Turmeric information

Turmeric of commerce is the dried rhizome of the plant Curcuma domestica Val. syn. C. longa L. Turmeric is used in curry powder, chicken bouillon, sauces, gravies, dry seasonings, backing mixes, processed cheese pickles, relishes, breading soups, beverages, and confections in addition to its use in medicine, religious functions and as biopesticide.

The genus Curcuma originated in the Indo-Malayan region. Considerable species diversity of Curcuma occurs in this region. However, about 40 species of the genus including C. longa are indigenous to India indicating the Indian origin. The antiquity of turmeric dates back to the Assyrians of 600 BC. Ethnobotanical evidence indicates that the use of turmeric has been in India since very ancient days. It is believed that the crop spread out from India to distant Asian countries under the influence of the Hindu religion. According to Marco Polo (1280) the spread of turmeric to China took place in AD 700. The crop spread to West Africa in the thirteenth and to East Africa in the seventeenth centuries, respectively. It was introduced to Jamaica in 1783. Though turmeric is now grown in India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Japan, China, Korea, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Pacific Islands, East and West Africa, Malagasi, Caribbean islands, and Central America, India is the major producer and exporter of turmeric at present.

Turmeric is an erect perennial herb, grown as an annual crop. The above ground morphology of the plant is mainly represented by an erect pseudostem bearing leaves and inflorescence. There may be 2-3 pseudostems (tillers) per plant. The height of the pseudostem varies from 90-100 cm depending on the variety. Leaf number ranges from 7-12. In fact, it is the leaf sheath which forms the pseudostem. The leaf sheath is usually green in colour. Lamina may be lanceolate or elliptic in shape, thin with acuminate tip. The colour of lamina is usually green above and pale green below, with a length of about 30-40 cm and width 8-12cm. Inflorescence is a cylindrical, fleshy, central spike of 10-15 cm length, arising through the pseudostem. Flowers are subtended by bracts in the spike. The bracts are adnate for less than half of their length and are elliptic, lanceolate and acute. The upper bracts are white in colour while the lower bracts are green. One to four flowers are borne in the axil of the bract, opening once at a time. About 30 flowers are produced in a spike. The calyx is short, usually toothed and split nearly halfway down on one side. The corolla is tubular, thin and whitish with a yellowtip. Usually the upper most and lower most bracts will be sterile. Seed set is observed in turmeric and seeds are viable. Seeds are produced in capsules and there will be from one to numerous sunken capsules in an inflorescence depending on the flowers fertilized.

At the base of the pseudostem, below the ground, rhizomes are formed consisting of mother rhizome(s), primary, secondary and even tertiary fingers, the whole forming a compact clump. Rhizomes grow symbodically and are of orange brown, pale yellow or reddish yellow colour.