Publication
from Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0
by C. Orwa, A. Mutua, R. Kindt, R. Jamnadass and S. Anthony
Morus alba L.
Local Names: Amharic (yeferenji
injori); Arabic (tuth); Bengali (tut); Burmese (posa); English (white
mulberry, mulberry, Indian mulberry, Russian mulberry); Filipino
(amoras, amingit); French (mûrier blanc); German (Weiße Maulbeere);
Gujarati (shetun); Hindi (hipnerle, reshms
chattu, shahtut, chinni, tut, tutri, siah tut); Indonesian (bebesaran
lampung, bebesaran, murbei); Italian (morera blanco, moral blanco, gelso
bianco); Javanese (bebesaran lampung); Luganda (nkenene); Nepali
(kimbu); Sanskrit (tula); Spanish (morera); Swahili
(mfurusadi, mforsadi); Tamil (kambli chedi, musukette, mussuketi); Thai
(mon, posa); Trade name (mulberry, tut, white mulberry); Vietnamese
(dâu-tàm, d[awf]m tang, d[aa]u, t[awf]m tang)
Family: Moraceae
Botanic
Description
Morus alba is a
fast-growing shrub or moderate-sized tree with a fairly cylindrical,
straight bole, up to 35 m high and 1.8 m in girth, without buttresses;
bark dark greyish-brown, rough with vertical fissures; exuding white or
yellowish-white latex.
Leaves very variable, ovate or broadly
ovate, distichous, simple to 3-lobed, dentate, palmately 3-veined at
base; stipules lateral, caducous, coriaceous.Inflorescence axillary,
pendulous.
Flowers greenish, inconspicuous, with 4 free
imbricate petals. Male flowers in a catkinlike raceme, with lax
flowers; stamens 4, pistillode top-shaped. Female flowers in a long or
short spike; ovary enclosed, 1-(2-) locular with a single ovule, style
bipartite.
Fruit a syncarp, consisting of many drupes enclosed
in a fleshy perianth up to 5 cm long; white, pinkish-white, purple or
black.It has been suggested that the generic name of the mulberry,
Morus, was derived from the Latin word ‘mora’ (delay), from the tardy
expansion of the buds. An alternative explanation is that it comes from
the Celtic word ‘mor’ (black), referring to the colour of the fruit.
Biology
Flowers are normally
bisexual but can be unisexual on different branches of the same plant.
Both types appear in stalked, axillary, pendulous catkins in April and
May. Fruit ripens and drops off the tree from June to August; water,
birds, jackals and human beings often disperse it.
Ecology
M. alba
grows in areas with a subtropical or mild temperate climate. The
shade-tolerant trees are highly susceptible to drought and inhabit
ravines, valleys and coastal areas.
Biophysical
Limits
Altitude: 0-3300 m, Mean annual temperature: 0-43 deg. C, Mean annual rainfall: 1500-2500 mm
Soil
type: The plant grows on a variety of soils ranging from sandy loam to
clayey loam, but prefers deep, alluvial, loamy soil with sufficient
moisture and pH 6.0-7.5.
Documented
Species Distribution
Native: Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam, Zanzibar
Exotic:
The
map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does
neither suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological
zone within that country, nor that the species can not be planted in
other countries than those depicted. Since some tree species are
invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to your
planting site.
Products
Food: Leaves are highly
nutritious and contain vitamins B complex (except B12), C (200-300
mg/100 g), D and flavonols. They are sometimes eaten as a vegetable;
fruit is eaten fresh or made into juice and stews.
Fodder:Leaves are used as
fodder for livestock; up to 6 kg of leaves a day can be fed to dairy
cows to improve milk yield. Shade-dried leaves incorporated into feed
enhance health and egg production in poultry.
Fuel: Makes medium-quality fuelwood with a calorific value of 4370-4770 kcal/kg.
Fiber: Wood yields sulphate
pulp with satisfactory strength for white writing and printing paper;
bark is worked in to paper pulp and fibre is suitable for the textile
industry.
Timber: M. alba
yields a medium-weight hardwood with a density of 670-850 kg/cubic m.
Heartwood yellow or yellowish-brown, darkening to golden or red-brown
upon exposure, sharply demarcated from up to 4 cm wide; white or pale
yellow sapwood; grain straight, texture moderately coarse and even in
the semi-ring porous material, uneven in ring porous material; wood
lustrous at first, becoming dull with age, with attractive silver
grain. In seasoning, the wood has a tendency to warp. It is easy to
saw, work, turn, bend and finish, and it seasons well. It is suitable
for house building, boats, beams, posts, flooring, bridge building,
agricultural implements, cabinet work, furniture and turnery,
especially picker arms, bobbins and tool handles; useful for spokes,
poles, shafts and bent parts of carriages and carts; also much valued
for sports equipment such as hockey sticks, tennis and badminton
rackets, and cricket bats.
