Zingiber officinale Roscoe: Ginger

Abstract

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is a major rhizome spice and medicinal crop and belongs to the family Zingiberaceae. The spicy gingerols usually occur in oil cells of the rhizome as pungent yellow oil but can also form a crystalline solid with low melting point. Further important aroma compounds are the sesquiterpenes bisabolene, zingiberene, zingiberol, sesquiphellandrene and curcurmene, which contribute in moderate quantity to the flavour of ginger. Ginger plays an important role in Indian Ayurvedic medicine as a folk remedy to promote cleaning of the body through perspiration, to calm nausea and to stimulate treatments of colds. Ginger is a clonally propagated crop. Therefore, this species is bred through introduction, selection, mutation and polyploidy breeding. But also biotechnological approaches are being used for improving the ginger cultivars in India and other parts of world.

Full text

605© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
J. Novak, W.-D. Blüthner (eds.), Medicinal, Aromatic and Stimulant Plants,
Handbook of Plant Breeding 12, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38792-1_20
Chapter 20
Zingiber ofcinale Roscoe: Ginger
MeenakshiKumari, ManojKumar, andS.S.Solankey
The aromatic substances of vegetable origin used in food as preservatives and
avours are known as spices. Various plant parts such as fruits, seeds, owers and
bark have economic importance in human diet due to their peculiar avouring prop-
erties based on their content of essential oils. Medicinal plants are generally known
as “Chemical Goldmines” as they contain a multitude of natural chemicals, which
exert benecial bioactivity in humans and animals. Ginger is one of the most impor-
tant spices, which is scientically known as Zingiber ofcinale.
It is valued for its light yellow liquid (curcuma oil) with aromatic and persistent
odour obtained from rhizomes. It is widely used in Ayurveda, Siddha, Chinese,
Arabian, African, Caribbean and many other medicinal systems to cure a variety of
diseases like pain, nausea, vomiting, asthma, cough, inammation, dyspepsia, loss
of appetite, palpitation, constipation and indigestion. The essential oil and oleoresin
contributing to these properties are well known (Weiss 2002), and these ingredients
are often extracted and exported.
M. Kumari
Department of Vegetable Science, Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and
Technology, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India
M. Kumar
Division of Vegetable Science, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta,
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
S. S. Solankey (*)
Department of Horticulture (Vegetables and Floriculture), Bihar Agricultural University,
Sabour (Bhagalpur), Bihar, India

606
20.1 Taxonomy
Ginger (Zingiber ofcinale Rosc., Zingiberaceae) is one of the most important
spices as well as medicinal crops of India, mainly cultivated in subtropical areas
since many centuries and used at larger scale around the globe. The plant belongs to
genus Zingiber, family Zingiberaceae, in which four other genera of economic
interest can be found (Alpinia, Amomum, Curcuma and Elettaria).
The English botanist William Roscoe named the plant Zingiber ofcinale in
1807. The genus name is from the Greek word ‘zingiberis’, which is derived from
the Sanskrit word ‘shringavera’, aptly meaning ‘shaped like a deer’s antlers’, while
‘ofcinale’ pertains to the medicinal properties of the rhizomes (Elzebroek and
Wind 2008). The genus Zingiber includes 80–90 (or even 150) species (Holttum
1951; Wolff etal. 1999; Ravindran etal. 2005).
Based on plant stature and yield ginger plants are classied into three groups
viz., : (1) plants with small size with many tillers along with a small rhizome, (2)
plants having medium size with an intermediate number of tillers and a medium-
sized rhizome and (3) plants with large size and fewer tillers and which produce
larger rhizomes (Ravindran etal. 2005).
20.2 Origin andDistribution
Ginger represents the long history of its cultivation in India and China and is sup-
posed to be originating from Southeast Asia from where it was introduced to other
parts of the world (Ravindran and Babu 2005). The exact information about the
plant’s origin is unavailable due to its long history of cultivation in these regions.
