Turmeric |
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Description Turmeric
is the boiled, dried, cleaned and polished rhizomes Curcuma longa. The
plant is a herbaceous perennial, 60-90 cm high, with a short stem and
tufted leaf. There are 7 to 12 leaves, the leaf sheaths forms the pseudo
stem. The lamina is green above and pale green below and has a length
of 30-40 cm and width 8-12 cm. Inflorescence is a central spike of 10-15
cm length. 1-4 flowers are born in axil of the bract opening one at
a time. About 30 flowers are produced in a spike. Seeds are produced
in capsules and there will be one to numerous sunken capsules in an
inflorescence. It is a native of India. Apart from India, it is cultivated in Pakistan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, Korea, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, East & West Africa, South Pacific Islands, Malagasy, Caribbean Islands and Central America. In India, it is cultivated in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. Turmeric is a tropical crop cultivated from sea level to 1200 meter
MSL. It grows in light black, black clayey loams and red soils in irrigated
and rainfed conditions. The crop cannot stand water logging or alkalinity. |
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| Uses
Turmeric is used to flavour and to colour foodstuffs. It is a principal ingredient in curry powder. Turmeric oleoresin is used in brine pickles and to some extend in mayonnaise and relish formulations, non-alcoholic beverages, gelatins, butter and cheese etc. The colour curcumin extracted from turmeric is used as a colourant. Turmeric is also used as a dye in textile industry. It is used in the
preparation of medicinal oils, ointments and poultice. It is stomachic,
carminative, tonic, blood purifier and an antiseptic. It is used in
cosmetics. The aqueous extracts has biopesticidal properties. |
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