Spices and Condiments (1+1)

Methods of plant propagation in spices

 

Spices	Method of propagation	Advantages
Black pepper	Single noded rooted cutting using bamboo method	Multiplication rate of 1:40 per year. Good anchorage due to presence of two root systems
Cardamom	Trench method of sucker production	Multiplication rate of 1:20 per year
Clove	Inarching on clove seedling	Earliness, dwarfness and high productivity
Nutmeg	Epicotyl grafting, top working	Female plants are propagated conservation of male plants to female plants. Rapid multiplication of elite plants per unit area.
Cinnamon	Cottage, air layering (rapid multiplication techniques)	Earliness,. More plants per unit area
Cassia	Air layering, cuttage	True to type plants
Allspice	Cuttage, layering	Management of rhizome rot
Ginger and turmeric	Rhizomes	Crop rotation, solarization and disease –free rhizomes.

Source: Spice Board, Cochin)
• Some of the salient achievements of biotechnology in spices include micro-propagation and clonal multiplication in cardamom, black pepper, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and vanilla. In vitro selection for resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses especially rhizome-rot in ginger is in progress. Protocols are also available for direct regeneration through tissue culture in long pepper, chaba pepper, kaempferia, curry leaf, tamarind, coriander, fennel, cumin, dill, lavender, aniseed, thyme and large cardamom. Synseed technologies are also available for cardamom, ginger, turmeric and pepper.
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