Alcohol: Fruit juice may be fermented and used to make liquor.
Tannin or
dyestuff: Contains about 32% tannin, suitable for tanning and colouring purposes.
Essential oil: Fruit contains cineole, geraniol, linalyl acetate, alpha-pinene and limone as major components of the essential oils.
Medicine: Bark is said to be
good in the treatment of stomach-ache, neuralgic pains and dropsy;
leaves and young branchlets used for treating heavy colds, cough, red
eye, insect bites and wounds; fruit used in the treatment of sore
throat, dyspepsia and melancholia.
Other products: Grown extensively for its leaves, used in rearing silkworms; its cultivation is integral to the sericulture industry.
Services
Erosion control: A useful species for stabilizing physical soil-conservation structures.
Shade or shelter: Recommended for shelter planting such as protecting orchards from wind.
Reclamation: Grown on wastelands.
Soil improver: The species helps in maintaining soil fertility through litter fall; lowers soil surface temperature.
Ornamental: Grown on roadsides and avenues as an ornamental tree.
Tree
Management
To minimize
competition, the plants must occasionally be weeded. Once in several
years, the plant should be pruned down to regularize its shape and
allow the growth of new shoots. The form depends on the height of the
plant and the height at which the old branches are cut. M. alba
requires protection against fire and browsing, to which it is
susceptible. Plantations are managed by coppicing; in India,
20-year-old coppice shoots of M. alba
showed a mean annual diameter increment of 1.5 cm and a mean annual
height increment of 1 m. Early growth was very fast: 4.5 m in the 1st 2
years.
Germplasm
Management
Seed
storage behaviour is orthodox, with viability being maintained for
several years in hermetic storage at room temperature; more than 3
years of hermetic storage at room temperature with 13-2% mc. There are
about 1.1 million seeds/kg.
Pests and
Diseases
Larvae of Ascotis selenaria, Cacoecia micaceana, Diacrisia indica, D. obliqua, Metanstria hyrtaca defoliate the tree; larvae of Dichocrosis punctiferalis damage the fruit; mealybugs breed on the plant. Porcupines also damage young plants.
Several fungal diseases attack the plant: heart rot, spongy rot, leaf spot, stem rot, powdery mildew, rust and stem canker.
Further
Reading
Anon. 1986. The useful plants of India. Publications & Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi, India.
Bekele-Tesemma
A, Birnie A, Tengnas B. 1993. Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia.
Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU), Swedish International
Development Authority (SIDA).
Erkkila A, Harri S. 1992. Silva Carelica Forestry in Namibia 1850-1990. University of Joensuu.
Gupta RK. 1992. Multipurpose trees for agroforestry and wasteland utilization. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. PVT. Ltd.
Hocking D. 1993. Trees for Drylands. Oxford & IBH Publishing Co. New Delhi.
Hong TD, Linington S, Ellis RH. 1996. Seed storage behaviour: a compendium. Handbooks for Genebanks: No. 4. IPGRI.
ICRAF.
1992. A selection of useful trees and shrubs for Kenya: Notes on their
identification, propagation and management for use by farming and
pastoral communities. ICRAF.
Katende AB et al. 1995. Useful trees
and shrubs for Uganda. Identification, Propagation and Management for
Agricultural and Pastoral Communities. Regional Soil Conservation Unit
(RSCU), Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA).
Kayastha BP. 1985. Silvics of the trees of Nepal. Community Forest Development Project, Kathmandu.
Lanzara
P. and Pizzetti M. 1978. Simon & Schuster's Guide to Trees. New
York: Simon and SchusterMbuya LP et al. 1994. Useful trees and shrubs
for Tanzania: Identification, Propagation and Management for
Agricultural and Pastoral Communities. Regional Soil Conservation Unit
(RSCU), Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA).
Nicholson B.E, Harrison S.G, Masefield G.B & Wallis M. 1969. The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press.
Parkash
R, Hocking D. 1986. Some favourite trees for fuel and fodder. Society
for promotion of wastelands development, New Delhi, India.
Perry LM. 1980. Medicinal plants of East and South East Asia : attributed properties and uses. MIT Press. South East Asia.
Singh RV. 1982. Fodder trees of India. Oxford & IBH Co. New Delhi, India.
Sosef
MSM, Hong LT, Prawirohatmodjo S. (eds.). 1998. PROSEA 5(3) Timber
trees: lesser known species. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.
Vimal OP, Tyagi PD. Fuelwood from wastelands. Yatan Publications, New Delhi, India.
Williams R.O & OBE. 1949. The useful and ornamental plants in Zanzibar and Pemba. Zanzibar Protectorate.
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