The species is found in its cultivated state and is not known in a wild state
(Purseglove 1981a). A few other researchers explored it from Eastern Asia, Indo-
Malayan region, Africa, America and Northern Australia where it is now distributed
widely and used as spice for over 2000years (Bartley and Jacobs 2000). Gagnepain
(1908) described the Indochinese region, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam
among the least known hotspots of the family Zingiberaceae the latest comprehen-
sive study being over a century old.
20.3 Cytology
Several workers reported the somatic chromosome number of ginger as n= 11
(Federov 1969; Ramachandran 1961; Omanakumari and Mathew 1985) The diploid
chromosome number 2n = 22 was displayed by all the cultivars. Application of
colchicine at sprouting bud of ginger rhizome helped in development of autotetra-
ploid ginger, 2n= 44 (Ramachandran 1982; Ramachandran and Nair (1992a, b).
The length of the diploid chromosomes ranged from 1.6 μm to 4.3 μm and had
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607
median and submedian centromeres. Ramachandran and Nair (1992a, b) reported
one or two associations of four chromosomes at the rst metaphase in the case of
diploid ginger, while a high frequency of quadrivalents at the rst metaphase was
observed in tetraploid ginger. At the rst anaphase, both types represented bridge-
fragment conguration. Diploid ginger showed a pollen fertility of 13%, whereas in
the case of tetraploid, ginger fertility was 85%. The high sterility in diploid ginger
is mostly due to heterozygosity for gross structural changes of chromosomes
(Ramachandran and Nair 1992a, b). Structural hybridity involving interchanges and
inversions was reported in Zingiber ofcinale (Ramachandran 1961).
20.4 Plant Description
Zingiber ofcinale is a monocotyledonous herb of the wet tropical region. It is a
2–4-foot-tall perennial herb with grass-like leaves up to a foot in length. It has an
underground rhizome that is used for culinary and medicinal purposes (Kemper
1999). The underground parts contain several small, solid rhizomes, more often
branched like a palm, but the shape of rhizomes mainly depends on soil texture of
the site of cultivation. Rhizome grown in loose soil are more valuable due to their
straight and undeformed nature as loose and friable soil provides less mechanical
resistance in their development. The rhizomes are surrounded by small scales and
bear several nes, brous roots, which branch frequently in the surface soil. Ginger
plants having slender aerial stem, which raises up to 1 m height and is closely
wrapped by sheathing leaf bases. The light green leaves arranged in an alternate
manner are oblong with strongly pointed end, having around 15cm length and 2cm
width with a pronounced mid-rib, and tend to be rolled upwards. Normally, the
inorescence is leaess but sometimes leafy which is a reproductive shoot about
30cm long and appears directly from rhizomes. The emergence of ower in ginger
plants depends upon growing conditions of that place. In some parts of the world, it
produces owers very rarely, while in other parts it owers at a regular basis. When
owering, seeds are produced only occasionally. The inorescence known as spike
is about 6cm long and has solitary owers in the axils of greenish-yellow bracts.
Pale yellow owers have a short calyx tube and longer corolla tube (1.5–2.5 cm)
which bursts at the mouth into three unequal, pointed lobes, the upper one bowed
down as a hood over the anther. Ginger owers have only a single functional stamen
with a short lament, two distinct pollen sacs and a broad connective prolonged into
a spur. A slender style passes between these two pollen sacs and is detained by them.
The lower lip of the ower is known as labellum shaped by a large purple and yel-
low mottled staminode, which is merged to the corolla tube. It is thought that it is
derived from three non-functional stamens. The inferior ovary is composed of three
cells and consists of numerous ovules in axile placentation, but hardly develops as
a fruit. If it develops into a fruit, the fruit is thin walled with three valved structures
known as capsule, comprising numerous small, black, angled seeds.
