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Description
Turmeric is the boiled, dried, cleaned and polished rhizomes of
Curcuma longa. The plant is a herbaceous perennial, ****0 cm high,
with a short stem and tufted leaf. There are 7 to *2 leaves, the
leaf sheaths forms the pseudo stem. The lamina is green above and
pale green below and has a length of ****0 cm and width ***2 cm.
Inflorescence is a central spike of ****5 cm length. **4 flowers
are born in axil of the bract opening one at a time. About *0
flowers are produced in a spike. Seeds are produced in capsules and
there will be one to numerous sunken capsules in an
inflorescence.
Origin and Distribution
It is a native of India. Apart from India, it is cultivated in
Pakistan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Japan,
Korea, China, Sri Lanka, Nepal, East & West Africa, South
Pacific Islands, Malagasy, Caribbean Islands and Central America.
In India, it is cultivated in the States of Andhra Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
Turmeric is a tropical crop cultivated from sea level to ***0 meter
MSL. It grows in light black, black clayey loams and red soils in
irrigated and rainfed conditions. The crop cannot stand water
logging or alkalinity.
Uses
Turmeric is used to flavour and to colour foodstuffs. It is a
principal ingredient in curry powder. Turmeric oleoresin is used in
brine pickles and to some extent in mayonnaise and relish
formulations, non-alcoholic beverages, gelatins, butter and cheese
etc. The colour curcumin extracted from turmeric is used as a
colourant.
Turmeric is also used as a dye in textile industry. It is used in
the preparation of medicinal oils, ointments and poultice. It is
stomachic, carminative, tonic, blood purifier and an antiseptic. It
is used in cosmetics. The aqueous extracts has biopesticidal
properties.
Botanical name | Family name |
Commercial part
Curcuma longa L. | Zingiberaceae | Rhizome or underground stem
Indian Names
Hindi : Haldi
Bengali : Halud, Pitras
Gujarati: Haldhar, Haldi
Kannada : Arishia
Konkani : Halad
Malayalam: Manjal
Marathi : Halede, Halad
Oriya : Haldil
Punjabi : Haldar, Haldhar, Haldi
Sanskrit: Haladi, Harita
Tamil : Manjal
Telugu : Pasupu
Urdu : Haladi
Name in international
languages
Spanish : Curcuma
French : Curcuma
German : Kurkuma Gelbwurzel
Swedish : Gurkmeja
Arabic : Kurkum
Dutch : Geelwortel
Italian : Curcuma
Portuguese: Acafrao-da-India
Russian : Zholty Imbir
Japanese: Ukon
Chinese : Yu.Chin
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