Patna Park Division

Botanical Name:	Aegle marmelos
English Name:	Bael
Local Name:	Marathi - Bael, Bengali - Bela, Gujarati - Bil, Kannada - Bilpatre, Malayalam - Kuvalam, Sanskrit - Bilva, Tamil - Vilvam, Telugu - Maredu, Urdu - Bel, Hindi - Bael

Bael tree is a slow-growing deciduous shrub or tree that can reach an eventual height of 10 - 15 metresThe tree is armed with 1 - 2cm long spines on older branches and also produces very spiny basal suckers.Plants are very drought toleran. Seedling trees begin to crop when 6 - 7 years old, vegetatively propagated plants bear fruit after 5 years and full bearing can be attained in about 15 years.A tree may yield as many as 800 fruits in a season but an average crop is 150 to 200, or, in the better cultivars, up to 400.

Medicinal use:- The fruits, leaves, twigs and root of the bael tree are used medicinally, They contain coumarins, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins and oil.The dried pulp is astringent. It reduces irritation in the digestive tract and is an excellent remedy in cases of diarrhoea and dysentery. The ripe fruit is also laxative and demulcent. It eases stomach pain and supports healthy function of the stomach.The leaves are astringent and are used in the treatment of peptic ulcers.A paste made from about 100g of the leaves is mixed in a cup of water and administered orally once a day for 3 days in the treatment of diabetes.Other uses:-There is as much as 9% tannin in the pulp of wild fruits, less in the cultivated.The essential oil of the leaves contains d-limonene, 56% a-d-phellandrene, cineol, citronellal, citral; 17% p-cyrnene, 5% cumin aldehyde. The limonene-rich oil has been distilled from the rind for scenting hair.A pungent essential oil obtained from the fruit rind is used in making perfumes and soap.A leaf extract from the plant has been found to have insecticidal activity against the brown plant hopper, an important pest of rice plant in Asia

Bael plants should be planted at a distance of 8m x 8m (Budded plants) or 10m x 10m (seedlings). Pits of 90cm x 90cm x 90cm size are dug and filled with a mixture of top soil + 25 kg farmyard manure and 50 g gamma BHC up to a level of 6 cm from the ground level. Irrigate the pits to let the soil settle down. February-March or July-August is the right time for planting.Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade.Soil: A well- drained, sandy loam soil. It can thrive even on poor, clay and stony soils.Water: Plants need to be cared for watering. Basin system providing more uniform distribution of water should be used for irrigation of young plants. Irrigation at monthly intervals should be given after the rainy season (October â€“April).Temperature: Can withstand low temperature even upto -7 C.Fertilizer: Apply 10 kg farm yard manure, 50g N, 25g P and 50gK/ plant to one year old plants. This dose should be increased every year in the same proportion up to the age of 10 years