Climate and soil
Ginger grows well in warm and humid climate and is cultivated from sea level to an altitude of 1500 m above sea level. Ginger can be grown both under rain fed and irrigated conditions. For successful cultivation of the crop, a moderate rainfall at sowing time till the rhizomes sprout, fairly heavy and well distributed showers during the growing period and dry weather for about a month before harvesting are necessary. Ginger thrives best in well drained soils like sandy loam, clay loam, red loam or lateritic loam. 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.
Varieties
Several cultivars of Ginger are grown in different growing areas in India and they are generally named after the localities where they are grown. Some of the prominent indigenous cultivars are Maran, Kuruppampadi, Ernad, Wynad, Himachal and Nadia. Exotic cultivars such as Rio-de-janeiro have also become very popular among cultivators.
Season
The best time for planting Ginger in the West Coast of India is during the first fortnight of May with the receipt of pre-monsoon showers. Under irrigated conditions, it can be planted well in advance during the middle of February or early March. Burning the surface soil and early planting with the receipt of summer showers results in higher yield and reduces disease incidence.
Land Preparation
The land is to be ploughed 4 to 5 times or dug thoroughly with receipt of early summer showers to bring the soil to fine tilth. Beds of about 1 m width, 15 cm height and of convenient length are prepared with an inter-space of 50 cm in between beds. In the case of irrigated crop, ridges are formed 40 cm apart. In areas prone to rhizome rot disease and nematode infestations, solarization of beds for 40 days using transparent polythene sheets is recommended.
Planting
Ginger is propagated by seed rhizomes. Carefully preserved seed rhizomes are cut into small pieces of 2.5-5.0 cm length weighing 20-25 gm each having one or two good buds. The seed rate varies from region to region and with the method of cultivation adopted. In Kerala, the seed rate varies from 1500 to 1800 kg/ha. At higher altitudes the seed rate may vary from 2000 to 2500 kg/ha. The seed rhizomes are treated with Mancozeb 0.3 % (3 gm in 1 litre of water) for 30 minutes, shade dried for 3-4 hours and planted in rows at a spacing of 20-25 cm within the rows and 20-25 cm between the rows. The seed rhizome bits are placed in shallow pits prepared with a hand hoe and covered with well rotten farm yard manure and a thin layer of soil and levelled.
SINGLE SPROUT TRANSPLANTING TECHNOLOGY IN GINGER
A transplanting technique in ginger by using single bud sprouts (about 5 g) has been standardized to produce good quality planting material with reduced cost. The yield level of ginger transplants is on-par with conventional planting system. The technique involves raising transplants from single sprout seed rhizomes in the pro-tray and planted in the field after 30 days. The advantages of this technology are production of healthy planting materials and reduction in seed rhizome quantity and eventually reduced cost on seeds.
Transplanting technology
• Select healthy ginger rhizomes for seed purpose
• Treat the selected rhizomes with mancozeb (0.3%) and quinalphos (0.075%) for 30 min and store in well ventilated place
• One month before planting, the seed rhizomes are cut into single buds with small piece of rhizomes weighing 4-6 g.
• Treat the single bud sprouts (mancozeb 0.3%) for 30 min before planting
• Fill the pro-trays (98 well) with nursery medium containing partially decomposed coir pith and vermicompost (75:25), enriched with PGPR/Trichoderma 10g/kg of mixture
• Plant the ginger bud sprouts in pro-trays
• Maintain the pro-trays under shade net house
• Adopt need based irrigation with rose can or by using suitable sprinklers
• Seedlings will be ready within 30-35 days for transplanting.