PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF GINGER

SCIENTIFIC NAME : Zingiber officinale

FAMILY : Zingiberaceae
CHROMOSOME NO : 2n=2X=22.
ORIGIN : Southeast asia.
INDIAN NAMES : Telugu : Allamu, Sonti

 Ginger is a condiment
INTRODUCTION:-
 Ginger, an indigenous plant, is an important spice crop of the world.
 Indian ginger is known in the world market as a cochin ginger.
 Main growing ginger countries are India, China, Jamaica, Taiwan Sierra
Leone, Nigeria, Fiji, Mauritius, Brazil.
 Apart from India, South east asia is a major ginger producing region. Ginger
production in this region comes mainly from China, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea
and Vietnam, China being the largest producer.

GINGER RHIZOMES CONTAINS:-

 Starch- 40.4-59%
 Crude fiber-4.8-9.8%
 Essential oil -1-2.7%
 Volatile oil - 0.25-3% (light yellow in colour).
 Pungency of ginger oil is attributed to gingerol,Shogaol&zingerone.
 Indian ginger contains about 22% gingerol , 3% Shogoal.
 Ginger oil is prepared by steam distillation.
 Chief constituent of gingerol from dried ginger is
zingiberine(38.6%),asesquiterpene hydrocarbon.
USES
 Fresh ginger, dry ginger powder, oleoresin and oil are used in food processing.
 Dry ginger is used for manufacturing of oil, oleoresin, essence, soft drinks, non
alcoholic beverages, vitaminised effervescent soft drinks.
 Used for murabah preparation.
 Volatile oil present in it is used in men’s toilet lotions.
 It is indispensable in the manufacture of ginger bread, confectionary, ginger ale,
curry powders, certain curried meats, table sauces, in pickling and in the
manufacture of certain cordials, ginger cocktail, carbonate drinks, liquors etc.
 In medicine, it is used as carminative and stimulant.
 The ginger oil is used as food flavouring in soft drinks.
Area and Production:
 India is the largest producer of ginger, accounting for 50% of total world
production.
 In India kerala is the major ginger producing state especially in wynad area.
 Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam are major ginger
growing areas.
 At present Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam occupy 1st,2nd&3rd places in both
area and production respectively.
 Jamaican ginger is valued much because of it’s lemon like odour qualities.
 Indian ginger is regarded as cochin ginger in the world market next to Jamaica

Botany

 Ginger is a herbaceous perennial with underground rhizomes having serial leafy

shoots of 0.5 to 0.75 m height.
Leaves:-Sheathe, alternately arranged, linear with 15 cm long.
FLOWERS:-
 Sessile flowers borne on a spike, condensed, oblong and cylindrical with numerous
scar bracts;
 Flowers numerous, bisexual, epigynous, yellow in colour with dark purplish spots,
 Stamens only one.Ovary inferior and three carpelled.
FRUIT:- Fruit is oblong capsule, seeds glabrous and fairly large.

Climate :
 Ginger grows best in warm and humid climate.
 It is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions.
 For successful cultivation of the crop,

- a moderate rainfall at the sowing time till the rhizomes sprout,

- fairly heavy and well distributed showers during the growing period,

-dry weather with a day temperature of 28° to 35°C for about a month before
harvesting is ideal.

 Grown in the plains of kerala and upto 1300-1600m above MSLin Himalayas.
 In the ginger growing region of Jamaica, the average annual rainfall is 220cm
 But in South India it is grown as rainfed crop regions having 250cm
annualrainfall.
 High relative humidity is required throughout the crop period.

Soil :

 Ginger thrives best in well drained soils like sandy or clay loam, red loam or
lateritic loam.
 A light sandy loam with rich in humus is ideal.
 However, being an exhaustive crop, soil should be rich in fertility.
 Optimum soil temperature for early germination is 25-300c , if fall below this
range, rhizome takes more time for germination.
Varieties:
Several cultivars of ginger are grown in the different ginger growing areas in
India.
Some of the more prominent indigenous types are
Maran (Assam),
Kuruppampadi, Thodupuzha, Calicut ( Kerala).
Choranad, Ernad, Wynad (Malabar region).
 Choranad – quality is the best with bigger rhizome.
 Calicut ginger – graded and exported
Rhizome colour vary from yellow to brown.
 Maran (Assam)– low fiber content.
 Jamaican ginger – best for it’s delicate aroma and flavour.
 Nigerian ginger – resembles Jamaican ginger but it is of lower quality.
 Nadia – suitable for dry ginger production due to it’s low fibre content
 Rio-de-Janeiro – exotic variety introduced from brazil
Maximum oleoresin content – 10.3%
fibre content is 5.19%
dry ginger recovery is 16-18%

