**Abstract**

Tamarind is a multi-purpose long-lived tree with heavy drooping branches and thick foliage. The entire fruit consists of 55% pulp, 34% seeds, and 11% hull and fibers. The tamarind tree produces numerous elongated fruit pods in a season that encompasses its branches in myriad. Brittleness in shell, changes in testa color, and a hollow sound from fruit when finger pressed signify matured fruit of the tree. Postharvest operations involved in Tamarind are drying, dehulling, defining, deseeding, pressing into cake, and storage. These operations are carried out by traditional and mechanical methods. Tamarind dehullers and deseeder were developed with efficiencies of around 94% and 83% respectively to minimize the losses involved in manual handling. The intrinsic value of raw tamarind may be furthermore desirable through processing into value-added products.

**Keywords:** tamarind, drought conditions, fruit pods, harvesting, intrinsic value, processing

#### **1. Introduction**

Tamarind (*Tamarindus indica* L.) is a commercially important tree that can be found in many Asian, African, and South American nations. The tree can reach its full potential with a crown diameter of 12 m and a height of 25 m. It is perfect for dry and semi-arid climates, particularly in drought-prone locations that lasts for a long time. The tamarind tree is a low-maintenance tree that is easy to grow. It is largely devoid of major pests and illnesses, and it has a long life expectancy. It can live up to 80–200 years and produce 150–500 kg of pods [1]. Each pod has a firm outer shell that surrounds a deep brown mushy pulp that encases two to ten hard dark-brown seeds. The pulp is sticky, as it is highly hygroscopic. The tamarind pulp is high in sugar, ranging from 21% to 30%, and its hygroscopicity increases as the relative humidity rises at room temperature.

India is the world's greatest producer of tamarind, with 300,000 t projected to be produced each year. It's especially common in states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Thailand is the second greatest producer, with 150,000 t recorded in 1995, with the sweet variety accounting for the majority of tamarind [2]. Mexico is also on the list commercially produces tamarind to a volume of approximately 29,600 t per year (**Figure 1**).

**Figure 1.** *Tamarind tree, India.*