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608
20.5 Economical Uses
Ginger is safely used in medicine, pharmaceutical and food industries. The under-
ground stem (rhizome) is the highly demanded trade product. The stimulating
aroma and the pungent taste are the key features of ginger to make it an essential
ingredient of most world cuisine and of the food processing industry. In western
countries, ginger is used in gingerbread, biscuits, cakes, puddings, soups, pickles,
beer and wine. The unique avour property of ginger is basically the combination
of pungency and aromatic essential oil. The aroma of ginger is due to 1 to 3% of
volatile oils with the main compounds bisabolene, zingiberene and zingiberol, while
pungency is due to the non-volatile gingerols, shogaols, paradols and zingerone
(Dhanik etal. 2017).
The importance of ginger is considered in traditional Chinese, Indian and
Japanese medicine for over 25 centuries (Castleman 2001). Ginger has several
diverse medicinal uses and important to promote digestion and as an antiatulent or
carminative to reduce gas and bloating (Lewis and Elvin-Lewis 2003; Chevallier
2000). It also acts as an anti-inammatory against rheumatic pain and arthritis
(Altman and Marcussen 2001; Bliddal etal. 2000) but also against inammation
caused by gamma radiation (Abd El-Salam and Hassan 2017). Ginger is also
reported to have possible antitumorigenic effects (McCann 2003). It has antiemetic
properties used during pregnancy (Apariman etal. 2006). Ginger is recognized as
a plant with a high content of antioxidative compounds by several researchers
(Shobna and Naidu 2000; Halvorsen etal. 2002; Eleazu etal. 2012). The powder of
ginger is as effective as ibuprofen in the management of postsurgical sequelae
(Rayati etal. 2017).
20.6 Domestication
The plant was domesticated for the rst time in Asia or India where it was cultivated
in wet tropics of southern India or Asia since ancient time, having high rainfall and
fairly high temperature, but commonly some shady places. Other than these, it is
also cultivated in different regions of West Africa and in West Indies, Jamaica, pro-
ducing the top-grade ginger of the world (Cobley and Steele 1995).
The precise and reliable history of ginger was briey explained by Elzebroek
and Wind (2008). The earliest recording of Chinese herbals gives an idea about
ginger and conrms the use of ginger in culinary and medicinal practices of natives
of Asian countries. The Greeks were also familiar with the ginger plant as it was
cited by the Ancient Greek physician, botanist and apothecary Dioscorides
(40–90 AD) in his works. Plinius Secundus (23–79 AD 79), a Roman writer,
naturalist and philosopher, also explained the medicinal uses of ginger in his work,
Naturalis Historia. During the ninth century, it was well recognized as a spice in
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609
Germany and France. In the thirteenth century, Arabian traders brought ginger from
India to East Africa. In the sixteenth century, Portuguese brought ginger to West
Africa and started its cultivation. Later on, its cultivation was initiated in Mexico by
a Spaniard, Francesco de Mendoza. The long period of domestication might have
played a major role in the evolution of this crops’ sterility, propagated solely vege-
tatively (Ravindran etal. 2005).
20.7 Valuable/Undesired Plant Secondary Compounds
The major valuable ingredient responsible for pungency is gingerol ([6]-gingerol)
present in higher concentration, whereas other gingerols, such as [4]-, [8]-, [10]-
and [12]-gingerol, are present in lower concentrations. At high temperature, these
compounds are thermally unstable hence converted into shogaols, which impart a
pungent and spicy-sweet fragrance (Wohlmuth et al. 2005). In dried ginger, gin-
gerols are also transformed to the corresponding shogaols with faster rate, of which
[6]-shogaol is the most common dehydration product (Ok and Jeong 2012).
The gingerols usually occur in oil cells of the rhizome as pungent yellow oil but
can also form a crystalline solid with low melting point (Butt and Sultan 2011). The
amount of active compounds is not uniform, and it may vary according to growing
condition and cultivar (Gruenwald 2004). Sesquiterpene compounds such as bisab-
olene, zingiberene, zingiberol, sesquiphellandrene and curcurmene also occur in
moderate quantity and contribute to the avour of ginger (Kemper 1999).
