Spices and Condiments (1+1)

Harvesting, Yield and storage of seeds

Harvesting
The coriander plant matures in 90-120 days for grains and 40 days for greens. Leaf plucking, to the extent of 50%, when the crop is 60- 75 days old gives economic returns, under irrigated conditions. The crop should not be allowed to turn over ripe as this will spoil the quality, particularly the colour of the produce. The kharif season crop matures earlier than the rabi season crop. Harvesting has to be done when the fruits or 50% of seeds are fully ripe and start changing from green to brown colour.
High yields could be obtained when the plants are harvested at the stage where 100% of the fruits turn yellow. For harvesting, plants can either be uprooted or cut back using sickles. The plants are then tied in small bundles and stacked for drying. When the bundles are dried, the grains are separated by beating them gently against the threshing floor. The grains are winnowed and stored in a moisture-free godown, till they are sold. The moisture content should be moderate as the quality will decrease with excess moisture.

Yield
On an average, a seed yield of 400 to 500 kg/ha under rain-fed conditions and 1000 to 1250 kg/ha under irrigated conditions may be obtained. Under favourable conditions, yields of 1700 kg to 2240 kg/ha have been recorded.

Storage of seeds
The whole, dried seeds are usually packed into sacks and stored in a cool, dry room. At the time of storage the seeds should not contain more than 0.5 to 9% moisture. It is reported that no more than 5% volatile oil would be lost during two year storage period. It has been recommended that the spice should be placed in hermetically-sealed cans immediately after drying, in order to ensure that quality deterioration during storage is minimal. The crushed or ground spice should be stored in air-tight containers.
The major types of the spice The spice entering international trade varies considerably in its physical and chemical characteristics according to the geographical source, and consequently, some users express preferences for certain types in particular applications.
In commerce, coriander is broadly divided into two types according to the size of the fruit, which is an indication of its volatile-oil content and suitability for particular end-uses, as the var. uulgare (diameter 3- 5 mm) or the var. microcarpum (diameter 1.5-3 mm). The large fruited types supplied mainly by tropical and subtropical producing countries, e.g., Morocco and India, contain low volatile-oil content (0.1-0.35%) and are used extensively for grinding and blending purposes. The smaller-fruited types are produced in temperate regions and usually have a volatile-oil content of more than 0.4%. The very small-fruited types grown in the USSR and some other countries of Eastern and Central Europe contain between 0.8 and 1.8% volatile oil and are highly valued as a raw material for the preparation of essential oil.