Photo: placeholder pending image-fill pass
Maran and Nadia — traditional ginger cultivars
Maran and Nadia are two of the principal traditional ginger (Zingiber officinale) cultivars of India and serve as benchmark genotypes in ICAR-IISR Calicut variety evaluation. Maran is a Kerala-Karnataka type prized for high dry recovery and oleoresin; Nadia originates in West Bengal and is the dominant fresh-market ginger of the eastern plains.
Key characteristics
| Cultivar | Origin | Duration | Dry recovery | Oleoresin | Essential oil | Fibre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maran | Kerala (Wayanad) — also widely grown in Karnataka, Meghalaya | ~210 days | ~23-25% | ~10.5% | ~2.5% | medium-high |
| Nadia | Nadia district, West Bengal | ~210-230 days | ~20-22% | ~6.5% | ~2.3% | low to medium |
Maran rhizomes are bold, plump with a brownish skin and yellow flesh; Nadia rhizomes are stout, larger fingers and pale-yellow flesh with a milder pungency and characteristic aroma. Both are open-pollinated traditional landraces, not formally released by an institute.
Cultivation
Ginger is planted as a primary crop or under partial shade of arecanut and coconut. Seed rate is 1,200-1,800 kg/ha of healthy mother rhizome bits (15-20 g, 2-3 viable buds each), planted in shallow furrows 25 × 20 cm or on raised beds 1 m wide at the onset of pre-monsoon showers (April-May in Kerala; May-June in West Bengal and the Northeast). Recommended NPK is 75:50:50 kg/ha for irrigated plantings with 25-30 t/ha FYM. Mulching with green leaves @ 12-15 t/ha at planting and again after 45 days conserves moisture and suppresses weeds. Earthing-up is done at 45 and 90 days after planting. Harvest of mature ginger is at 8-9 months when leaves yellow and dry.
Pest and disease profile
Both cultivars are highly susceptible to [[ginger-soft-rot-pythium|soft rot (Pythium aphanidermatum)]], the principal yield-limiting disease, and to bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum). Yellows (Fusarium oxysporum) is common in poorly drained soil. Shoot borer (Conogethes punctiferalis) is the main pest, with rhizome scale and root knot nematode causing secondary losses.
Adoption and use
Maran is the cultivar of choice for the dry-ginger (sonth) trade with most of Kerala's Wayanad and Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi production going for processing; it is also used for ginger oil and oleoresin extraction. Nadia is dominantly a fresh-market vegetable ginger, supplying Kolkata and eastern Indian wholesale markets and the bulk of seed ginger for the eastern plains. Other major traditional cultivars in the ICAR-IISR pool include Rio-de-Janeiro (Brazilian origin, vigorous), Wynad Local (Kerala), Karakkal (Maharashtra), Suprabha, Suruchi and Suravi (ICAR-IISR releases).
Related entries
See also: Ginger Crop, Ginger Soft Rot Pythium, Turmeric Crop.
References
- Ginger - cultivars and packages of practices - ICAR-IISR Calicut. https://www.spices.res.in/research/ginger
- Ginger cultivation - Spices Board India. https://www.indianspices.com/spice-catalog/ginger