Facts about thitseint (bellaric myrobalan)

There have probably been some doubts about the consumption of thitseint oil (bellaric myrobalan) and cultivation of thitseint trees. Doubt can harm the friendship and trust between friends. It can also destroy the work and ambition one has set.

The Head of State gave guidance that people should grow thitseint trees, a kind of oil crop, extensively in the country to meet the public edible oil requirement and to generate surplus. I would like to present detailed facts on knowledge about thitseint to those concerned from various organizations who are undertaking the cultivation work of thitseint in the long run.

Nurturing a thitseint tree.

Initially, I took interest when I saw thitseint trees, nuts and oil. During a divisional level official's inspection tour, I requested him for the permission of the Forest Department for growing thitseint plants on its nursery. And then I discussed the matter with U Htwe Thein, head of township health department, and we started growing 4,000 saplings of thitseint in May 2004.

When an official of the Ministry of Forestry went on inspection tour there, he gave an instruction on growing 10,000 saplings of thitseint the next year after he had learnt the thitseint plantation was thriving well. So I was delighted that we could open the way to cultivation of thitseint.

Amount of oil produced from thitseint

According to local people, three baskets of thitseint nuts can produce one viss of oil. As 'seeing is believing” we made arrangements to have three baskets of thitseint crushed at the plum crusher at Myingyan Brokerage on 21-8-2001 in the presence of township level officials and those of social organizations, restaurant owners and chefs totalling about 30. One basket of thitseint fruits produced one pyi or one sixteenth of a basket of thitseint cores. Then, three pyis of thitseint cores were milled at U Hla Ngwe's oil mill and one pyi produced 35 ticals of oil. Three pyis produced 1.05 viss of oil. It was confirmed that three baskets of thitseint nuts could produce one viss of thitseint oil. When we had three pyis of pea nuts milled at the same mill, it produced 1.15 viss of oil. So we have learnt that rate of thitseint oil yield is not much different from that of groundnut oil yield.

Difference between taste of thitseint oil and that of groundnut oil

Doctors, engineers and departmental officials, members of social organizations, restaurant owners and chefs were also invited to the occasion to recognize different tastes of thitseint oil and groundnut oil. All tasted food prepared with thitseint oil and appreciated the taste.

Rate of fruit-bearing of a thitseint tree

According to farmer U Paw Than of Kyunmagyi village in Seikphyu township, his thitseint tree yielded fruits of five cart-loads a year. A cart could carry 12 baskets of thitseint fruits. Similarly, other farmers who owned thitseint trees said a thitseint tree could yield 30 to 60 baskets of fruits a year depending on soil condition.

On the morning of 28-2-2002 we visited a monastery in Htanchaung village by Siekphyu-Saw road where there was a thitseint tree. We went there on a truck and asked permission from the Sayadaw to pluck fruits from the tree that was about 30 years old. We could not see the fruits clearly as they were covered with leaves. That was why we wondered whether we could gather 20-30 baskets of fruits or not. However, to our surprise, we could collect 49 baskets of thitseint fruits. Besides, there was still about one basket of fruits left in the tree. So we could say the tree yielded 50 baskets of thitseint fruits. We were no longer doubtful that a thitseint tree could yield 50 to 60 baskets of fruits a year.

Life span of Thitseint

Sayadaw U Sirinda who himself grew the tree in Htahchaung Village said that it was only 30 years. As I would like to know the life span of the tree, I went to Hngetpyawa Village. U Tun Kywe from the village said that he was 76 and the Thitseint tree had been in existence since the village was established. He thought ancient pagodas nearby that had collapsed indicated that the village was 500 years old. Therefore the tree is many years old. When he was young, his family relied on Thitseint oil, he said. Now the tree is old and it bears over 10 baskets of nuts a year. Personnel from forest department measured the circumference of the tree and it is 12.5 feet. All agreed that the tree was at least 200 years old.

The colour of Thitseint oil

Like groundnut oil , Thitseint oil is yellow. At my office, I put Thitseint oil in five bottles and groundnut oil in another five bottles. Some people who came to the office could not distinguish which one was Thitseint or groundnut among the ten bottles. The colour of Thitseint and groundnut is almost the same.

Elements and food in Thitseint

In the article of the Union of Myanmar Applied Research Journal ingredients of crops and animal oil are described as follows:
(a) palmitic acid 35.0%
(b) stearic acid 9.77%
(c) oleic acid 24.0%
(d) linoleic acid 31.0%
(c) iodine value 96.0%

Preparing thitseint to thrive

Thitseint tree bears plenty of fruits depending on the good soil. People these days can make trees bear fruits anytime of the year. I don’t think it will be difficult to make Thitseint bear fruits every year. Some farmers have ability to do so although their methods are not scientific. Farmer U Hla Aung of Kyundaw Village said he had difficulty to place the cattle in his house compound. Finally he kept the cows in the enclosure under a Thitseint tree. As a result, the tree bore fruits well every year. The cow dung became fertilizer.

Farmer U Aung Tin of Kanbani Village said he put natural fertilizers 50 feet around the Thitseint tree in March and watered it till the monsoon came. Later, after the preparation of the soil, the tree fruited well every year, he said.

When I inspected the two trees planted in the monastery compound by Leikchan Sayadaw U Pandita, I found that water was supplied to the trees. After five years, the trees began to fruit. Now they are seven years old. Some wrongly stated that Thitseint includes in the deciduous forest. According to the deciduous forest, leaves fall in winter after the rainy season. Thitseint fruits fall in March after they are ripe. The tree likes water and grows well near creeks and drains and it is ever green.

There are a lot of interesting facts left. According to the practical and sound finding with the aid of photos and video documentary, there will be sufficiency of edible oil for a family for hundreds of years if five Thitseint trees are grown and the surplus can also be sold.

Author :  Ni Koon (GAD)