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IISR with its two cardamom varieties to garner interest with moisture-resistant cash crop
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Wednesday, 14 August, 2024, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijayasimha, Bengaluru
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Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) with its two cardamom varieties is set to garner interest for its moisture resistance feature. Cardamom is a cash crop. The Kozhikode-based institute which developed two varieties of the crop: IISR Manushree and IISR Kaveri at its Kodagu research centre were among the 109 agriculture and horticulture crops released to the farming community by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.
Modi introduced two new cardamom varieties developed at the Indian Council of Agricultural Research at Appangala in Kodagu. The two new varieties were released after the approval from the Central Sub-Committee on Crop Standards.
Cardamom was among the important revenue-generating crops for the farmers across Sakleshpur, Kodagu and Chickmagaluru in Dakshina Kannada district in the 1980s. However, extensive disease in the crops resulted in its downfall even as cardamom plantations were converted to coffee estates. Nevertheless, the crop can still earn good returns. The ICAR-IISR Kozhikode is involved in extensive crop research even as its regional station at Appangala has successfully introduced two new crop varieties to boost cardamom cultivation.
IISR Manushree variety is developed through clonal selection. This variety is stable yielding and tolerant to moisture stress. It produces an average yield of 550 kg dry capsules per hectare under irrigated conditions and 8.84% under moisture-stress conditions. The second variety, IISR Kaveri is a compact flowering cardamom variety that produces bold capsules, where 70% of the capsules are over 8 mm. IISR Kaveri is tolerant to moisture stress, producing an average yield of 482 kg dry capsules per hectare under irrigated conditions and 308 kg dry capsules per hectare under moisture stress conditions. This variety is said to be suitable for cultivation in Karnataka, according to Dr S J Ankegowda, Principal Scientist and Head, ICAR-IISR.
“Soil moisture is one of the limiting factors in augmenting the cardamom production and recently many youngsters from non-traditional areas are interested in cultivating cardamom where the crop experiences moisture stress during summer months. So these cardamom varieties with drought tolerance capacity can be tried. The present-day market consumer prefers green colour and bold capsule cardamom. So the variety IISR Kaveri with higher percentage of bold capsules fetches a premium price,” opined Dr Ankegowda.
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