Turmeric Farming

Turmeric Farming :

How to grow turmeric . RS, the variety of turmeric crop is of duration 210 days and produces 420 quintals of fresh rhizomes per hectare. It’s curcumin content is 8.4 % and the dry recovery is 18%. The other good variety is Pratibha produces 391 Quintals of high quality turmeric per hectare, crop duration is 188 days curcumin is 6.2% and the dry recovery is 18.5%Turmeric Plantation in Haryana Punjab is picking up very fast.The cultivation of this Variety is mainly cultivated in Andhra pradesh Maharashtra Karnataka Tamilnadu Bihar and other parts of south India These are the high quality turmeric seed among others.
 

>>Crop Management <<

Turmeric can be grown in diverse tropical conditions from sea level to 1500 m above MSL at temperature ranging from 20 – 30 0 C with a rainfall of 1500 mm or more per annum. It is grown on different types of soils from light black, ashy loam, clayey loam and red soils. However, it thrives best in a well drained sandy or clay loam soils.
The land is prepared with the receipt of early monsoon in May. The soil is brought to fine tilth by giving about four deep ploughings. Weeds, stubbles, roots etc. are removed. Beds of size 1-1.5 m width, 15 cm height and of convenient length are prepared with spacing of 50 cm between beds. Small pits are made with hand hoe in the beds in rows with a spacing of 25 x 30 cm and covered with soil or dry powdered cattle manure. Planting is done by forming ridges and furrows. The optimum spacing in furrows and ridges is 45-60 cm between rows and 25 cm between plants.
Turmeric can be planted during April- May with the receipt of pre monsoon showers. Whole or split mother rhizomes are used for planting. A seed rate of 2500 kg of rhizomes is required for planting in one hectare.
Cattle manure or compost at the rate of 40 tonnes per hectare is applied by broadcasting and ploughing at the time of preparation of land or as basal dressing by spreading over the beds to cover the seed pits after planting. Fertilizers at the rate of 30 kg N 30 kg P2O5 and 60 kg K2O per hectare. In areas low in major nutrient status fertilizer rate to be applied is @ 60 kg N, 50 kg P2O5 and 120 kg K2O per hectare. The beds are earthed up after each top dressing with fertilizers.
The crop is to be mulched immediately planting with green leaves at the rate of 12-15 tonnes per hectare. It may be repeated for second time after 50 days with the same quantity of green leaves after weeding and application of fertilzers.
Weeding may be done thrice at 60, 120 and 150 days after planting depending upon weed intensity. Turmeric can be raised as mixed crop with chillies, colocasia, onion, brinjal and cereals like maize, ragi etc.
In the case of irrigated crop, depending upon the weather and the soil conditions, about 15-20 irrigations are to be given in clayey soils and 40 irrigations in sandy loams.
Shoot borer and rhizome scales are the major pests in turmeric. Leaf blotch, leaf spot and rhizome rot are the major diseases infecting turmeric.
The crops becomes ready for harvest in seven to nine months depending upon the variety. Usually it extends from January – March. The land is ploughed and the rhizomes are carefully lifted with a spade. Harvested rhizomes are cleaned of mud and other extraneous matter adhering to them. The average yield per hectare comes to 20-25 tonnes of green turmeric.
Post Harvest Improvement Practices
The processing of turmeric consists of four stages.
Curing : Fingers are separated from mother rhizomes. Mother rhizomes are usually kept as seed materials. The fresh turmeric is cured for obtaining dry turmeric. Curing involves boiling of fresh rhizomes in water and drying in the sun. The traditional method of curing is as follows:
The cleaned rhizomes are boiled in copper or galvanized iron or earthern vessels with water just enough to soak them. Boiling is stopped when froth comes out and white fumes appear jigging out a typical odor. The boiling lasts for 45-60 minutes when the rhizomes are soft. The stage at which boiling is stopped largely influences the colour and the aroma of the final product. Over cooking spoils the colour of the final product while under-cooking renders the dried product brittle.
The improved scientific method of curing turmeric is as follows:
The cleaned fingers / mother rhizomes are taken in perforated trough made of GI or MS sheet with extended parallel handle. The perforated trough is containing the raw turmeric are then immersed in a pan of water which can hold 3-4 troughs at the same time. Boil it till the fingers / mother rhizomes become soft. The cooked turmeric is taken out of the pan by lifting the trough and draining the water into pan itself. The same hot water in the pan can be used for boiling next set of raw turmeric. The cooking of turmeric is to be done with in 2-3 days of harvest.
The rhizomes may also be placed in baskets with perforated bottom and sides and dipped in coveted tanks when the quantity is large or may be put directly into the vessels when the quantity is small. The mother rhizomes and fingers are generally cured separately.
Drying : The cooked fingers are dried in the sun by spreading in 5-7 cm thick layers on bamboo mats or drying floor. A thinner layer is not desirable as the colour of the dried product may be adversely affected. During night time, the material should be heaped or covered. It may take 10-15 days for the rhizomes to become completely dry. Artificial drying using cross flow hot air at a maximum temperature of 60 0 C is also found to give a satisfactory product. The yield of dry turmeric varies from 20-30 % depending upon the variety and the location where the crop is grown.
Polishing : Dried turmeric has a poor appearance and rough dull colour outside the surface with scales and root bits. The appearance is improved by smoothening and polishing the outer surface by manual or mechanical rubbing.
Manual polishing consist of rubbing the dried turmeric fingers on a hard surface or trampling them under feet wrapped with gunny bags. The improved method is by using hand operated barrel or drum mounted on a central axis, the sides of which are made of expanded metal mesh. When the drum is filled with turmeric is rotated, polishing is effected by abrasion of the surface against the mesh as well as by mutual rubbing against each other is as they roll inside the drum. The turmeric is also polished in power operated drums. The yield of polished turmeric from the raw material varies 12-25 %.
Colouring : The colour of the turmeric always attracts the buyers. In order to impart attractive yellow colour, turmeric suspension in water is added to the polishing drum in the last 10 minutes. When the rhizomes are uniformly coated with suspension, they may be dried in the sun.
After polishing, it should be kept in clean sacks and stored over wooden pallets in stores. Stores should be clean, free from infestation of pests, spiders and harborage of rodents. Pesticides should not be applied on the dried / polished turmeric to prevent storage pests.