Zingiber officinale (Ginger)

Introduction :
Organic Ginger is a perennial plant indigenous to tropical Asia and cultivated in farms of Tribal belt in Orissa, India. It has a recorded history of use in India dating from the 4th Century B.C. Used primarily as a spice; it can be added to fruits, vegetables, salads, meats, poultry, and beverages.

Product Description :

USP : Our local ginger contains 7-10 % crude fibre, 4.28% Oleoresin and 1.83% of volatile oil ; whereas improved ginger contains 4-5% crude fibre, 4-8%Oleoresin and 1 -1.3% Volatile oil. The area and production of Improved Ginger are increasing annually.

Benefits : Organic Ginger is an especially wonderful ally because its healing benefits are particular to so many of our daily health concerns. Probably best known as a superb digestive aid and nausea reliever, ginger also helps heal ulcers, supports cardiovascular health, reduces pain and inflammation, and speeds recovery from colds and flu while reducing fevers.

Biological Details : Organic Ginger is a creeping perennial on a thick tuberous rhizome. In the first year, a green, erect, reed-like stem about 60 cm high grows from this rhizome. The plant has narrow, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate leaves 15 to 30 cm long, which die off each year. The flower scape grows directly from the root and terminates in a long, curved spike. A white or yellow flower grows from each spike.

Area of Procurement : We procure our organic products from the tribal area of Orissa like: - Phulbani, Koraput, Keonjhar, Rayagada, Kalahandi, Palhara, Thakurmunda, Ganda Nali etc.

Our offer :-

Product Name	Minimum Quantity	Specifications
Dry Ginger	5000 Kg.
Ginger Flakes	5000 Kg.	-------------------
Ginger Powder	1000 Kg.
Ginger Extract	200 Kg.	-------------------
Ginger Oil	200 Kg.

Organic Ginger Cultivation :

Climate :

1. Ginger plant grows well in warm and humid climate.
2. Moderate rainfall at the sowing time till the rhizomes sprout, fairly heavy and well-distributed showers during the growth period and a dry weather about one month before harvesting is the optimum requirement for successful crop. Studies have shown that the early planting helps in better growth and development of rhizome and higher yields.

Soil :

1. A rich soil with good drainage and aeration is ideal for ginger.
2. It comes up well in wide range of soils with good drainage and aeration like sandy or clayey loam, red loam or lateritic loam soils.
3. Drainage is absolutely necessary for the prevention of disease incidence.
4. Ginger should not be grown in the same field year after year.

Planting materials :

Varieties : Several cultivars are grown in different areas in India. They are Maran (Assam), Kuruppampadi, Ernad and Wynad (all from Kerala) Suprabha, Suruchi, Surabi, Himagiri and IISR Varada and the released varieties from AICRPS and IISR. (GIVE THE FULL FORMS)

High dry ginger	-	Maran, Nadia, Karakkal
High oleoresin	-	Ernad Chernad, China, Rio-de-Janeiro
High volatile oil	-	Sleeva Local, Narasapattam, Himachal Pradesh
For green ginger	-	Rio-de-Janeiro, China, Wynad Local, Maran, Varadha

Seed rate : 1800 kg/ha with rhizome bits of 15g used for planting.

Seed treatment : Ginger is always propagated by portions of rhizomes known as seed rhizome or setts. Rhizome bits are treated with Trichoderma viridae for 30 minutes against fungal diseases. If required, it may also be treated with insecticide (2*107 c.f.u beuverina bassiana) and bactericide solutions (Pseudomonas).

Planting :

Land preparation : The land is to be ploughed 4-5 times to bring the soil into fine tilth. Beds of about 1m are prepared. Width 15cm height and of 3m length or of any convenient length are prepared at an inters pace of 40 cm in between beds. One-hectare land can accommodate 2000 beds of 3 x 1 m after leaving intermediate space between beds. In the case of irrigated crkps ridges are formed 40 cm apart and planted ginger.

