CHAPTER6(iii) Production technology ofAloe
Botanical name: Aloe vera and Aloe barbadensis
Family: Liliaceae
Origin: Indigenous to Eastern and Southern Africa
Distribution: The genus Aloe is widespread throughout the entire African
continent, but the tropical regions are particularly rich. It is also grown as an
ornamental in India. Aloe vera is cultivated in fairly large areas many parts of
India viz. Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, MP, and Gujarat.
Plant part: Leaves, seeds, roots
Major constituent: Anthraquainone glycosides Barbaloin
Description of the plant: Aloe is a coarse looking, perennial, shallow rooted plant with a
short stem, 30-60 cm high. The plants have multiple tuberous roots and many supporting
roots penetrating into the soil. Aloe does not have a true stem but produces bloom stalks.
The fleshly leaves are densely crowded, strongly, cuticularized and have a spiny margin
with thin walled tubular cells. The flowers vary from yellow to rich orange in colour and
arearrangedinaxillaryspikes.Theovaryissuperior,triocularwithaxileplacentation.The plant
does not produce many viableseeds.
Importance and uses:
Twoofthemajorproductsderivedfromtheleavesaretheyellowbitter juice
consisting of aloin and the gel consisting ofpolysaccharides.
Apartfromtheseproducts,severalotherproductslikedehydratedaloe
powder, concentrates are alsoprepared.
Aloealsohavinganthroglycosides–Barbaloin–4.5to25%andaloin.
Itisusedformedicinalpreparationandforflavouringliquorsanda
source of the drug‘aloe’.
These are extensively used as active ingredients in laxative and antiobesity preparation, as moisturizer, emollient or wound healer in various
cosmetic and pharmaceutical formulations.
Aloe gel contains gluco mannan which is a polysaccharide similar to
guar used in preparations of burn, first aid medicines.
Aloe and aloin are extensively used as active ingredients in laxative preparations.
Extracts of aloe or aloin are used in sunscreens, X-ray / burns,
dermatitis and other cosmetic preparations.
It is reputed remedy for intestinal worm in children.
It is used in haemophilia, skin, liver disorder, constipation and rectal
fissures piles. Varieties: Aloe vera var chinensis is commonly cultivated
Soil: Hardy and grown on variety of soils, does well in sandy coastal and
loamy soils with pH up to 8.5. Water logged and problem soils not suitable
Climate: Wide adaptability, hence cultivation is possible throughout the country
and prefers warm humid dry climate with 150-200 cm to 35-40 cm yearly rainfall.
Propagation: Root suckers or rhizome cuttings
Land preparation: The field should be prepared well before the onset of
monsoon and small furrows opened.
Planting: 15-18 cm long root suckers, rhizome cuttings are planted with a
spacing of 60 x 30 cm or 60 x 45 cm and buried 2/3 portion under the ground.
Fertilizer: Application of a mixture of 150kg/ha of nitrogen, potassium and
phosphorus is recommended. The fertilizers are applied in the soil near the
root system, after the plants are established.
Irrigation: Immediately after planting needs one irrigation and totally 4 to 5
irrigations / year required.
Interculture: The land is kept weed free by weeding the plot as and when necessary.
Pests and diseases:
Pest:
Mealy bug- For controlling mealy bugs sprays Chlorpyriphos 2 ml in 1
litre of water. Diseases: Leaf spot, Leaf rot and Anthracnose
Leaf spot: Leaf spot can be controlled by spraying the crop with 0.2%
Mancozeb at weekly intervals.
Leaf rot and Anthracnose: Spray the crop with Bavistin 10 g with Carbendazim 2g
per litre and repeat at 10 days interval for controlling leaf rot and anthracnose.
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Harvesting: Plants should be removed by manually or with tractor after eight
months of planting. Commercial yield starts from second year to up to five years.
Yield: Fresh weight 10000 – 12000 kg/ha.
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CHAPTER6(vi) Production technology ofPeriwinkle
Botanical name: Catharanthus roseus
Family: Apocyanaceae
Plant parts used: Leaves, seeds, roots
Major constituent: Ajmalicine (raubasin)
Origin and Distribution: The plant is a native of Madagascar and from there it
has spread to India, Indonesia, Indo-China, Philippines, South Africa, lsrael,
USA and other parts of the world. In India, it is being grown in Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Assam.
