N In A to Z of Poppies

The N in A to Z of poppies stands for nutshar, this is a tool used in Afghanistan for extracting opium alkaloids from the poppy pods in the fields. This tool was devised to have a handle and four blades that cut only the depth of the necessary extent to obtain the sap in the pod.

The poppy pod on the Papaver somnife has the outer layer; it has an inner chamber that contains the alakoids that are opium. Then there is an inner membrane that protects the seeds from being contaminated by the alkaloids that are located on the other side of the membrane.

The nutshar is devised so that it makes only shallow slices that allow them to penetrate a certain depth and not touch the membrane on the inside. This allows the sap to seep out of the pod where the farmer will let it dry so that it can be processed further. The nutshar is used a second and third time to extract the milky latex substance from the opium poppy pod several days apart.

While a similar tool might be used in other countries where the Papaver somniferum the nutshar is the tool that has been devised for the purpose of extracting the alkaloids from this flower in Afghanistan. This is where 90 percent of the opium poppies are grown and they are the suppliers of 70 percent of the opiate based illegal drugs world wide.

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