20.8 Main Production Area
Indigenous to warm tropical climates, ginger is widely grown in Asia, Africa, India,
Jamaica, Nigeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, Mexico and
Hawaii (Evans 1989). It is also cultivated in Fiji, Brazil, Sierra Leone, Japan and
Australia. Nigeria is identied as a top-ranking country for area of cultivation with
a share of 56% of the total global area followed by India (24%), China (4.5%),
Indonesia (3.4%) and Bangladesh (2.3%). Among the top producing countries,
India ranked rst with total biomass production of 33% followed by China (21%),
Nigeria (13%) and Bangladesh (11%) in the world. It is grown in most of the Indian
states. However, 65 per cent of country’s total production is contributed by 15
states, namely, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Karnataka,
Odisha, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat (Rajeev and
Thomas 2015).
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20.9 Breeding
Sakai etal. (1999) reported the broad range of pollination and breeding systems
in ginger.
20.9.1 Flower andPollination Biology
The corollas of ginger owers are white in colour and each– normally bisexual–
ower is enclosed by a bract (a leaf-like structure) (Purseglove etal. 1981b). But
sometimes ginger also shows monoecious unisexual owers (Peter etal. 2007).
Three calyx types are present in the ginger ower; among these one is larger than
the others and light yellow transparent, so that when the owers begin to bloom,
they seem to with a tinge of red, which, in fact, is the colour of the labellum pro-
tected by calyx. The labellum is pale yellow inside and dark red inside and mixed
with yellow spots. When the owers bloom, pistil stalk shaped curved edges touch-
ing the labellum. Bracts are arranged in a spiral manner and the inorescence is
known as spike which is a conical shape structure where owers occur in clusters.
The presence of a labellum (two or three fused stamens) which is joined with a pair
of petal-like sterile stamen shows the close relationship of Zingiberaceae ower
with orchids. The slender ower tubes are the source of nectar in ginger. The bloom-
ing of a bright ower occurs only for a few hours in the afternoon until late after-
noon (01:00–05:00 pm), and this is pollination period for the single ower by
insects (Melati-Palupi and Bermawie 2015). Endress (1994) also reported the mode
of pollination in Zingiberaceae family by animals. Bees, hawk moths and birds
were found to be the main pollinators (Ippolito and Armstrong 1993). The ower of
large white ginger is less valuable for the production as it is mainly propagated by
rhizome and because these owers are not used for ornamental purpose. On the
other side, under normal climatic condition, these plants ower very rarely, and
even if they produce owers, seed setting is very rare. The quantity of pollen grains
germinated on stigma or self-incompatibility reaction decides the ratio of fertile
pollen and non-fertile pollens (Ramachandran 1982). Large variations were
observed in fertility of red ginger pollen (Zingiber ofcinale var. rubrum) which
varies from 6 to 45 per cent (Rachman 1998). Peter etal. (2007) stated that the
failure in fruit formation and seed setting may be inuenced by several factors such
as failure of pollination due to an insufcient number of pollinators. Melati-Palupi
and Bermawie (2015) reported that owering in ginger starts from 4 to 7months
after planting, depending upon climatic conditions. High temperature leads to early
and more owering, but normal temperature and humidity lead to owering for a
longer time.