Importance:
It has medicinal importance owing to the presence of alkaloids like
ajmalicine (raubasin), serpentine and reserpine in roots, which is well
known for their hypotensive and antispasmodic properties.
It gained importance after the isolation of vincristine and vinblastine
alkaloids from leaves, which have importance in cancer therapy.
Vincristine sulphate is being marketed under the trade name ONCOVIN,
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which is used against acute leukemia and vinblastine sulphate as
VELBE to cure Hodgkin’s disease.
Farmers prefer it because of its wide adaptability and its ability to grow
in marginal lands and its drought tolerance.
Periwinkle is a perennial ornamental herb found throughout India on
waste lands and sandy tracts.
It has medicinal importance owing to the presence of indole alkaloids raubasin
(ajmalicine) and serpentine in its root which has hypertensive properties.
The leaves contain two alkaloids viz., Vinblastine and Vincristine which
form the constituents of patented cancer drugs and vincristine alkaloids
are distributed in different parts of the plant but the roots contain the
maximum (0.75 t to 1.20%) followed by the leaf (0.60 to 0.65%).
USA is the world’s largest user of this plant’s raw material. A single firm
which has the patent to manufacture Vinblastine and Vincristine sulphate
have been consuming more than 100 t of leaves of the plant annually.
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Description of plant: It is a perennial herb which grows up to 90-120 cm tall. It
is a diploid with the chromosome number 2n = 16.
Varieties:Therearenorecognizedvarietiesbuttherearethreelocaltypesbasedonthecolour of the
flowers viz., alba with white flowers, roseus with pink rose coloured flowers and ocillata with
white flowers having rose purple spot in the center are recognized. The first type is being
cultivated because of its higher alkaloid content. Recently, two white flowered varieties named
“Nirmal” and “Dhawal” have been released by the CIMAP,Lucknow.
Climate: The distribution of the plant shows that there is no specificity in its climatic
requirements. It comes up well in tropical and subtropical areas. However, the growth
in tropical areas is better than in the subtropical areas, where its growth is slow due
to the low temperatures in winter. It can be successfully grown up to an elevation of
1300 m above sea level. A well distributed rainfall of 100 cm or more is ideal for
raising this crop on a commercial scale under rainfedconditions.
Soil: The crop is quite hardy and grows well on a wide variety of soils, except those
which are alkaline or water-logged. Deep sandy loam to loam soils of medium fertility
are preferred for its large-scale cultivation. Because, in this soil there is not only a
better development of roots, but it is also easy to take them out at harvest time.
Propagation: The plant is propagated from seeds. Fresh seeds are preferable as they lose
viabilityonlongstorage.Seedscanbesowndirectlyinthefiledortheplantsraisedinthe nursery
and transplanted later on. Direct sowing is to be done for plantations of a large area, as it
reduces the cost of sowing. About 2 to 3 kg seed are required for raising one hectare. The
seeds are mixed with sand about 10 times its weight for even distribution
andaresownduringbeginningofmonsooninrows45cmapart.Whentheplantsgrowup they are
thinned out leaving a distance of 25 to 30 cm between theplants.
For nursery sowing and transplanting, about 500 grams of seed sown in 200 square meters
bed is required for producing seedlings for one hectare. The seeds are sown in well prepared
beds during March or April in rows about 1.5 cm deep, covered with light soil and leaf mould
mixture and are watered to keep the bed moist. In about 10 days time the seeds germinate in 2
months time (height 6-7 cm) they become ready for transplanting. In the field, the seedlings
are transplanted at a spacing of 45 cm x 30 cm or 45 cm x 45cm.
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Weeding: The crop requires two weeding, the first one about 60 days after
sowing or transplanting and the second one in another 60 days.
Irrigation: The plant does not require much water as they have drought
resistant capacity. In areas, where rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the
year, no irrigation is required, but in areas where monsoon is restricted, 4 to 5
irrigations are required during the life of the plant to get good yield.
