It is a slender monocotyledonous rhizomatous perennial herb, leaves are linear, sessile, glabrous, flowers are yellowish green, spikes are cylindrical and fruits are oblong capsules. Rhizomes are white to yellowish brown in colour, laterally flattened and irregularly branched.
Beside used as a spice, the dry ginger is also used for the production of oil, oleoresin, essence, soft drinks and non-alcoholic beverage. Ginger has manifold medicinal properties as a carminative and stimulation of gastro-intestinal tract.
Ginger requires a warm and a humid climate for growth. The plant thrives well from the sea level to an altitude of 1500 m; the optimum elevation being 300 and 900 m. Low to moderate rainfall during rhizome sprout and moderate to heavy rainfall during crop growth and then dry weather one month before harvesting coupled with 28 – 35 °C temperature is essential for higher yield and better quality of rhizomes. Ginger can be grown both under rain fed and irrigated conditions.
Being a shade tolerant crop, ginger can be grown with tall crops and crops that grow on poles. Well drained fertile, sandy loam to loam soils are well suited to grow ginger. It requires deep, well drained, humus rich soil. It is sensitive to water logging. It can be grown well on sandy loams, clay loams. m. A friable loam rich in humus is ideal. However, being an exhausting crop, it is not desirable to grow ginger in the same soil year after year.
Suitable climate and soil for ginger planting