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611
20.9.2 Propagation Strategies
The vegetative part, the rhizome, is the main propagating material in ginger. The
environmental as well as photoperiodic factors lead to failure of ower and seed set,
as well as the high sterility among Zingiber owers (Ravindran etal. 2005). For
propagation purposes, healthy and larger-sized rhizomes should be harvested from
disease-free plants. Disease-free and healthy clumps are identied in the eld, when
the crop is 6–8months old and still green. The rhizomes for propagation should
possess one or two good buds and weigh about 20–25g each. They are cut into
small pieces of 2.5–5.0 cm length. The propagation rhizomes should be stored
carefully. In India, local practices such as spreading layers of leaves of Glycosmis
pentaphylla are followed by farmers. Storing the propagation rhizomes in pits under
shade results in higher germination. A convenient size pit can be made under shed
to protect the rhizome from sun and rain. Cow dung is commonly used for pasting
the pits’ wall. Then, these pits can be used for storage of rhizome along with well-
dried sand/saw dust (i.e. put one layer of seed rhizomes and then put 2-cm-thick
layer of sand/saw dust). Proper aeration should be given to propagation rhizomes by
leaving enough space at the top of the pits. Timely inspection, i.e. 20days once
inspection, is necessary to remove the shrivelled and disease-infected rhizomes
(Rajeev and Thomas 2015). In planting, the weight of reproductive organs neces-
sary depends on the area of cultivation and the method of cultivation adopted. In
southern India, the weight varies from 1500 to 1800kg/ha in plains, whereas, at
higher altitude, it goes up to 2000 to 2500kg/ha.
20.9.3 Breeding Methods Applied
In clonally propagated crops like ginger, the two important components of biodiver-
sity are species diversity and varietal diversity which permits selection forces to act
on it (Sasikumar etal. 1999). The evolution of this crop experienced a lot of changes
in its physiological and anatomical structure due to the long history of domestica-
tion of gingers into diverse geographical niches. This variability was not so domi-
nant in cultivars grown in the same region compared to the ones growing in different
geographically distant locations (Ravindran et al. 2005). The presence of this
genetic variability gives a chance for utilization in crop improvement and sustain-
able development.
The main purpose of crop improvement is to develop high-yielding varieties with
wide adaptation, high-quality parameters (oil, oleoresins) and low bre, besides
resistance to major pest and diseases such as rhizome rot and shoot borer. Several
methods such as introduction, selection, mutation, polyploidy breeding and also
biotechnological approaches are being used for improving the ginger cultivars in
India as well as other parts of world. Hybridization is not practicable in ginger due
to sterility.
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612
20.9.4 Selection
During the initial years of crop improvement, foremost importance was given for
the collection of a large number of germplasm from different localities, their
comparative yield evaluation and selection of superior types based on yield and
quality traits. The yield potential and unique feature of rhizome vary according to
existing factors in the particular region. The high yield potential and quality of the
exotic cultivar ‘Rio-de-Janeiro’ were proven by various researchers (Kannan and
Nair 1965; Thomas 1966; Muralidharan and Kamalam 1973). The yields of the
cultivars ‘Himachal’, ‘Kuruppampadi’, ‘China’ and ‘Maran’ are analogous to
‘Rio-de- Janeiro’ (Jogi et al. 1978; Nybe et al. 1980; Mohanty et al. 1981;
Thangaraj etal. 1983). The most popular varieties among farmers are ‘Rio-de-
Janeiro’, ‘Himachal Pradesh’, ‘Kuruppampadi’, ‘Maran’, ‘Nadia’ and ‘Burdwan’.
The highest yield of variety ‘Thingapuri’ was observed in Odisha (Panigrahi and
Patro 1985). The best quality character, i.e. the highest oleoresin content, was
observed in ‘Rio-de-Janeiro’ and ‘Maran’, while the highest essential oil content
was found in ‘Karakkal’. The cultivars ‘China’ and ‘Nadia’ were the lowest in
crude bre content, whereas a higher bre content was observed in ‘Kuruppampadi’,
‘Maran’, ‘Jugijan’, ‘Ernad Manjeri’, ‘Nadia’, ‘Poona’, ‘Himachal Pradesh’,
‘Tura’ and ‘Arippa’ (Jogi etal. 1978; Nybe etal.1980).
20.9.5 Mutation Breeding
In sterile vegetatively propagated plants, variability can be created by exposing the
plant organs to physical and chemical mutagens. Once the induced variability is
xed, it can be maintained by vegetative propagation. Rattan (1994) reported that
the use of ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) as a chemical mutagen leads to reduced
growth and increased cytological irregularities. Gamma rays also showed a similar
effect as chemical mutagens (Rattan 1994). Jayachandran and Mohanachandran
(1992) observed that most of the induced changes appearing in the R1 generation
were in chimeric form and expressed a stunted or semi-dwarng effect and were
inhibitory on production of rhizomes.
