Cultivation of <I>Hedychium spicatum</I> (Kapoor Kachari) , <I>Valeriana wallichii</I> and <I>Roscoea purpurea</I> in Hill Regions of India

Abstract

A complete package of practices for commercial cultivation of Hedychium spicatum Ham. ex. Smith , Valeriana wallichii DC. and Roscoea purpurea Royle were worked out at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources , Regional Station , Shimla. The seed rhizomes weighed about 40-50 g of H. spicatum planted at a row-to-row and plant-to-plant distance of 45cm × 30 cm in the furrows at depth of 10-12cm and applied with well rotten FYM at the rate of 30-35 tonnes/ha and have given yield of 115-120 q/ha matured rhizomes after 2 years. Planting of V. wallichii into rows 40-50 cm apart and at 20-30 cm spacing between plants along with a dose of 35-40 tonnes FYM yielded 70-75 q/ha fresh root mass and dried root mass of 20-25 qlha. its autumn harvest (September-October) after two years is considered optimal. The seed tubes of R. purpurea weighed 4-5 g gave yield of 25-30 q/ha when sown in furrows with row-to-row distance and plant-to-plant distance of 30 × 15cm at 8cm depth and applied with FYM dose of 25-30 tonnes/ha.