmers in eastern Uttar Pradesh and the eastern plains who want a large-fruited ber and will plant a second variety nearby | Bears from year 2–3 (grafted/top-worked) | 25.5 to 130 kg a tree in three trials (Kanpur, West Bengal, Haryana) | Uttar Pradesh |
| Gola | Farmers in Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab who want an early, sweet ber and can live with a lower yield than Kaithli | Bears from year 2–3 (grafted/top-worked) | About 41 to 69 kg a tree in dry-land trials | Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab |
| Kaithli | Farmers on dry, rainfed sandy land in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh who want the most fruit a tree can give | Bears from year 2–3 (grafted/top-worked) | About 41 to 120 kg a tree in dry-land trials | Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh |
| Seb (Apple Ber) | Farmers selling to fresh-fruit buyers who pay for a round, apple-shaped ber, and who plan an early crop | Bears from year 2–3 (grafted/top-worked) | Good; valued for large fruit size | Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh |
| Thar Bhubhrajthis page | Arid-zone farmers in Rajasthan who sell early, very sweet fresh ber and accept a modest yield | Bears from year 2–3 (grafted/top-worked) | About 35 kg a tree at 6 years (ICAR-CIAH) | Rajasthan |
| Thar Malti | Arid-zone farmers who want a heavy-bearing late ber for table sale or processing, and who will test its frost tolerance on a few trees first | Late maturing: fruit ripens 145–150 days from fruit set (ICAR-CIAH) | 65–70 kg a plant (ICAR-CIAH; plant age not stated) | Rajasthan |
| Thar Sevika | Arid-zone farmers in Rajasthan who want an early ber crop and are fine with a modest yield per tree | Bears from year 2–3 (grafted/top-worked); early-maturing | About 34 kg a tree at 6 years (ICAR-CIAH) | Rajasthan |
| Umran | Farmers who can irrigate and feed their trees and want large, fleshy fruit for a late crop | Bears from year 2–3 (grafted/top-worked) | Often quoted at 150 to 200 kg a tree; trials gave 37 to 48 kg | Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Ber (Indian Jujube) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Ber (Indian Jujube) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Ber (Indian Jujube) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Ber (Indian Jujube) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Ber (Indian Jujube) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Ber (Indian Jujube) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Ber (Indian Jujube) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Where does Thar Bhubhraj come from?
ICAR-CIAH Bikaner lists it as a selection from local material found around Bhusavar in Bharatpur district, Rajasthan. So it was picked out of existing trees, not made by a cross like Thar Sevika. The institute is CIAH, Bikaner (the Central Institute for Arid Horticulture), not CAZRI, which is at Jodhpur. We found no release year.
How sweet is Thar Bhubhraj compared with other ber?
CIAH gives 22 to 23% TSS. Other numbers we have are Gola at 19.4% and 17.6% and Umran at 17.0% and 16.8% (Bawal, Haryana), and Seb at 16.8 Brix (Jodhpur). Each comes from a different site, year and tree age, so the gap is a signal and not a measured win. If sweetness will set your price, measure your own fruit with a hand refractometer.
How much fruit does a Thar Bhubhraj tree give?
CIAH gives an average yield potential of 35 kg a tree at 6 years of planting. For comparison, TNAU quotes 70 to 80 kg a tree a year for ber in general, and Kaithli gave 119.9 kg and 88.3 kg at Bawal. So expect a smaller crop and price it on quality. Work out the break-even before planting a block.
Does Thar Bhubhraj ripen early or late?
Early. CIAH says the fruits are ready from the last week of December to the first week of January, and staggered picking can run to the third week of January. That is roughly 5 weeks before Gola's start on 2 February at Bawal in Haryana, though the places differ. Thar Sevika is also early, but CIAH gives no dates for it. Record your own dates for three seasons before you promise a buyer early fruit.
Where can I get Thar Bhubhraj plants?
Ask ICAR-CIAH Bikaner or your KVK first. CIAH's website has a Seed and Plants page with sale notices and rate lists, so ask there whether Thar Bhubhraj plants are in stock. Buy budded plants and get the variety name written on the bill. TNAU's general ber advice is to plant in July and August, at 7 x 7 m, in pits of 60 x 60 x 60 cm.
Sourced from: ICAR-CIAH Bikaner — varieties identified at institute level (ber), Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) — TNAU Agritech Portal, Horticulture, Saini et al., Performance of selected ber cultivars under rainfed conditions, Annals of Arid Zone 33(4), 1994, ICAR-CIAH Annual Report 2021 (ber varieties, training systems and fruit maturity stages). editorial policy.