20.9.6 Polyploidy Breeding
Successful stable tetraploids in ginger with 2n=44 were developed by Ramachandran
(1982) and Ramachandran and Nair (1992a, b) by treating the sprouts with 0.25 per
cent aqueous colchicine. The polyploids have the features like vigour growth, larger
rhizome size and early owering than the diploid. However, in polyploid rhizomes,
lower oil content was observed compared to diploid rhizomes.
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613
20.10 Biotechnological Approaches
Limited variability in ginger genotypes is mainly due to absence of seed setting
which hinders the crop improvement programmes. The diseases such as rhizome rot
caused by Pythium aphanidermatum and bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia sola-
nacearum are the major production constraints in ginger cultivation. Use of biotech-
nological tool can be considered as boon for ginger improvement due to its wider
application.
20.10.1 Micropropagation
Many workers reported the clonal multiplication of ginger from vegetative buds
(Hosoki and Sagawa 1977; Nadgauda etal. 1980; Babu et al. 1997; Sharma and
Singh 1997; Rout et al. 2001). Infected rhizomes are the main source of disease
inoculum in ginger. Production of pathogen-free planting material of elite cultivar is
possible by using tissue culture technique. Tissue-cultured plants required a mini-
mum of two crop seasons for development of rhizomes with normal size that can be
used as propagation rhizomes for commercial cultivation. Rout etal. (1998) reported
genetic uniformity in micropropagated plants by molecular characterization.
However, some percentage of polymorphism was reported by Babu etal. (2003).
20.10.2 In Vitro Pollination
There is no natural fruit or seed set in ginger due to sterile pollen grains and self-
incompatibility reaction. Nevertheless, articial supplementation of required chem-
icals and nutrient to young owers along with in vitro pollination helps in the
development of fruit and later on the plants that can be generated from these fruits
(Babu etal. 1992b; Valsala etal. 1997). The successful application of invitro pol-
lination to overcome the pre-fertilization barriers for getting successful fruit set was
reported by Nazeem etal. (1996).
Plant regeneration and somaclonal variation:
The use of leaf, vegetative bud, ovary and anther as explants for regeneration of
plantlets through a callus phase has been reported by several workers (Babu etal.
1992a, 1996; Babu 1997; Kacker etal. 1993, Rout et al. (1998); Samsudeen 1996;
Samsudeen etal. 2001). Somaclonal variations can be created by using this system
which is not possible by conventional breeding due to failure of seed set. The vari-
ability in somaclones was reported for various agronomic characters and other yield
traits, during eld trial of these clones (Samsudeen 1996; Babu etal. 1996; Babu
1997). RAPD characterization of these somaclones also specied the prole varia-
tions representing genetic differences (Babu et al. 2003). Isolation of Pythium-
20 Zingiber ofcinale Roscoe: Ginger

614
tolerant ginger by using culture ltrate as the selecting agent was described by
Kulkarni etal. (1984).
20.10.3 Anther Culture
Anther callus obtained from diploid and tetraploid ginger can be used for plant
regeneration (Samsudeen etal. 2001; Babu 1997). Ramachandran and Nair (1992a,
b) observed the formation of callus and development of roots and rhizome-like
structures from excised ginger anthers which were cultured on MS medium contain-
ing 2,4-D and coconut milk.
20.10.4 Microrhizomes
Many researchers reported the invitro induction of microrhizomes in ginger (Bhat
etal. 1994; Sharma and Singh 1995; Babu 1997; Sunitibala etal. 2001; Shirgurkar
etal. 2001; Babu etal. 2003; Peter etal. 2002; Ravindran etal. 2004). The plants
developed from microrhizome have lesser plant height but more tillers. The genetic
stability occurs in the plants obtained from invitro cultured rhizomes as compared
to micropropagated plants and is considered as an important source of disease-free
planting material ideally suited for germplasm exchange, transportation and conser-
vation (Babu etal. 2003).
