Jamun trees in full bloom in provincial capital

Labourers use special bamboo ladders to harvest fruit directly from trees

LAHORE: Bursting with nature’s bounty, countless Jamun or black plum trees trees lining Lahore Canal Road are currently in full bloom.

These annual guests stick around for only a few weeks out of the whole year, making them highly sought after. However, plucking these ripe beauties from trees has proven to be an extremely difficult task.

In order to harvest the treasure that resides on the branches of these trees, contractors have employed labourers who use special ladders made out of bamboo. These ladders are tied together using rope, after which it becomes a game of life and death to pluck the plums from the trees.

A labourer named Zahid, who hails from Kasur, revealed that he has come to the city only to harvest the black plums. “We will stay in the city until the season is over after which we will return to our village,” he stated.

Zahid added that he was taught how to pick the plums back home. “I have fallen out of trees and have sustained several minor injuries numerous times,” he maintained.

The trees only bear fruit for a month and a half to two months at the most. If torrential rains occur during this time, a lot of the plums are wasted because they fall to the ground. When the plums are in season, a single tree bears about 400 to 480 kilogrammes of fruit.



“When rains are coupled with gusty winds, a lot of the fruit is wasted because it falls to the ground,” said Abdul Salam, another labourer who plucks black plums for a living. “Unfortunately, the fallen fruit cannot be gathered and sold which causes us a significant financial loss,” he added.

The fruit is plucked directly from the tree and sold on carts along the roadside. Jamuns are a type of fruit which cannot be stored for long, therefore people prefer to buy them as soon as they have been picked, he expressed.

Desi black plums are sold for Rs100 to Rs80 per kilogramme, while plums grown on farms are sold for Rs150 per kilogramme.

During the course of a day, a single labourer can manage to pick approximately 40kg of fruit. In addition to this, the labourers also receive half of the money made by selling the fruit, which can be anywhere from Rs500 to Rs800 per day, he maintained.

Apart from Lahore Canal Road, Jamun trees can also be found in Jinnah Garden, Punjab University, Aitchison College, Federal Colony and other areas. When the fruit is in season, many children can be seen standing underneath these trees with their arms wide open to catch a single fruit. When their efforts prove successful, they enjoy the fruit under the shadow of its tree.

According to agricultural experts, small scented flowers bloom on black plum trees during spring. By the time the monsoon season rolls around, the fruit is ready to be harvested. Black plums are a hugely popular and fairly inexpensive fruit that only grows in the subcontinent. Some are sweet, while some are sour, however, all of them have countless health benefits.

Experts say that black plums are excellent in helping to control diabetes. A diabetes patient can maintain his blood sugar level by eating black plums after consuming food rich in sugars such as mangoes. The fruit is also used to prevent measles. It can also be used for acne, blemishes and to keep one’s skin tone even.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2018.