KATTHA INTRODUCTION Kattha & cutch are extracted from wood of Khair tree. Acacia is the botanical name of this tree and it has different varieties like Acacia Sundra, Acacia Catechuoides & Acacia Catechu. These species of tree are mainly concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The preferred locations are either UP or Bihar. Manufacture of Kattha is an important forest-based traditional industry in India. The Central Forest Research Institute has developed an improved process to manufacture kattha and cutch.
Manufacture of these products is simple and does not require sophisticated technology or equipments. There are many applications of these products. PRODUCT Kattha is bitter, acrid and is used in paan and in medicinal and ayurvedic preparations. Cutch is a by-product of kattha and is used as tanning material, as an additive and preservatives by many industries. MARKET POTENTIAL Kattha is being produced in the country since long and it is a mass consumption item as it is used in preparation of paan all over the country.
It has got medicinal values as well and is used in ayurvedic preparations as it cures itching, indigestion and bronchitis and is very effective in leprosy, ulcer, boils, piles, throat diseases etc. On the other hand, cutch has various industrial applications. It is one of the important sources of vegetable tanning materials, used extensively as an additive to the drilling mud used for oil drilling and for preservation of sailing rods, fishing nets, mail bags etc. Thus, both products are versatile with varied application. MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Heart wood of khair or acacia is cut into fine chips and around 8-9 kgs. of chips are kept in wire net cage to avoid direct contact with heated surface of extractor. These cages with about 25-27 ltrs. of water (3 times the weight of chips) are placed in extractors. Extraction is done by boiling chips with water for about 3 hours. Extracts from each extractor are mixed after filtering with the help of muslin cloth and concentrated in an open pan on fire and then kept in shade to facilitate crystalisation of Kattha for about 2 days.
After complete crystalisation, the curd like mass is passed through frame and plate-type filter press, operated manually and then it is washed with cold water which improves the quality of kattha. It is then placed on wooden frames provided with canvas cloth to separate traces of cutch. Finally, kattha is cut into uniform tablets with the help of wire cutter or knife and dried in sheds. The mother liquor after removal of kattha is further concentrated in an open pan till it becomes viscous and then poured in wooden frames for drying. The dried material is cutch.
About 100 kgs of acacia chips give 5 kgs. of kattha and 14 kgs of cutch. Yield largely depends upon the quality of chips. The process flow chart is as under: Growth Yield and Management of the Species The following statement shows the average rate of growth based on the measurements of 14 sample plots ofSaharanpur, Rohilkhand, Ramnagar, Lansdowne, Haldwani, Baharaich and Terai and Bhabar Forest Division of Uttar Pradesh. Average rate of growth AgeCrop HeightCrop Diametre (in years)(in metre)(in cms) 1011. 2712. 2 2016. 1518. 8 3018. 5922. 4 4019. 8125. 4 5020. 7327. 7 6021. 429. 7 7021. 6431. 2 The following table shows the total volume (Over Bark) and total volume (Under Bark) in cubic metres. D. B. H. Volume (Over Bark)Volume (Under Bark) (in cms)(in cubic metre)(in cubic metre) 100. 131510. 10084 200. 185020. 14195 300. 494150. 39836 400. 867180. 70860 501. 265771. 04037 The following table gives the yield of Khair for good, moderate and poor site qualities. The table is based on the data of 10 sample plots distributed in Haldwani, Terai & Bhabar, Siwalik, Ramnagar, Lansdowne divisions and Silviculture Nursery at Clutterbuckganj (Bareilly).
