Thar Malti
A ber from the ICAR-CIAH Bikaner variety list. Late maturing, 65 to 70 kg a plant, fruit of 20.32 g, and tolerant of cold down to about -2 °C according to CIAH. No release year is published.
Quick facts
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- Late maturing: fruit ripens 145–150 days from fruit set (ICAR-CIAH)
- Expected yield
- 65–70 kg a plant (ICAR-CIAH; plant age not stated)
- Suitable soil
- Sandy / light soil
- Release
- ICAR-Central Institute for Arid Horticulture (CIAH), Bikaner, Rajasthan. Listed among its identified varieties; parentage and release year are not published
About this variety
Thar Malti is a ber listed among the identified varieties of ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner. The CIAH variety listing gives 65 to 70 kg of fruit a plant, a fruit weight of 20.32 g, and a plant height of 3.6 m with a semi-erect habit. It is late maturing, and the fruit ripens 145 to 150 days from fruit set. The fruit is greenish-yellow and oval with soft pulp, and the plant is less thorny. CIAH says it tolerates low temperatures, down to about -2 °C, with no fall in fruit yield, and that no major disease or pest was seen under field conditions. The listing calls it suitable for table use and for processing. We found no parentage, breeder, release year or ripening month, and no published trial that tested the frost claim.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Thar Malti if you want a heavy-bearing late ber and your winter nights are cold. ICAR-CIAH lists 65 to 70 kg a plant, fruit of 20.32 g, and tolerance of cold down to about -2 °C. In CIAH's 2020 analysis of 30 ber types it also had the highest vitamin C, phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity. Do not choose it for early-season prices, because the fruit ripens 145 to 150 days after fruit set. Do not choose it on its sugar number alone either: CIAH gives 18.6 °Brix in one document and 25.3 in another. The plant age behind the 65 to 70 kg is not stated and there is no release year, so plant a few trees beside a variety you know before you plant a block.
Key characteristics
Sowing & cultivation
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
Late maturing: fruit ripens 145–150 days from fruit set (ICAR-CIAH)
Expected yield
65–70 kg a plant (ICAR-CIAH; plant age not stated)
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
- No major disease or pest seen under field conditions (ICAR-CIAH); no scored trial published
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Heavy bearer on paper: 65 to 70 kg a plant (ICAR-CIAH).
- Tolerant of cold down to about -2 °C, according to ICAR-CIAH, which matters where winter nights are cold.
- Soft pulp and fewer thorns, and suited to both table use and processing (ICAR-CIAH).
- Highest vitamin C (54.12 mg/100 g), phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity of 30 ber types in CIAH's 2020 analysis.
Things to consider
- Late maturing: the fruit ripens 145 to 150 days after fruit set, so it misses the early-season price that Thar Sevika and Thar Bhubhraj aim for.
- The 65 to 70 kg has no plant age, site or spacing, and CIAH's own documents give different sugar and acidity figures (TSS 18.6 against 25.3 °Brix).
- Fruit set was 6 to 8% in CIAH's test of 42 genotypes, in the middle of a 0.34 to 13.89% range. Ber is prone to self and cross incompatibility, so do not plant it as one variety alone.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Rajasthan
CIAH gives two sets of numbers for Thar Malti: what to measure yourself
The CIAH variety listing gives Thar Malti a TSS of 18.6 °Brix, acidity of 0.46% and vitamin C of 126.7 mg/100 g. The CIAH Annual Report 2020, which analysed 30 ber types from the institute's field gene bank, gives 25.3 °Brix, 0.97% and 54.12 mg/100 g under the same name. These are far apart. Neither document says the year, the ripeness stage or the method, and sugar in ber changes with all three.
Inside that one 2020 table the comparison is fair, because everything was measured together. Thar Malti's 25.3 °Brix sits level with Thar Sevika (25.5) and Thar Bhubhraj (24.3), so on sugar it is not clearly behind or ahead. It was highest on vitamin C (54.12, against 47.56 for Gola and Umran and 25.42 for Thar Sevika), on flavonoids (37.51 mg/100 g, against 10.84 and 8.24 for Thar Sevika and Thar Bhubhraj) and on CUPRAC antioxidant activity (1077.54, against 330.36 and 234.65).
So measure before you promise anything. In the first bearing season pick fruit at three ripeness stages from the same tree, read the Brix of each with a hand refractometer, weigh twenty fruits, and taste them. CIAH says the fruit could be promoted as a health food, but those are laboratory values and not proof of a health effect, so sell on size, yield and taste.
Can you save seed from this crop?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
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 Bhubhraj | 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 Maltithis page | 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
Who developed Thar Malti, and where do I get plants?
ICAR-CIAH, Bikaner (the Central Institute for Arid Horticulture) lists it among its identified varieties and keeps it in its field gene bank. No parentage, breeder or release year is published. Ask CIAH or your KVK whether plants are in stock, since CIAH's website has a Seed and Plants page with sale notices. 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.
How much fruit does Thar Malti give, and how big is the fruit?
CIAH lists 65 to 70 kg of fruit a plant and a fruit weight of 20.32 g. It does not say how old the plant was, where it grew or at what spacing. For scale, CIAH gives 34 to 35 kg a tree at 6 years for Thar Sevika and Thar Bhubhraj, and the Bawal trial gave Kaithli 119.9 and 88.3 kg on 13-year-old trees. Umran fruit weighed 20.6 to 30.9 g in trials. The sites and ages differ, so use these as a guide only, and record your own yield for three seasons.
When does Thar Malti ripen?
Late. CIAH says the fruit ripens 145 to 150 days from fruit set, but it gives no calendar month, so we cannot say when your first pick will be. For contrast, CIAH says Thar Bhubhraj is ready from the last week of December to the first week of January. Note the date your trees set fruit and the date of your first pick for three seasons before you promise a buyer a delivery date.
Can Thar Malti really take frost?
CIAH says the plant tolerates low temperatures, including about -2 °C, and that the fruit yield stays unaffected by temperature stress. It publishes no trial, number of frosty nights or crop loss figure behind that. Treat it as a lead, not a guarantee. Plant a few trees, and record any damage to leaves, flowers and fruit over three winters before you plant a block.
Is Thar Malti sweet, and is it a health food?
Its sugar is middling to high, but the numbers disagree: 18.6 °Brix in CIAH's variety listing and 25.3 in its 2020 report, where Thar Sevika read 25.5 and Thar Bhubhraj 24.3 in the same table. The 2020 analysis also found the highest vitamin C, phenols, flavonoids and antioxidant activity among 30 ber types, and CIAH says the fruit could be promoted as a health food. Those are laboratory values and not proof of a health effect. Test your own fruit with a hand refractometer and sell on taste and size.
Sourced from: ICAR-CIAH Bikaner — varieties identified at institute level (ber, Thar Malti), ICAR-CIAH Annual Report 2020 (nutraceutical analysis of 30 ber cultivars, Table 118), ICAR-CIAH Annual Report 2021 (fruit set of 42 ber genotypes under hot arid conditions), 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. editorial policy.