CARDAMOM
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Elettaria cardamomum
FAMILY: Zingiberaceae
INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY
Cardamom is a spicy crop, sometimes known as the "Queen of spices". The Romans knew of this spice and it was known to be one of those liable to duty in Alexandria 176-180 A.D.
The first definite records came from the Malabar Coast and were written down in the annals of the Portuguese navigator, Barbosa, who in 1514 explored the West Coast of Southern India for spices. The Cardamom is a native of the moist forests of southern India, especially Travancore, and the jungles of Sri Lanka.
About 30 years later, Valerius Cordus tried distilling cardamom, thus isolating the essential oil for the first time.
This plant is a member of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and the commercial cardamom is the dried fruit of the plant. There are one or two other types of cardamom which come from closely related plants and appear in areas of localised trade. In parts of Africa, the fruit of the Aframomum species are used, while in Indonesia, Amomum kapulaga can be purchased in the markets of Central Java. In North-Eastern India, Nepal. Sikkim, other Himalayan regions and Thailand, Amomum subulatum and Amomum aromaticum are used. These are sometimes known as the large or false cardamom. All are inferior to Elettaria cardamomum.
India, Guatamala, Sri Lanka and Tanzania are the main producing countries, and the last few years Papua New Guinea is trying to come into this lucrative spice trade.
PLANT DESCRIPTION
Cardamon looks like wild ginger. It is an herbaceous plant which has long fronds with narrow leaflets growing from a thick underground stem, the rhizome. The aerial parts, the pseudostems, made up of leaf tissue similar to bananas, can grow to a height of 3.6 metres. The flowering shoots, the inflorescences, come out separately from the pseudostem and grow out to 60 - 90 centimetres. Botanically it is called a
compound raceme or panicle.
The white flowers have purple markings and last for about 24 hours. If fertilised, they will produce mature fruit or capsules in about three months The capsules are three-sided or round and usually oval in shape. The capsules vary in size and when dried are about 10-15 mm long and 5-10 mm wide. The capsule skin is green, turning yellow when ripe. The inside has a soft, cotton-like cover protecting the numerous small brown to black angular seeds These seeds have a powerful aromatic odour and flavour.
VARIETIES
There are two distinct varieties under cultivation known as 'Mysore' and 'Malabar'.
Mysore is known in India as Karnataka (the new name for the Mysore state) and is distinguished by the erect or arching racemes and by the leaves which are glabrous on both sides. The leaves tend to be dark green. The capsules are longer and narrower than those of Malabar and show three distinct sides. In general, the plant is more robust than the Malabar variety.
Malabar is a much smaller, more compact plant. The racemes are pendulous and trailing and are more liable to damage. Seedlings from Malabar are very variable and a hybrid form is known as VAZHUKKA.
Recapitulating the main differences:
MYSORE
1. Height larger than 3 metres
2. Smooth under-surface of leaves
3. Capsule three-angled and long
4. Racemes upright
MALABAR
1. Less than 3 metres
2. Hairy under-surface of leaves
3. Capsules round
4. Racemes lie on the ground
VAZHUKKA is intermediate between the two forms. It is advisable not to grow Vazhukka because of the difficulties in sorting and grading mixed capsules for the trade.
The Wild-cardamom of Sri Lanka bears the largest capsules which sometimes attain 2.5-5 cm, recognized as variety major.
All varieties have shallow rooting systems and the roots grow very close to the surface. The cardamom plant therefore is very susceptible to dry conditions and to competition from other plants which have feeding-roots in the soil-surface areas.
CULTIVATION AND YIELD
Cardamom needs regular rainfall, well-distributed over the year. In places where there are distinct dry periods, irrigation is a must.
Windbreaks are recommended, because the stems will break easily and the leaves will tear. Cardamom likes to have the morning sun to warm the ground quickly. Do not plant the crop in low-lying or badly-drained areas.
Growing cardamom under 50% shade is ideal, preferably leguminous tree as Albizia and Leucaena species.
Propagation is by division, or splitting, of the rhizomes or by seed. The vegetative method is recommended from mature clumps. Each split should have at least two mature leaf fronds and one or two young growing shoots. Try to keep as much as possible of the original root system.
Seeds germinate very slowly and erratically. Only 50% will germinate in the first six months.
In good soil, a small crop may be obtained in the second year after planting, rising to peak yields in the 4th or 5th to the l0th or 15th years after planting. Average yields are quoted at 45-78 kg per hectare, rising on occasions to well over 100 kg per hectare, depending on rainfall.
HARVESTING, CURING AND CONSUMPTION
Plants fruit throughout the year, with peaks in the dry season, and should be harvested every two or three weeks, when the fruits are fully developed but still green. If left to ripen, the pods split open and disperse the seeds. The fruits should be cut with small pointed scissors, not pulled by hand. The freshly picked capsules are washed free from grit. The best prices are paid for green cured cardamoms, of intense uniform colour without surface blemishes. The fading of the green colour parallels a deterioration in flavour.
To achieve green curing, the capsules are dried in heated sheds for 36 hours in temperatures up to 45°C. Thereafter the stalks and calyces are removed by rubbing over a gauze wire. The cardamoms are then winnowed, and graded by hand before storing in rat-proof bins. The chief areas of consumption are the Middle East, followed by Scandinavia. Exports from Southern India amount to about 2,000 metric tons per annum, and from Sri Lanka about 200 metric tons.
DISEASES
The most important is a virus known as mosaic, marble or katte disease, transmitted by the aphid Pentalonia nigronervosa. The symptoms are chlorosis of the leaves and eventual withering of the whole plant. No effective treatment is known, except the exclusion and destruction of all infected rhizomes. Insect pests include thrips. Taeniothrips cardamomi, and the weevil, Prodioctes haematicus.
References:
Tropical Planting and Gardening, by RF MacMillan, Trubus 1989
Cardamom - Rural Development Series Handbook. DPI-PNG
The Complete Australian Gardener.
DATE: September 1994
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