Mullu
maram / Velikattan , biological
name is Prosopis juliflora is a shrub or small tree in the Fabaceae
family, a kind of mesquite. It
is native to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. It has become established as an invasive weed in Africa, Asia, Australia and
elsewhere.
It also takes over pastoral grasslands and uses scarce water. Livestock which consume excessive amounts of seed pods are poisoned. It causes land erosion due to the loss of the grasslands that are habitats for native plants and animals.
In the Afar Region in Ethiopia the pastoralists call this "Devil Tree"
thus in Hindi it is called angaraji babul, Kabuli kikar, in Kannada it is known as "Ballaari Jaali" meaning Jaali, in Tamil language it is known ascheemai karuvel (சீமைக்கருவேலை),in the Telugu language it is known as mulla tumma (ముల్ల తుమ్మ)
Introduction
of Prosopis in India
Introduction of Prosopis juliflora, a native of
Central America, in India could be traced first in literature from Lt. Col.
R.H. Bendome, Conservator of Forests of Northern circle (Madras) requesting the
Secretary of Revenue Department of Madras to supply Prosopis seed
in 1876 for planting in arid tracts of South India (Reddy, 1978). Seeds were
received from Jamaica and sown in South India during 1877. Reference to the
occurrence of P. juliflora in this region was given 7 years
after (Raizda and Chatterji, 1954).
In Northern India, P. juliflora was
introduced in the arid tracts of Rajasthan, owing to its rapid growth features
and drought hardiness during 1877 (Muthana and Arora, 1983).
Aerial seeding of
this species to cover large areas was done at Marwar in Rajasthan during 1930s
(Harsh et. al. 1996). The species was declared as a “Royal tree”
and the Government officially instructed planting and protection of the tree
species during 1940 (Muthana and Arora, 1983)
source: http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/thematic-sitemap/theme/biodiversity/weeds/issues/pro/en/
Using the wood in a fireplace has caused dermatitis, as has
working with seasoned wood. The gum has irritant properties. Reports on cattle
toxicity vary. Lewis and Elvin-Lewis (1977) report that ingestion over long
periods of time will result in death in cattle. Further, they report that the
pollen may cause allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma, and/or hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
Kingsbury (1964) goes into some detail on mesquite poisoning in cattle,
including cases where autopsies showed pods and seeds in the rumen 9 months
after the cattle could have ingested them. Mesquite poisoning may induce a
permanent impairment of the ability to digest cellulose.
Felker and Bandurski
(1979) also provide interesting detail. If Prosopis pods are the sole food source for cattle, 1% become sick, and
some die with a compacted pod ball in the rumen. Death is attributed to high
sugar content repressing the rumen-bacterial cellulose activity.
Mesquite
feeding to pigs was promising during the first four weeks, deteriorating
thereafter, perhaps due to phytohemagglutinins and trypsin inhibition.
The Prosopis juliflora ,
or ‘seema karuvelam’ menace
This tree has been no use other than the fuel plant, the cost we have to pay for it is
1. Depletes the ground water as deep as 100 feet and water bodies as lakes.
2. Poisons the ground water and the water bodies
3. Depletes the moisture in the air around.
4. Using it in the fireplace causes Dermatitis
5. The Pollen causes Allergic rhinitis, Bronchial Asthma and
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis.
6. Feeding the cattle will induce permanent impairment of the
ability to digest cellulose