High Altitude Resarch Station, Potangi (Orissa)

 Suprabha – clonal selection from kundli local.
 Suruchi - Clonal selection from kunduli local

Rhizome greenish yellow

Wide adaptability, suitable for both early and late sowing .

 Suravi - An X-ray induced mutant of local cultivar.

Fingers- cylindrical rhizomes with drygrazy skin
High oleoresin (10,2%) & high oil content (2.1%)]
 V3S1-8 - Sodium azide mutant.
Moderately tolerant to disease and pests.

Suitable for green and dry ginger in both hills and plains

Indian Institute of Spice Research-(IISR), Kozhikode

 IISR Varada –
 selection from germplasm collection
 High yielder ,high quality bold rhizome,
 low fiber content(3.29-4.50%)
 Dry ginger recovery - 19.5%.
 IISR Rejatha -
 Selection from germplasm.
 High yielder, plumpy and bold rhizome,
 Suitable for sowing all over in India,
 High essential oil and oleoresin,
 Dry ginger recovery - 20.8.
 IISR Mahima -
 Selection from germplasm.
 High yielder, plumpy and bold rhizome.
 Resistant to nematodes(M.incognita and M.javanica).
 highest oil content and dry ginger recovery - 23.0%

Kerala Agricultural University (KAU)

 Athira – somaclonal variant of Maran.
Contains less crude fibre
Tolerant to softrot, bacterial wilt
 Karthika– high pungency,
medium bold rhizomes
high recovery of volatile oils and oleoresins
tolerant to softrot, bacterial wilt.
Other varieties
 Himagiri
 Clonal selection from Himachal collection.
 Best for green ginger,
 less susceptible to rhizome rot disease,
 suitable for rainfed condition
 Siddipet local - This is suitable for Telangana region.
 Bhyri, Narsipatnam - suitable to coastal areas.
 V1S1-8,V3S1-8,V2ES-2 has less fibre content ,tolerant to leaf spot.

Cochin ginger:-
 12 cm length.

 Bark partly removed on the flattened side.

 Light brown in colour.

Ginger sierra , Leone is known as African ginger:-

 Exported in unbleached form and considered as good for all purpose variety.

GI Tag varieties – Assam kerbiAnglong ginger(2015)

Mizo ginger(2021) – Mizoram

Season :

The best time for planting ginger

- West Coast of India is during the first fortnight of May with the receipt of pre
monsoon showers,
- North Eastern states, it is during April.
Under irrigated conditions, it can be planted well in advance during the middle of
February or early March.
Delayed sowing increases rhizome rot and reduces the yield.
Preparation of land:-
It starts with the receipt of early summer showers.
The land is to be ploughed 4 to 5 times or dug thoroughly to bring the soil to fine
tilth.
Beds of 1m width, 15 cm height and of any convenient length are prepared at an
interspacing of 40-50 cm in between beds.
In the case of irrigated crops, ridges are formed 40 cm apart.
Propagation
 By portions of the rhizomes, known as seed rhizomes.
 Single bud rhizome technique.
Preparation of planting material
 Carefully preserved seed rhizomes are cut into small pieces of 2.5 - 5.0 cm length
weighing 20 - 25 g, each having one or two good buds.
 Seed rate varies from 1500 to 1800 kg/ha from region to region.
 The seed rhizomes are treated with 0.3%Dithane M -45 for 30 min.

Single bud rhizome technique in protrays

 Select healthy ginger rhizomes for seed purpose.
 One month before planting, the seed rhizomes are cut into single buds with small
piece of weighing 4-6 g.
 Treat the single bud sprouts (mancozeb 0.3%)for 30 min before planting.
 Fill the pro-trays with medium containing partially decomposed coir pith and
vermicompost (75:25), enriched with PGPR/Trichoderma 10g/kg of mixture.
 Plant the ginger bud sprouts in pro-trays.
 Maintain the pro-trays under shade net with proper irrigation

 Seedlings will be ready within 30-40 days for Transplanting.