20.10.5 Protoplast Culture
Leaf tissues and cell suspension cultures of ginger could be used for isolation of
protoplast. 2.5×105 protoplast per gram leaf sample can be obtained by digesting
leaf tissue in an enzyme solution containing macerozyme R10 (0.5%), hemicellu-
lase (3%) and cellulose Onozuka R10 (5%), when incubated for 10hours at 15°C
followed by 6hours at 30°C.Out of this, 72 per cent of the protoplast were viable
with a size of 0.39mm. These viable protoplasts could be successfully plated on
culture media and made to develop up to microcalli stage (Babu 1997; Geetha
etal. 2000).
20.10.6 Genetic Transformation
The plasmid vector sp. AHC 25 and promoter Ubi-1 (maize ubiquitin) were used
through bombardment, and the transient expression of GUS was effectively induced
in ginger embryogenic callus tissue (Babu 1997).
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615
20.11 Molecular Characterization
Sasikumar etal. (2004) analysed 96 accessions using RAPD proling and interrela-
tion ship studies. Moderate to low polymorphism was detected in ginger due to the
vegetative mode of reproduction.
20.11.1 Candidate Genes
Candidate gene approach is more appropriate for ginger improvement due to the
absence of sexual reproduction. A candidate gene for Pythium resistance was
isolated by using primers designed from conserved motifs of similar resistance
genes as well as a ddRT PCR approach. Cloning, sequencing and comparison of
differently expressed fragments were done with the known sequences (BLAST
searches) and putative resistance gene fragments identied. Cloning and character-
ization of a mannose-binding lectin from ginger rhizomes were reported by Chen
etal. (2005).
20.12 Processing ofGinger
Production of dry ginger is done by adopting two peeling steps of ginger rhizomes
to remove the outer skin and sun drying to a safe moisture level during its processing.
20.12.1 Peeling
Peeling is the process of removing scaly epidermis which helps in early drying. For
peeling, bamboo splits with pointed end are used, and the outer skin of fully matured
rhizomes is removed by scraping which leads to enhanced drying. Oil-bearing cells,
which are present just below the outer skin of rhizomes, may be damaged during
deep scraping with knife. Excessive peeling should be avoided, as it results in
reduced essential oil recovery from dried product. Proper washing of peeled rhi-
zome is necessary to avoid a deterioration of quality. A better quality of dry ginger
is obtained from clean-peeled (smooth-textured) ginger which is also known as
Jamaican ginger, whereas Indian ginger (especially that one grown in Kerala and
most of the southern states) is roughly peeled (unbleached ginger) (Rajeev and
Thomas 2015).
20 Zingiber ofcinale Roscoe: Ginger

616
20.12.2 Drying
At the time of harvest, ginger contains a moisture content of about 80–82%, which
is brought down up to 10% for its safe storage. Sun drying is more common in most
of the developing countries which takes about 8–10days for complete drying. Sun-
dried ginger can be identied by brown colour appearance and irregular wrinkled
surface. Type of cultivar and climatic conditions decide about dry ginger yield
recovery which ranged from 19 to 25% (Rajeev and Thomas 2015).
20.12.3 Polishing, Cleaning andGrading
The removal of dry skin and wrinkles from the surface of ginger can be possible by
polishing. It is the process of rubbing the peeled and dried rhizome against a hard
surface. Manual cleaning of dried ginger is more common to remove the extraneous
matter and the light pieces. After cleaning of dried ginger, grading is done based on
size of the rhizome, its colour and shape and the extent of residual lime (in the case
of bleached ginger) (Rajeev and Thomas 2015).
