Growth, essential oil yield and biological activities of Curcuma caesia in response to sowing time and planting geometry in the non-traditional area of western Himalayas

• Published in: Scientia horticulturae Vol. 338; p. 113740
• Main Authors: Chauhan, Ramesh, Vishvamitera, Sakshi, Dhiman, Diksha, Sharma, Sanjeev Kumar, Kumar, Rakshak, Kumar, Dinesh, Singh, Sanatsujat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01-12-2024
• Subjects: Agar-well diffusion; Anti-bacterial; Conservation; Rhizome yield; Zingiberaceae; Rhizome yield; Anti-bacterial; Agar-well diffusion; Conservation; Zingiberaceae
• ISSN: 0304-4238
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2024.113740

•C. caesia is a critically endangered medicinal plant.•Conservation via cultivation in non-traditional areas is the need of hour.•Standardisation of planting geometry and planting time are crucial for it cultivation.•Narrow spacing and planting in May recorded higher rhizome and essential oil yield.•This combination is recommended for mid-hill region of western Himalayas.
C. caesia is a medicinal plant of Zingiberaceae family, and well known for various industrial uses is on the way to extinction. Conservation via cultivation in non-traditional areas can be a powerful strategy. To cultivate outside the native habitat, it is imperative to standardize optimum plant spacing and sowing time to attain higher productivity. Therefore, a study was taken to investigate the performance of C. caesia by a split-plot design with two planting geometries, G1 (30 × 20 cm) and G2 (30 × 30 cm), and five sowing times viz., T1 (26 March), T2 (10 April), T3 (25 April), T4 (10 May), and T5 (25 May), during 2021 and 2022. The results revealed that the significantly highest plant height, no. of shoots per plant, and rhizome yield per plant were recorded in wider spacing of 30 × 30 cm, however, total rhizome and essential oil yield in narrow spacing of 30 × 20 cm. Among planting times, T4 outperformed among others regarding no. of leaves and shoots per plant, rhizome yield per plant, total rhizome yield, and rhizome essential oil yield, while the lowest of these were recorded in T1. In contrary, tallest plants appeared in T1, while shortest were recorded in T5. However, essential oil content remained unaffected by both crop geometry and planting time. GCMS– analysis detected variations in rhizome and leaf essential oil’ chemical composition. Heat map indicated inconsistent, however, significant effect of treatment combinations on chemical compounds of rhizome and leaf essential oil. Moreover, agar well-diffusion and broth micro dilution methods revealed the strong anti-bacterial activities of both essential oil (rhizome and leaf). The study suggests that narrow spacing with plantation during second week of May can be practiced in mid-hill zone of western Himalayas for conservation and commercial cultivation of C. caesia.
[Display omitted]