AgeDominantNumber of Trees / haTotal Volume / ha Height (in m)Diameter (in cms)(in cubic metre) Good Sites 1013. 523. 05579. 65 2018. 327. 044031. 31 3021. 129. 734947. 53 4023. 031. 828759. 38 5024. 533. 424268. 48 6025. 634. 620875. 93 Moderate Sites 1010. 621. 15573. 23 2015. 325. 446018. 00 3018. 128. 337633. 34 4020. 130. 531245. 47 5021. 632. 226455. 12 6022. 833. 522762. 97 Poor Sites 108. 018. 85570. 57 2012. 323. 54608. 22 3015. 126. 539619. 89 4017. 128. 833631. 30 5018. 730. 728840. 96 6019. 932. 225049. 25 Market and Marketable Products, used as Raw Material in Forest Based Industries
In India, State Forest departments are the major producers of Khair wood. The wood is generally disposed off by the respective State Forest Departments/Forest development corporations at their sale depots. Wholesale markets are mostly located in towns. These are permanent in nature where transaction take place daily throughout the year. In these markets (Mandis) the wholesalers and commission agents play an important role in the sale of produce. During recent years, with the development roads, communication and transport, there has been a marked increase in the sales of Khair wood at these markets (mandis).
In M. P. , marked Khair trees are cut in the coupe and if the trees are big then logged into pieces and numbered. Cut Khair wood is transported to depot where it is transferred to one of the following agencies. (i) Given to advance purchaser who has tendered the highest rate on log basis for a particular coupe. (ii) Given to cooperative societies or cottage industry for making Katha by country method. (iii) Supply of Khair wood to Katha factories under contractual obligation. (iv) In case of default by any of the above agencies Khair wood is auctioned from the depot. a) Khair Wood Used as Raw Material in Katha Industries About 63,000 tonnes of khair wood (Acacia catechu) in India is annually consumed for manufacture of cutch & catechu. Chemically the products are catechin (Katha) and catechutannicacid (cutch). A third article of commerce is also obtained in the shape of a white powder, known as kheersal, which appears as a deposit in the wood. It is used for medicinal purposes specially for cough and sore throat. (b) Yield of Katha (Cutch) The yield of katha and cutch varies considerably with the season in which the trees are felled and their girth, age and condition.
The maximum yield of katha is obtained from trees felled in autumn and winter. Trees that are gnarled and crooked are reported to give higher yields than straight one. Trees of higher girth having white lines on them are preferred. Freshly felled trees also give higher yields than dried ones. Dead trees are unsuitable for extraction. Following table depicts yield of katha & cutch from 100 kg. of khair heartwood in different parts of the country. StatesFactoriesSmall scale units KathaCutchKathaCutch Andhra Pradesh—-23 Mumbai (Inc. Maharashtra & Gujarat)4. 5123-410 Madhya Pradesh1. 5-1. 710-123– Uttar Pradesh4. 510. 5—-
West Bengal–10. 56. 3– Average katha yield per trees by the country method (Handi method) is estimated as under – Tree size girth in cmsAverage katha yield in Kg 31-380. 210 39-450. 455 Over 450. 900 (c) Marketing of Katha and Cutch Katha is marketed in the form of irregular pieces and small square tablets or blocks of grayish brown colour, which when fairly pure, exhibit crystalline feature. No regular statistics are however, available for the widely scattered production of katha and cutch by the cottage scale manufacturers whose total production may safely be placed at least as equal to the factory production, if not more.
There are eight katha factories in U. P. located at Izzatnagar, Bareilly Haldwani and Najibabad. It is in existence for past 50 years or so, while the other are of present origin. The factory at Izzatnagar processes about 10,000 tons of katha wood and produces about 500 tons of katha and 1,000 tons of cutch. The remaining factories utilize about 15,000 tons of heartwood and produce about 400 tons of katha and 1,000 tons of cutch. Their annual capacity varies from 1,000 to 3,000 tons of heartwood. Markets and Depots
Following are some of the important Khair wood markets and depots in Northern India. Haryana – Sonepat, Chachrauli, etc. Punjab – Roopnagar, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Dausya, etc. Uttar Pradesh – Kishanpur, Gorakhpur, Tulsipur, Najibabad, Gonda, Bareilly, Lakhimpur, Bahraich,Bijnore, etc. Uttaranchal – Raiwala Maharashtra – Chanda, Mhasrul, Kasa, Thane, etc. Gujarat – Waghai, Songarh, etc. Bihar – Hazaribagh, Monghyr, etc. Madhya Pradesh – Sidhi, Panna, Damoh, Sarguja, Sagar, Jabalpur, Sheopur, etc. REFERENCES National Forest Library and Information Centre Kumar S