20.12.4 Storage
Insects like Lasioderma serricorne (cigarette beetle) are the major problems during
storage of dry ginger in gunny bags. So airtight high-density polyethylene or similar
packaging materials can be used for storage of dry ginger. Reduction in aroma, a-
vour and pungency of dried ginger occurs when it is stored for more than 2years
(Rajeev and Thomas 2015).
20.12.5 Bleached Ginger
Production of bleached ginger is done by plunging scrapped fresh ginger in a slurry
of slaked lime, Ca (OH)2 (1kg of slaked lime/120 kg of water), followed by sun
drying. After drying of adhering water from rhizome, it is again dipped in slurry.
The same process is repeated until the rhizomes become uniformly white in colour.
Bleaching of dry ginger is also done in a similar manner. Application of lime is
essential for ginger as it gives better appearance and less susceptibility to the attack
of insect pests during storage and shipping.
M. Kumari et al.

617
20.13 Important Varieties Evolved
20.13.1 IISR: Rejatha
This variety was released during the year 2001 from IISR Calicut by following the
pedigree selection method. Plants have the height of 68cm with green colour aerial
shoots. Plumpy, round and bold rhizomes with three layered compact clumps are the
main features of this variety. Rhizomes are brown in colour with a low bre content
and are rich in oil and oleoresin. It has an essential oil content of about 2.4% with
dry recovery of 23% and 4% bre content. Plants mature in 200days and yield
about 22.4t/ha.
20.13.2 IISR: Mahima
This variety was released by adopting pedigree selection method during the year
2001 from plants that have green-coloured aerial shoots with a height of 65cm.
Rhizomes are brown in colour and plumpy and bold with low bre content. The
essential oil content yield is 1.7% with total dry recovery of 19% and bre content
of 3.3%. Plants mature in 200days and have a yield capacity of 23.2t/ha. This vari-
ety is resistant to root knot nematode.
20.13.3 ISR: Varada
This variety was released in the year 1996 by following pedigree selection method
from IISR, Calicut. Plants have green-coloured aerial shoots with a plant height of
72cm. Rhizomes have a bluish yellow core with reddish brown colour scale colour.
It has good quality and a high yield with plumpy rhizomes having attened ngers
with low bre content. Dry ginger is less prone to storage insect damage. Farmers
are of opinion that Varada is tolerant to diseases. Plants are ready for harvest in
200days and yield about 22.6t/ha.
20.13.4 Suprabha
It is a clonal selection from Kunduli. Rhizomes are plump having a low bre content
(4.4%) with wide adaptability and suitable for both early and late sowing. Plants
mature in 229days and yield about 16.6t/ha. This variety gives dry recovery of 21%
with 8.9% oleoresin and 1.9% of essential oil content (AICRP on Spice, Calicut).
20 Zingiber ofcinale Roscoe: Ginger

618
20.13.5 Suruchi
This is also a clonal selection from Kunduli. Plants have profuse tillers with a bold
rhizome and early maturity. It is suitable for both rainfed and irrigated condition.
Rhizomes are ready for harvest in 218days with a yield of 11.6t/ha. It gives total
dry recovery of 24% with an oleoresin content of 10.9% and an oil content of 2.0%
(AICRP on Spice, Calicut).
20.13.6 Suravi
It is an induced mutant of Rudrapur. Rhizomes are plumpy with dark-skinned
yellow esh, suitable for both irrigated and rainfed conditions. Plants mature in
225days and yield about 17.5t/ha. This variety gives the dry recovery of 24% with
oleoresin content of 10.2%. It has a crude bre of 4% and an oil recovery of 2.1%
(AICRP on Spice, Calicut).
20.13.7 Himgiri
It is clonal selection from Himachal collection. It is best suitable for green ginger
and less susceptible to rhizome rot disease. It is suitable for rainfed condition. Plants
are ready for harvest in 230days with a yield of 13.5t/ha. It gives dry recovery of
20.2% with an oleoresin content of 4.29%. It has a low bre content of 1.6% with a
high oil recovery about 6% (AICRP on Spice, Calicut).
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