Manures and fertilizers: FYM is applied at the rate of 10 – 15 t/ha to obtain good growth and
yield. If irrigation is available, green manure crops can be raised and ploughed into the field at
the time of flowering. In case organic manure is not applied it is advisable to apply a basal
dose of 20 kg N, 30 kg P2O5 and 30 kg of K2O per hectare per year. In addition, a top dressing
with 20 kg nitrogen can be given in two equal split doses during the season.
Pests and diseases: Plant is hardy hence devoid of pest and diseases.
Occasionally they suffer from little leaf due to infection by mycoplasma
resulting in stunted growth. This can be effectively checked by
uprooting and destroying the affected plants.
Die back / Twig blight/top rot is reported during monsoon. Control
measure is spraying Mancozeb at an interval of 10 -15 days.
Harvesting:
Harvesting for leaves: Leaf stripping twice, first after 6 months and the second
after9monthsofsowingcanbetaken.Athirdleafstrippingisalsoobtainedwhen
thewholeplantisharvested.Aftertheplantisharvested,itisdriedintheshade.
Harvesting for roots: The crop is harvested one year after planting. The plants are cut
about 7.5 cm above the ground level and dried for the stem, leaves and seeds. The field is
then copiously irrigated and when it reaches proper condition for digging, it is ploughed
and the roots are collected. The roots are washed well and dried in the shade.
Harvestingforseeds:Forseedcollection,maturedpodsarepickedafter9months
ofplantingorbefore2-3monthsofthewholeplantharvestandthreshedlightly.
The total alkaloid content in the leaf varies from 0.15 to 1.34%, of which the
average content of vinblastine is 0.002%, while that of vincristine is 0.005%.
Yield: Under irrigated conditions, about 4t/ha of leaves, 1.5t/ha of stem and 1.5t/ha of roots, on
air dried basis may be obtained. Whereas, under rainfed conditions, the yield will be about
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2 t/ha of leaves and 0.75t/ha each of stem and roots on air dried basis. The
total alkaloid content in the leaf varies from 0.15 to 1.34 % of which the
average content of Vinblastine is 0.002% while that of Vincristine is0.005%
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CHAPTER6(vii) Production technology of Isabgol(Plantago)
Botanical name: Plantago ovata
Family: Plantaginaceae
Origin: Indigenous
Distribution: It is indigenous to the Persia and West Asia, extending upto the Sutlej, Sind and
West Pakistan. Isabgol crop has acquired the place of the ‘dollar earner’ crop of north Gujarat.
Southern Rajasthan, Punjab, Maharashtra and UP states are also grown isabgol crop.
Plant parts used: Seeds and husks
Major constituent: Xylose, arabinose and galacturonic acid
Description of the plant: It is a 30-40 cm tall stem less or short stemmed annual
herb.Leavesarebornalternatelyonthestem.Flowersinterminalspikes;fruitisa
capsule. The flowers are white and minute. Highly self-pollinated. The capsule is
ovate, 8mm long, releasing the smooth, dull, ovate seeds which are translucent
and convex. The seeds are covered with a translucent membrane, known as the
husk. The husked seeds are dark red andhard.
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Importance and uses:
Isabgol is important for its seeds and husks which have been used in
indigenous medicine for many centuries.
It derives its name from two Persian words, ‘asp’ and ‘ghol’ meaning a
‘horse ear’ referring to its characteristic boat-shaped seeds.
The husk of the seed is economic part and it contains colloidal mucilage
mainly consisting of xylose, arabinose, galacturonic acid.
It has the property of absorbing and retaining water (40-90%) and
therefore it works as an anti-diarrhoea drug.
It is beneficial in chronic dysenteries of amoebic and bacillary origin.
The seed has also cooling and demulcent effect and is used in
ayurvedic, unani and allopathic medicines.
It is also used for treating constipation and intestinal disorders as it works as calorie
free fiber food, promoting regular bowel movement.
Varieties: Gujarat Isabgol-1 and Gujarat Isabgol -2 are the two varieties of this crop released
by Gujarat Agricultural University which have a yield potential of 800 – 900 kg and 1000 kg
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per ha respectively. Another variety, ‘Niharika’, a mutant has been released by
the CIMAP, Lucknow, as a high yielding variety.
