Dried fruit or Cardamom capsule is the commodity of trade. Cardamom can be found as whole cardamom, cardamom seeds and ground form. It is also used in the extraction of oil and oleoresin. Cardamom is mainly used in the food industry as a flavoring agent in curry or meat dishes, sweets, confectionaries, in bakery products, and as an ingredient of curry (masala) powder. Cardamom Oil is used for flavoring of beverages and drinks such as coffee and tea.
It is also used in Ayurveda and Chinese medicine as a powerful aromatic, stimulant, carminative, stomachic, and diuretic.
Harvesting
Cardamom starts to bear at the 3rd year after planting. Cropping season is September to January. Capsules are picked before they are fully ripen and clipped off using scissors. Harvesting is done at 3 to 6 week intervals for around 03 months. Harvested capsules are washed with water to remove dirt and borer attacked capsules. Capsules should be well drained and dip in a 2% solution of sodium carbonate (washing soda) for 10-15 minutes which may help to retain the green color.
Processing
Drying is done in hot air barns known as Green curing. Capsules are spread on shallow wire mesh bottomed trays and placed on shelves in the chamber at 45- 50 °C. Drying process will be over in about 35- 40 hours in curing chamber. The trays may be racked over and their position interchanged every 10 12 hours.
After drying, capsules should be rubbed on wire mesh to remove stalks and then should be winnowed. Final product is stored away from strong sunlight and in black polythene sacks to preserve the color.
Dried yield around 60kg /ha. But under good management 250 kg / ha.
For ages, ginger has been used as a spice as well as medicine by many people. These applications were mainly popular in the Arabic, Indian, and Asian traditional communities. Later, the plant was exported into the European countries. Today, large scale cultivation is largely practiced in Sri Lanka, China, Australia, India, Hawaii, Japan, and Pakistan.
The ginger plant belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. Its species name is Zingiber officinale. The crop grows to a height of about 45 cm. Leaves are lanceolate in nature and have a length of 18cm. The commercial products are the underground stems and rhizomes.
Growing Areas
Although the cultivation of ginger has widely spread throughout Sri Lanka, the main growing areas are still found in the wet zones. These are the districts of Kegalle, Colombo, Kandy, Kurungala, and Gampaha. During the past years, the total area of growth of this plant has been over 6000 hectares.
Some provinces in Sri Lanka also cultivate ginger alongside other crops like coconut.
Varieties
The large scale growing of ginger in Sri Lanka utilizes local as well as foreign varieties. The local varieties of ginger have small and fleshy rhizomes and are of the white color. These varieties are mainly used for drinks and beverages because of their strong aroma and taste.
The Chinese variety of ginger has watery rhizomes that are yellow in color. It is majorly used for pickles since its taste is low.
Soils
Deep well drained sandy loams largely favor the growth of ginger. These soils should be highly rich in organic matter. Manure and fertilizers should be added in order to improve the fertility of soils.
Climate
For successful growth, the elevation should reach a maximum height of 1500m above sea level.
The average annual rainfall should not be less than 1500mm. For areas prone to dry spells, irrigation should be applied. Generally warm temperatures with shade are also suitable. The pH value should range from 5 to 7.
Planting
Stem rhizomes are used for propagation of ginger. Deep planting of seeds is discouraged.
Harvesting
Change of the plantâ??s color to yellow and withering of leaves indicates readiness for harvesting. This occurs after the first 10 months of sowing. Care should be taken during the harvesting process to prevent the damaging of the rhizomes. Wooden sticks are used in this process.
The method of preserving the harvested ginger rhizomes is sun drying.
