Forget pepino melon, persimmon is new fruit in town

Mr John Thimba demonstrates a point on persimmon crop cultivation to farmers in his farm where he is growing persimmon fruits in Nyeri. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • John Thimba’s farm is a beehive of activity as farmers flock there because of the persimmon fruit, which he grows selling each for up Sh100.
  • The fruit is high in minerals like sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron and beta-carotene.
  • Thimba came to know about the plant from Charles Eric, a British alternative medicine researcher, and David Thuku, a nutritionist, both who reside in Nanyuki and are his friends.
  • The plant is mostly affected by rot disease, which causes falling of fruits and leaves and drying of the crop.

Some 12km from Nyeri town in Ihururu village sits a farm that is attracting farmers in droves.

Known as Plain Field and owned by John Thimba, a retired banker and a businessman in Nairobi, the farm hosts some fruits that resemble tomatoes, whose value many are starting to appreciate.

Thimba grows the persimmon, a yellowy-orange tomato-shaped fruit, which is highly nutritious and has medicinal value.

The fruit is high in minerals like sodium, calcium, magnesium, iron and beta-carotene.

Research has shown that persimmon, which is also known as the Sharon fruit, contains a lot of dietary fibre and compounds that ward off several diseases.

Seeds of Gold team finds Thimba, with the help of his two workers, busy watering his 25,000 persimmon plants.

Some 10 members of a community health organisation have visited to learn more about the plant, with the hope of starting their own project.

“I grow the Israeli variety, which is known as the Sharon fruit, although in other places where it is grown like Asia, Europe and America, it is known as persimmon,” offers Thimba, noting the Israel variety is a shrub while the other are trees.

The shrub variety takes three months to mature, while the tree about three years.

“I planted the fruit on two acres in February, investing in the entire project Sh450,000, which went to installation of water tanks, drip and overhead irrigation pipes and general labour after seeing the fruits potential.”

Thimba came to know about the plant from Charles Eric, a British alternative medicine researcher, and David Thuku, a nutritionist, both who reside in Nanyuki and are his friends.

“The two are doing a research on use of persimmon to blend other plants and oils such as canola for use as alternative medicine. Thuku had imported some seeds from Asia which he supplied to me and took me through on how to propagate them, first in the seedbed,” he says.

ORGANIC MANURE AND ASH

To grow the seeds, he first starts by mixing soil with organic fertiliser, mainly animal manure, and ash, which helps to keep worms at bay.

“I then spread the seeds in the soil, cover them with a thin layer of soil and the seedbed with a greenhouse net. The net protects the seedlings from harsh weather like heavy rains and extreme sunlight,” says Thimba, adding the seeds start sprouting after about seven days.

After three weeks, he transfers the plants into black polythene pots where they stay for about a month before he transplants them to the main field.

The seedlings are planted in a four by four feet spacing to allow them to grow spaciously, with the soil also being mixed with organic manure and ash.

The persimmon fruit cut into two halves. PHOTO | JOHN KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

“The plants take a maximum of three months to mature and to start producing fruits. A plant bears up to 800 fruits in a year when well-watered, offered manure and pruned. It becomes unproductive in two years,” says Thimba of the fruit that can be eaten raw or used to make salad and juice.

One, thereafter, can cut the stem, allowing it to sprout again.

Thimba sells a fruit at between Sh50 and Sh100 in the markets in Nyeri and he further propagates seedlings that he sells up to Sh500 at Sh300 each to curious farmers.

ALSO GROWS PEPINO MELONS

His first harvest was in July, and Thimba who is also growing pepino melon, says he was able to make more than Sh200,000 from selling persimmon fruits, making me plant more.

So far, he knows 12 farmers in Nyeri and Nanyuki who have started planting the fruit to cash in on growing demand.

Ephantus Ndirangu, a crop development officer with the Ministry of Agriculture in Nyeri, says they are working with the farmers to develop the crop.

“Before a farmer introduces a new plant, he must first register with agricultural officers in the county. I visited Thimba’s farm after he reported that he is planting the persimmon fruit. I took a sample to Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation for analysis on the crop’s viability and we are waiting the feedback.”

The plant is mostly affected by rot disease, which causes falling of fruits and leaves and drying of the crop.

“It affects plants when they come in contact with chemicals such as inorganic fertiliser and plant sprays. To control this disease, using animal manure mixed with ash keeps the plant health.

Ash can also be sprinkled at the root stem. Constant pruning also helps to ensure the fruits don’t get in touch with the ground which also causes fruit root,” says Ndirangu.

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Small fruit, Many benefits

  • Persimmon is rich with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Magnesium, Iron, Calcium, Iodine and phosphorus.
  • Studies show that persimmons are great for managing hypertension because their contents help regulate blood pressure.
  • Generally, the fruit is a great immune boosters, which makes it fight various illnesses some within a short period of time.
  • Persimmon contains health benefiting flavonoid poly-phenolic anti-oxidants such as catechins and gallocatechins in addition to having an important anti-tumor compound, betulinic acid.
  • Some of the compounds in persimmons boost eye health. For instance, Zeaxanthin, a member of the B complex of vitamins, is directly linked to improved eye health.