Galanga 349
highest essential oil and oleoresin production (Gangadharan and Menon, 2003). Ghosh
and Pal (2002) studied the effect of N and K on growth, yield and oil content of K.
galanga grown as an intercrop in Terminalia arjuna plantation. Sankar and Thomas
(2000) reported that the effect of fertilizers has no significant effect on rhizome and
oil yields.
K. galanga is a potent aromatic, medicinal plant suitable for cultivation in coconut
gardens. Maheswarappa et al. (1998, 1999a, 2000a,b,c, 2001) studied various cultivation
aspects such as influence of planting material, plant population and organic manures,
dry matter accumulation in different parts as influenced by agronomic practices and
nutrient content and uptake by K. galanga.
Planting time and type of seed material affect the growth, yield and quality of K.
galanga. Mother rhizomes planted in May and harvested after six months gave the
highest essential oil and oleoresin yields, compared to those planted in June and the
mean nutrient uptake by the plants was 22.8 kg N, 28 kg P 2 O 5 and 36.9 kg K 2 O/ha
(Rajagopalan and Gopalakrishnan, 1985a,b; Rajagopalan et al., 1989). Application
of 50–75 kg N, 60 kg P 2 O 5 and 50–75 kg K 2 O is found to be beneficial for increased
rhizome and oil yields. Application of farmyard manure at 30 tonnes/ha is superior to
the application of nutrients through inorganic form of fertilizers and it increased the
yield by 60%. A well-managed plantation yields about 4–6 tonnes of fresh rhizomes
per hectare. Dry recovery varies from 23 to 28%. Leaf rot disease is found to occur
during the rainy season and it can be controlled by trenching with 1% Bordeaux
mixture. In Kerala, cultivation of K. galanga is restricted to some localized tracts and
the productivity of the crop is low ranging from 2–5 tonnes of fresh rhizomes per
hectare. There is an acute shortage of planting material and the absence of seed set
limits the scope for breeding (Kurian et al., 1993).
Root Knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita) is a serious problem in Kaempferia.
A study of phyto-nematodes associated with K. galanga in Kerala revealed that an
initial population of 200 and 1000 J2 (M. incognita) larvae per plant reduced the
production of leaves, length and weight of rhizome (Sheela and Rajani, 1998). Effects
of leaf mulches from Azaridacta indica, Glirizidia maculata, Acacia mangium,
Clerodendron infortunatum, Calotropis gigantea, and Chromolaena odorata on root
knot nematode and K. galanga was studied by Nisha and Sheela (2002). Application
of A. indica, C. odorata, and G. maculata mulches at 5 kg/m^2 at 15 days before
planting reduced nematode population by more than 60%, with mulches from A.
indica being the most effective. Mulches from A. indica and C. odorata resulted in
the lowest gall index. All treatments improved K. galanga yield and yield components.
The highest rhizome yield (5.6 kg per plot) was obtained with A. indica mulches.
Occurrence of leaf rot disease during the rainy season was noticed (Anonymous,
2003b). Pseudomonas solanacearum causing bacterial wilt of K. galanga from Kerala,
India, was reported (Dake and Manoj, 1995).
The crop matures in about 6–7 months after planting. The aerial portion dries off
on maturity. The rhizomes are dug out, cleaned and washed to remove soil and are
dried in the sun. The essential oil is extracted by steam distillation of sliced and dried
rhizomes. The oil yield varies with season and maturity stage of the rhizome.
20.3 Tissue culture studies.....................................................................
Various reports are available on tissue culture studies in K. galanga and related