Advantages in single bud rhizome method of planting:
 Less requirement of planting material – 750 kg per ha.
 Reduces cost of production (less quantity of seed rhizome).
 Crop establishment is good (98-100 per cent).
 Early rhizome development (starts from three months after planting).
 Production of quality planting material

Planting
 These are planted at a spacing of 20-25 cm along the rows and 20-25 cm
between the rows.
 In South India ginger is grown as rainfed cropfromApril- may toDecember end
in North India as an irrigated crop.
 As rainfed crop, the 1stweek of april was the best time of planting for getting
maximum yield under kerala conditions.
 It increase 200% yield compared to planting in first week of june.
 For irrigated crop, the best time for planting is middle of February.

MANURING:
 At the time of planting, well decomposed cattle manure or compost at the rate
of 25-30/ha along with 2tons of neem cake is to be applied along with 50 kg
P2O5and 25 kg K2O as basal dressing
 Besides, 75 kg of N/ha is recommended which is to be applied in 2equal split
doses at 40 and 90 days after planting.
 The plants are to be earthed up, after each top dressing with the fertilizers and
beds rectified.
 In zinc deficient soils, application of ZnSO4 30kg/ha.
MULCHING:
 Mulching the beds with green leaves is an important operation for ginger.
 Besides a source of organic manure,itprevents washing of soil, conserves soil
moisture, smothers weed growth and improves the physical properties of the
soil.
 1st mulching is done at the time of planting with 12.5 tonnes of green leaves
 2nd mulching is given after 40th day and 90th day with 5 t/haimmediately after
weeding and application of fertilizers.
 Daincha can be raised in the interspaces of beds immediately after planting
ginger and they can be uprooted before second mulching and may be used for
second mulching after earthing up.

After cultivation:
 Weeding is done just before fertilizer application and mulching.
 2-3weedings are required depending on the intensity of weed growth.
 Proper drainage channels are to be provided when thereis stagnation of water.

Rotation and mixed cropping:

 Being an exhaustive crop, it is not desirable to grow ginger in the same land
continuosly for years and is hence commonly rotated with othercrops.
 The crops most commonly rotated with ginger in Kerala are
- tapioca, chillies, dry paddy and gingelly in rainfed areas
-ragi, groundnut, maize and vegetables in irrigated conditions.
 In Karnataka, ginger is also cultivated with ragi, redgram and castor.
 Ginger is also grown as an intercrop in coconut, arecanut, coffee, orange, mango,
guava plantations.
Harvesting and curing
GREEN GINGER
 Harvesting is done from 6th month onwards for marketing the produce as green
ginger.

 Green ginger rhizomes soon after harvesting are thoroughly washed in water 2-3
times to remove any soil and dirt and sun-dried for a day.

 Then the damaged and diseased rhizomes are separated and graded depending
upon the requirement in the market.

 Average yield of green ginger is about 20-25t/ha.

DRY GINGER

 Rhizomes are harvested 8months after planting i.e 240-265days.

 Maturity index – complete drying of leaves and pseudostem.
 The clumps are lifted carefully with a spade or digging fork and the adhering
soil removed.
 The average yield per hectare varies from 15 to 25 tonnes.

PRESERVED GINGER
 Rhizomes are harvested 7months after planting, before they fully matured after
which they become more fibrous and more pungent and so not suitable for making
preserved ginger.

Curing of ginger (for dry ginger purpose )

1. Soaking in water :
 cleaned ginger rhizomes are soaked in water in specially constructed cemnt
tubs.
 Rhizomes are soaked overnight for easy removal of skin.
2. Trampling :
 The soaked rhizomes are trampled under foot in the tbs itself.
 Excess trampling should be avoided, as it damages the epidermal cells
containing flavour giving essential oils.
3. Peeling :
 The rhizomes are removed from the water and the outer skin is removed with
bamboo splinters having pointed ends without rupturing epidermal cells.
 It is done to hasten up drying.
4. Washing and Drying :
 The peeled rhizomes are washed and dried in sun uniformly for 3-4 days on
cement floor or mats.
5. Polishing :
 The dry rhizomes are rubbed together in order to remove all bits of skin or
dirt. These are called unbleached ginger.
 The yield of dry ginger is 16-25% of the fresh ginger depending on the
variety, location etc..