Spacing : The optimum spacing is 25 to 20 x 15 cm under bed system of planting. A bed of 3 x 1 m will accommodate 40 plants, 10 plants in lengthwise and 4 plants in width wise.

Manuring : A basal dressing of 10 tonnes of FYM with Azotobactor, P.S.B 750ml/hect are recommended. Application of neem cake at 2 tonnes / hec as a basal dressing helps in reducing the incidence of soft rot of ginger to an extent 4.5 % and increases the yield.

Weeding and mulching : Mulching enhances germination, increases organic matter and conserves soil moisture and prevents washing of soil due to heavy rains. Two weeding are generally given to the crop. The first weeding is done just before the second mulching and repeated depending on the intensity of weed growth. If necessary, weeding is to be repeated for a third time.

Mulching of ginger beds with green leaves is an important operation for ginger. Apart from being a source of organic manure, it helps in soil and water conservation. The first mulching is done at the time of planting with 8.5 tonnes of green leaves per ha and a second mulching done after 40 days with 8.5 tonnes of green leaves per ha.

Soil amendment studies : Application of organic amendments like neem cake at two tones per hectare resulted in significant increase in the availability of nutrients in the soil, increased yield of ginger by 33% and restricted the incidence of rhizome rot of ginger to 4.7 % only. Burning the surface soil increased the soil pH, P and K status in soil.

Harvest :
The time of harvest after planting depends on the end-use. For fresh products and preserves, one should harvest rhizomes while they are still tender, low in pungency and fiber content, therefore before they are fully mature. Maximum oil and oleoresin contents are between 150 and 170 days after planting . Likewise, the maximum oleoresin content was reached after 28 weeks on a fresh-weight basis. Time from planting to maturity may be highly affected by the type of soil in which ginger is grown.

Storage :

Washing, "killing" drying : Fresh rhizomes should be washed, and cleaned from debris, shoots and roots. When available, pressure washing is preferred as it is more efficient and tends to reduce the microbial load. Scrape, peel, or slice rhizomes prior to drying. Peeling or scraping is advised for reducing drying time, thus minimizing mold growth and fermentation. However, while this process decreases the fiber content by removing the outside corky skin, it also tends to remove some of the oils constituents, as they are more concentrated in the peel, and therefore reduces some of the pungency. The peeled rhizomes may be bleached to improve appearance.

After peeling and washing, rhizomes are first soaked in water for 2 to 3 hours, then steeped in a solution of 1.5 to 2.0% lime (calcium oxide) for 6 hours, then drained and sun-dried . The Indian Spice Board recommends the following sequence for preparing dry spices: soaking in water overnight to loosen the soil, peeling/scraping with pointed-end bamboo splinters, washing off the residual peel, sun drying for one week, soaking in 2% lime for 6 hours, and final drying (www.indianspices.com/html/s1926pac.htm). Drying should be done to 8-10% moisture, and should not exceed 12%.21 Expected weight loss during drying is 60-70%.

Dried spices : Dried rhizomes, slices, or splits should be stored in a cool environment (10-15°C). When stored at room temperature (23-26 ºC), losses of up to 20% oleoresin (dry weight) were observed on dry ginger after 3 months, and the content of (6)-gingerol decreased . It is therefore recommended to extract or distill dried ginger rapidly, if cold storage is not available, when oil or oleoresin is the final product. The importance of a dry storage for dried ginger destined for distillation can only be emphasized because additionally, mycotoxins from mold may be co-distilled with the essential oil.

Fresh ginger : Fresh ginger should be stored in a cold and humid environment. However, cold storage may not always be available in the producing areas. A "zero energy" cool chamber was experimentally designed at the Peruvannamuzhi IISR farm to store fresh ginger, maintaining the temperature 6 to 7 ºC below the outside temperature. Fresh ginger rhizome shelf life may be extended by storage at 10-12 ºC and high humidity.