Small cardamom is a sought after spice in the Middle East market. It is cultivated in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. India is the second largest producer of small cardamom.In organic cultivation of cardamom, the methods to be followed should conform to the standards laid down for the purpose. An isolation belt of at least 25 m wide is to be left from all around the conventional plantation. The produce from this area shall not be treated as organic. A conversion period of three years is required for an existing plantation for organic cultivation. For replanted and new planted areas, the produce from the fourth year onwards only shall be considered as organic produce. If organically produced planting materials are used and if at least two years have elapsed without use of any inorganic inputs in the field prior to planting, the yield from such a crop shall be considered as organic. In case of cultivation in virgin lands and farms wherein no chemical inputs have been applied in the past, the conversion period can be relaxed. In the case of wild cardamom plants available in the forest, the entire produce can be considered as organic.

Sources of planting material

Initially the seeds can be collected from any elite plantation even if they are not grown organically. However, the methods followed for raising seedlings should conform to the organic standards. If rhizomes are to be used as planting material, the plantation should have been following organic methods of production at least one year prior to collection. Tissue culture plantlets should not be used as planting materials in order to keep integrity with the natural methods of propagation. Acid treatment of seeds should be avoided, treatment of seeds with Trichoderma culture (50 ml spore suspension for 100 g of seed) is desirable as a prophylactic measure for managing nursery rot diseases. At the time of preparation of beds, incorporation of VAM multiplied in recommended organic medium may be done. For raising polybag seedlings (preferably bio-degradable polybags), potting mixture may be prepared by using 3: 1: 1 soil rich in organic matter, well rotten cow dung or vermicompost and sand. To this VAM and Trichoderma can also be added (250 g of mass multiple media mixed with 25 kg of well rotten cow dung). If growth of the seedlings is not adequate, spraying vermiwash once in a month is desirable (20 ml per plant). The diseases in the nurseries may be managed by regular surveillance and adopting phytosanitary measures. Restricted application of Bordeaux mixture 1 % may be done to control rot disease at the initial stage itself. Changing the nursery site is benefited to ward off pests and diseases and for vigorous growth of seedlings.

Preparation of land for planting

In sloppy areas, adequate soil and water conservation measures are necessary while preparing the land for planting. Planting in trenches across the slopes in low rainfall areas, diagonal planting and mulching the soil will help in soil and water conservation.

Cultural practices

Clean weeding is to be limited to the plant bases (50 cm) and the inter rows are to be maintained by slash weeding. The weeded materials should be used for mulching. Trashed materials and fallen leaves may also be used for mulching. Trashing the dry leaves and leaf sheaths as well as removal of yielded old suckers along with rhizomes may be carried out once in a year about a month after completion of final harvest which can be used for composting. The inter rows should not be dug at any cost. Water not contaminated with insecticides, fungicides, other chemicals and fertilizer leachates should only be used for irrigation under organic system of cultivation. This implies that the watersheds for irrigation sources should also be maintained following organic methods of production. In areas where adequate soil conservation measures and mulching have been practiced, there will not be any necessity for earthing up.

To facilitate penetration of sufficient light, restricted lopping of shade tree branches may be made. However, even under such situations no tree top shall be cut. In areas which are overexposed, planting of shade trees is an essential operation and while doing so, maximum bio-diversity suited to the local situation may be considered. Trees having desirable characters such as defoliation during rainy season, self pruning habit, flowering during summer and medicinal value may be considered. If such trees belong to leguminous species they are preferred. Restricted loppings and leaf litter may be used for green leaf manuring or composting. Preservation of bee fauna is an integral part of organic cultivation. Integration of apiculture will not only ensure bio diversity, but also help in increasing the production through assured pollination.

Manuring
Application of organic manures such as neem cake @ 1 kg or poultry manure/farmyard manure/compost/vermicompost @ 2kg per plant may be done once in a year during May-June. Application of Mussorie rock phosphate or bone meal may be done, if found necessary, based on soil analysis.

Plant protection
Diseases

The major fungal diseases affecting cardamom are azhukal (Phytophthora medii) and clump rot (Pythium vexans, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium sp.). Incorporation of Trichoderma multiplied in suitable organic medium in the plant base (1 kg per clump) prior to the onset of monsoon season (May) is a prophylactic operation for clump rot disease. Use of Bordeaux mixture 1 % when found necessary may be resorted to. Regular rouging of virus affected plants should be made to reduce the spread. Rouged plants should be destroyed by burning.

Pests

Removal of drooping dry leaves, dry leaf sheath, old panicles and other dry plant parts is an important sanitation method recommended for reducing the pest inoculum in the plantation. Mechanical collection and destruction of egg masses of pests, larvae of hairy caterpillar (Eupterote sp) and beetles of root grub (Balepta fuliscorna) are other approaches in reducing the pest damage. As soon as bore holes of stem borer (Conogethes punctiferalis) are noticed, injection of Bacillus thuringiensis preparation into the bore hole (0.5 ml in 10 ml water) will kill the larva so that subsequent resurgence can be reduced. Wherever organic methods of cultivation are adopted outbreak of white flies (Dialeurodes cardamomi) is seldom observed. However in the event of such outbreak, collection of adults using yellow sticky trap and control of nymphs by spraying neem oil with soft soap made out of minimum caustic soda (500 ml neem and 500 g soft soap in 100 litres of water) is to be followed. In areas prone for nematodes, (Meloidogine sp.) application of crushed neem seed can take care of the problems. Application of fish oil rosin soap may be made for managing thrips (Sciothrips cardamomi). Malabar varieties are found to be tolerant to thrips to a certain extent. Regular surveillance is absolutely essential for timely detection and adoption of remedial measures against the pests affecting cardamom.

Harvest and post harvest operation

After harvesting, the freshly harvested capsules need to be cleaned from dirt. Curing of cardamom capsules is done by reducing the moisture from 80% to 8-12% at an optimum temperature by retaining green colour to the maximum extent. Cardamom can be cured by two methods.

Sun drying

Cardamom is directly dried under the sunlight. Sun drying generally requires 5-6 days. It is not dependable during rainy season. This practice is followed only in some parts of Karnataka. By this method, it is not possible to obtain good green colour.

Conventional curing

This is the most commonly adopted method for curing cardamom. It requires a structure fitted with furnace, flue pipes, chimney, ventilators etc. It is a masonry structure consisting of two apartments, a curing room and a furnace room. Curing room is a tall one provided with ceiling at the roof and fitted with wire gauge on the beams at the middle of the room parallel to the ground floor, making the room into two compartments. Flue pipes having a radius of about 25 cms made of galvanized iron sheets are provided in the ground floor from one end to the other from the furnace to chimney pipe to expel the smoke through the roof. Racks holding rectangular trays are also fitted to the side walls for accommodating larger quantities of cardamom.

Capsules are spread in a single layer on the racks and trays. After spreading, the curing room is closed and heating is done by burning firewood in the furnace and the heat produced is conducted. Only fallen trees and lopped branches should be used as fuel. The hot smoke passes through the pipes bringing the room temperature to 45 to 50°C. This temperature is maintained for 3 to 4 hours. At this stage capsules sweat and give off moisture. Ventilators are then opened for sudden cooling and sweeping out vapour from the drying capsules. Ventilators are closed after vapour is escaped completely and temperature is maintained at 40°C for about 24 to 30 hours. Temperature is raised again to 45°C for one hour. The whole process of curing takes about 28 to 36 hours. In general, quality of capsules cured by this method is very good. Community curing is cheap and less polluting.