26 Feb Nutritional value and cultivation of water chestnut under wetland ecosystem
सिंधाडे का पोषण मूल्य तथा आर्द्रभूमि पारिस्थितिकी तंत्र में सिंघाड़े की खेती Water Chestnut (Trapa bispinosa Roxb.) is one of the most important aquatic nut crop grown in wetland ecosystem. Water Chestnut, Commonly known as Singhara or Panipha, is one of the few neglected but economically important aquatic crops of tropical and sub-tropical origin. It is a floating aquatic plant that grown in marshes, shallow lakes, railway track side depression and highway side depressions. It belongs to the family Lythraceae or Trapaceae and has three different species like T. bispinosa, T. natans and T. quadrispinosa or T. bicornis. In India, Water Chestnut is mainly cultivated in Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, M.P. and lower parts of Uttaranchal, UP, Jammu and Kashmir and Orissa. In Bihar particularly extensively cultivated in Darbhanga, Madhubani and Samastipur districts. It is easy growing water plant, thrives best in soft nutrient rich water of lakes and shallow ponds. On the basis of morphology of fruit of water chestnut, it is of two types, one is thorny and another one is thornless. It is a knobby edible nut with a reddish black and pure green skin and a white crunchy flesh. Singhara crop is planted in June and bear fruit in November. In Bihar, only red thorny fruit type water chestnut is found. The fruit of...