ABSTRACT
Khejri is the state tree of Rajasthan, linked with the socioeconomic development of Indian Thar Desert. This tree is termed as “kalptaru” or the “king of desert” owing to its food, feed, and medicinal values. It is believed that the local name khejri has been derived from the name of a village Khejrali in Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. The species is very common in arid and semiarid zones of the country and it is a multipurpose tree because almost every part of the tree is utilized. The tender pods are eaten green or dried after boiling, locally called as sangri used in preparation of curries and pickles and ripe pods are called as khokha, sweet which contain 9-14% crude protein, 6-16% sugar, 1.0-3.4% reducing sugars, and 45-55% carbohydrate. The pods and leaves are favorite feed for animals especially goats, ship, camel, etc. Its wood (stem and branches) is favored for cooking and domestic heating, hard and reasonably durable; the wood has a variety of uses for house building, posts, tool handles, and boat frames. The Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce is an important tree for the Thar Desert with hard climatic adaptation, represents one of the lifeline in desert habitat. This is a species represents all five-F, namely, Forest, Fiber, Fuel, Fodder and Food. This tree is also mythological important in local communities. High value of this species recognized as a State symbol (state tree of Rajasthan). Sangri is light green in color, straight,
roundish flat, soft, sweet in taste, length range from 13.1 to 20.2 cm, and weight between 0.97 and 1.75 g. The ripe pods are 13.5-22.5 cm in length, 0.49-0.65 cm in width, and 1.65-2.15 g in weight with 11.15-16.85 seeds per pod. The weight of 100 seeds is 0.66 g. A 5-year-grafted plant yields a harvest of about 4.25 kg tender pods (sangri) and 6.25 kg fodder (loong) per year.