BLEACHED GINGER:
 To prepare bleached ginger (white),the fresh rhizomes are peeled off and
soaked in 2% lime water for about 6 hrs and then fumigated with sulphur for 12
hours in a closed room.
 The produce is then removed and dried for 5-6 days and rubbed with a piece
of gunny cloth to give the desired dried appearance. This is known as bleached
ginger.

UNBLEACHED GINGER
 After peeling, the rhizomes are washed and sundried to 3-4 days on cement
floor or mats.
 The dried rhizomes are rubbed with a coarse cloth to remove all bits of skin
or dirt. These are called unbleached ginger.

STORAGE OF SEED RHIZOMES:

 Ginger rhizomes being bulky and perishable,
 Harvested during December- may and planting season is in April-may.
 Storage of seed rhizomes for 3-4 months from harvesting to next planting season
is faced with many problems like rotting, sprouting, rooting and shrivelling
resulting in huge loss.
 In order to get good germination, the seed rhizomes are to be stored properly in
pits under shade.
Selection of rhizomes-
 Large plumpy and healthy rhizomes from disease free plants are selected as seed
rhizomes at the time of harvesting.
 These rhizomes are treated in a siolution containing 0.1% quinalphos and o.3%
Dithane M-45 for 30min and dried under shade.

 Three traditional methodsof seed rhizome storage include:-

1. Storage in soil pits.
2. Storage in a dry shady place.
3. Storage in field involving delayed harvesting.
 The first method is the best for small scale growers, but expensive and
laborious.Last method of storage in field by delayed harvesting is not
encouraged as it harbors rhizome rot causing organisms and pests.
 The rhizomes are stored in pits of 1m depth and 1m width of convenient length
depending on quantity.
 The walls of the pits may be coated with cow-dung paste.
 A layer of sand is spread at the bottom of pit
 The seed rhizomes are put in pits in alternate layers with dry sand or saw dust.
 Sufficient gap is to be left at the top of the pits for adequate aeration.
 The pits can be covered with wooden plank with one or two small holes for
aeration.
 The seed rhizomes can also be stored in pits dug in the ground under shade. In
some areas, the rhizomes are loosely heaped over a layer of sand or paddy husk,
straw covered with dry leaves in a thatched shed.

PRODUCTS FROM GINGER

1)Ginger powder:
 This is made by pulverising the dry ginger to a mesh of 50-60.
 Ginger powder forms an important component in some curry powder recipes.
 It is used in preparing ginger beer ,ginger brandy, ginger wine etc..
2)Ginger oil:
 It is obtained by steam distillation of dry ginger powder.
 Indian ginger contains 1.5-2.5% volatile oils responsible for the characteristic
aroma of ginger.
 The oil is light yellow in colour, soluble in either sparingly in alcohol and
insoluble in water.
 The chief constituent of ginger oil is sesquiterpine“zingiberene”.
3)Ginger oleoresin:
 It is extracted from dry ginger powder by using organic solvents like acetone,
alcohol, ethylene dichloride.
 It is commercially known as GINGERIN.
 Oleoresin is also obtained from fresh ginger, known as GREEN GINGER
OLEORESIN.
4)Ginger candy:
 This is prepared by crystallising soaked fresh ginger pieces in sugar solution.
5)Ginger beer:
 It is prepared by fermenting ginger extract.
 Six parts dry ginger and three parts and other spices are mixed and boiled for
20-30min.
 Filter this syrup, mix with sugar and cool up to -100c.
 Ferment with yeast and citric acid if required.
6)Salted ginger:-
 Fresh ginger with relatively low fibre is harvested at immature stage, clean
and soak in 30%salt solution containing 1% citric acid.
 After about 14days remove rhizomes from salt solution, clean and preserve in
cold conditions, this can be stored in 1-2%brine solution containingcitricacid.

Pests of ginger:
1. Shoot borer (Conogethespunctiferalis),
2. Rhizome scale (Aspidiellahartii),
3. Leaf roller (Udaspesfolus)
Diseases of ginger :
1. Soft rot ( Pythiumaphanidermatum)
2. Bacterial wilt (Pseudomonas solanacearum)
3. Nematode (Meloidogyne, Radopholus, Pratylenchus)