Spices and Condiments

Harvesting, Yield and Processing

Harvesting and yield

Harvesting and yield

• Cardamom plants start yielding by the third year after planting, but good yields are expected from the 5th year onwards.
  
• It is recommended to spray NAA 25 ppm to reduce fruit drop and to increase fruit set.
  
• The peak harvesting period is September-February. Harvesting is continued at intervals of 30-40 days and will be completed in 5-6 months.
  
• Rearing four honeybee colonies per hectare in cardamom plantations helps in increasing the fruit set and capsule production.
  
• The average yield of dried capsules is 200-500 kg/ha year.
• More details on maintenance of beehives, harvesting-stage and intervals, processing of green cardamom is required
Processing

• After the harvest, the produce is dried either in the sun or in specially- built curing houses. The harvested capsules are first washed with water and spread out thinly on wire-net trays in the curing chamber or heated chambers (kilns) and hot air is passed through the flue pipes in the furnaces. The drying process will be completed within 36-42 hours at 50-60°C in the curing chambers. By drying the cardamom in the curing chamber, the green colour is retained.
• The dried capsules are polished by rubbing in trays fitted with wire mesh or rough coir matting to remove the ends, soil particles, etc., and winnowed. They are then sorted out into different grades according to their size (7 mm, 6.5 mm and 6 mm) and colour as
• 'longs', 'medium' and 'shorts'. Since the green colour is an important quality determining factor in trade, it is essential to retain the colour as long as possible. It has been found that soaking the freshly-harvested green cardamom capsules in 2% washing soda solution for ten minutes before drying is effective in preserving the green colour. Similarly, bleaching is done by exposing the dried capsules to the action of sulphur dioxide, produced by burning sulphur or bleaching powder or hydrogen peroxide. The graded produce is stored in polyethylene- lined gunny bags to retain the colour and to avoid exposure to moisture. The output of dried capsules is 20-25% of the harvested capsules.