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NRI OKRA KING also has become "BER" KING
Ber’s improved variety is more nutritious than apple
It is quite nutritious and rich in vitamin C
Los Angeles, Jan 13, 2011
Gary Sing/S. Singh
Few years back, I was at Mr, Samra's farm along with school children's picnic trip as usually they do every year. As we continued tour to see Mr. Samra's operation for cultivation of different vegetables, he also mentioned BER trees which were about 2-3 feet high in 2-3 acre area. I did not give attention to his project because I was not seeing as a success story that time or his vision with investment would bring any fruit. This was not even my fault because we always like to write success stories.
Last month, I was in Samra's farm and again he mentioned Ber trees which were grown about 5-10 feet with full of amazing fruit. He had invested big money in this product with the vision that he would be only person who brought Ber in North American market. He offered few Bers to taste as shown above:
Believe or not when I was chewing fully ripe, golden yellow Ber- a juicy, a pleasant aroma, flesh white and crisp taste remind me, my young life in villiage, 40 years ago when we used to eat these bers.
Do BER fruit contain more nutritional value than apple:
Ber is a fruit of variable shape and size. Its shape can be found oval, oblong , round and size can be 1.00 inch - 2.5 inch
long and about 1.00 inch in diameter. Its size is also depending upon variety.
Ber’s skin is soft, smooth, glossy and thin but
tight. It looks golden yellow when fully ripe. It is juicy, a pleasant aroma and flesh is white and crisp. It is eaten fresh and
also processed into delicious candy, pickled or used in beverages.
Ber fruits are very nutritious and are rich in vitamins A, B and C.
Indian varieties are not as rich in sugar and vitamin C as the good Chinese varieties. ·
- It contain 50 to 150mg of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) per 100 mg of fruit and 12-18.7% sugar.
- It means, it is even better than the vitamin C content of the juice of sweet oranges.
Ber is called in Hindi and Punjab, also known Badari (Sanskrit), Kul or Boroi (Bengali), Dongs, Boroi, Bor, Beri, Indian plum, permseret (Anguilla).
Ber tropical fruit tree species, belonging to the family of Rhamnaceae of southern Asia (India) grows very fast even in dry regions
  
Ber spine tree with many drooping branches, a evergreen shrub is a hardy fruit of India. This small tree reach 5-12 meter high and lifespan of 25 years . It’s vine-like branches, leaves which are dark green on the upper surface-- flowers in autumn, bears fruits at the end of winter. It is also required pruning every year to get new shoots which bear good quality fruits
Ber is originally belonging to India but it is also found in China, Africa, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Australia, and Fiji.
Ber is cultivated throughout India including States such as Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh covering about 12000 ha. Area . India and Pakistan has improved varieties by grafting
In India, it was used to call- the poor man’s fruit. because of poor quality and their fruit sells cheap. Now trend has changed due to variety and quality of the Ber.
Mr. Samra said, "we are looking at some ways to successfully sell our product online."
Mr. Samra spends millions of dollars for innovation and use helicopters whirring above his valuable and sensitive veggie crops, an unusual approach by moving back and forth in the early morning hours to push warmer air closer to the plants.
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