Climate It requires cool and dry weather and hence in India, the crop is grown
in winter i.e. from November – December to March-April. Humid weather at
maturity results in shattering of seeds. The temperature requirement for
maximum seed germination is reported to be 20 to 300C.
Soil: A light well drained sandy loam to rich loamy soil with a pH of 4.7 to 7.7 with high
nitrogen and low moisture content is ideal for growth of plants and high yield of seeds.
Preparation of land: Field must be free of weeds and clods and should have
fine tilth for good germination. The land is laid into flat beds of convenient size
i.e. 1.0 m x 3.0 m or 2.5 m x 2.5 m
Land preparation: Field must be free of weeds and clods. The number of
ploughing,harrowingandhoeingdependsuponthesoilconditions,previouscrop and
degree of weed infestation. The recommended dose of FYM (10-15t/ha) is applied
to the field at the time of last ploughing. The field should be divided into suitable
plots of convenient size (i.e. 1.0 m x 3.0 m or 2.5 m x 2.5 m), depending upon the
texture of the soil, the slope of the fieldand quantum of irrigation.
Seed sowing: To obtain high percentage of germination, seed should be taken from the
crop harvested at the end of the preceding crop season. Old seeds tend to lose viability
underordinarystorageconditions.Seedattherateof4-8kgperhectareissownafterwith
thiram@3gperkgofseedtoprotecttheseedlingsfromthepossibledamageofdamping off. The
seeds are small and light. Hence before sowing, the seed is mixed with sufficient quantity
of fine sand or sieved farmyard manure. The seeds are sown broadcast and are swept
lightly with a broom in one direction to cover them with some soil. The sowing should
immediately be followed by irrigation. Germination begins in four days after sowing. If
delayed, it should be stimulated by anotherwatering.
Manures and fertilizers: The FYM of 10-15tonnes /ha is applied during land
preparation. Isabgol does not require application of heavy doses of fertilizers. A
fertilizer dose consisting of 50kg N, 25kg P2O5 and 30kg K2O/ha gives maximum seed
yield. The full dose of P and K along with half of the N is given as a basal dose. The
second split of N is applied as a top dressing after one month of sowing.
Irrigation
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Immediately after sowing, light irrigation is essential. First irrigation should be given with
light flow or shower of water otherwise, with fast current of water most of the seeds will
be swept to one side of the plot and the germination and distribution will not be uniform.
The seeds germinate in 6-7 days. If the germination is poor, second irrigation should be
given. Later on irrigations are given as and when required. Last irrigation should be given
at the time when maximum number of spikes shoots up (milk stage). The crop requires
totally 6-7 irrigations for its good productivity in medium sandy soils.
Interculture: Periodical weeding and hoeing is required. After 20-25 days of sowing,
first weeding is done and 2-3 weedings are required within 2 months of sowing.
Pests and diseases:
Pests: White grubs and termites damage the crop by cutting off the root which
can be controlled by broad casting phorate 10G @10kg/ha. Aphids also attack
the crop and can be controlled by spraying 0.2% Dimethoate.
Disease: Downy mildew is the major disease caused by Peronospora plantaginis. The
disease appears at the time of spike initiation. The first symptom is small patches on the
leaves, completely destroying it and thus affecting the yield. To control it, Bordeaux
mixture or Dithane M-45 or any copper fungicide at the rate of 2-2.5g/l can be sprayed.
Harvesting and processing: Blooming begins two months after sowing and the crop
become ready for harvest in February-March (110-130 days after sowing). When mature,
thecropturnyellowish andthespikesturnbrownish.Theseedsareshedwhenthespikes are
pressed even slightly. At the time of harvest, the atmosphere must be dry and there
should be no moisture on the plant, harvesting will lead to considerable seed shattering.
Hence, the crop should be harvested after 10 am only. After two days, they are threshed
with the help of tractor during early morning. Water is sprinkled over the heap for easy
thrashing and separation. The husk: seed ratio is 25:75 byweight.
Yield: The average yield is 800-1000 kg of seeds per hectare.
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