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Pongamia trees offer renewable energy, plant-based protein
https://www.voanews.com/a/pongamia-trees-offer-renewable-energy-plant-based-protein/7688123.htmlPongamia trees offer renewable energy, plant-based protein
July 07, 2024 1:28 AM
By Associated Press
FILE - The pods of a pongamia tree are ready to pick at a grove, June 6, 2024, in St. Lucie County, Fla.
[...]
As large parts of the Sunshine State's once-famous citrus industry have all but dried up over the past two decades because of two fatal diseases, greening and citrus canker, some farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel.
For years, pongamia has been used for shade trees, producing legumes — little brown beans — that are so bitter wild hogs won't even eat them.
[...]
Pongamia trees also don't need fertilizer or pesticides. They flourish in drought or rainy conditions. And they don't require teams of workers to pick the beans. A machine simply shakes the tiny beans from the branches when they are ready to harvest.
Terviva, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2010 by Naveen Sikka, then uses its patented process to remove the biopesticides that cause the bitter taste, making the beans suitable for food production.
[...]
July 07, 2024 1:28 AM
By Associated Press
FILE - The pods of a pongamia tree are ready to pick at a grove, June 6, 2024, in St. Lucie County, Fla.
[...]
As large parts of the Sunshine State's once-famous citrus industry have all but dried up over the past two decades because of two fatal diseases, greening and citrus canker, some farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel.
For years, pongamia has been used for shade trees, producing legumes — little brown beans — that are so bitter wild hogs won't even eat them.
[...]
Pongamia trees also don't need fertilizer or pesticides. They flourish in drought or rainy conditions. And they don't require teams of workers to pick the beans. A machine simply shakes the tiny beans from the branches when they are ready to harvest.
Terviva, a San Francisco-based company founded in 2010 by Naveen Sikka, then uses its patented process to remove the biopesticides that cause the bitter taste, making the beans suitable for food production.
[...]