Introduction
Cinnamon (Cinamon verum) is an evergreen tree reaching to a height of 6-15m. The dried inner barks of these two species are the products for commerce. Its cultivation is more prevalent in hilly regions of the western Ghats.
Indian local names of Cinnamon
Karuvapatta (Malayalam), Dalchinachekka(Telugu), Chakke or Lavana Patte (Kannada) दालचीनी Daalchini (Hindi and Marathi).
Climate and Soil
Cinnamon is a hardy plant. It tolerates a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. In the west coast of India, its trees are grown in laterite and sandy patches with poor nutrient status. It goes up well up to an elevation of about 1,000m. It is mostly raised as an unirrigated crop. An annual rainfall of 200-250 cm is ideal for its cultivation.
Propagation
Cinnamon is commonly propagated through seed, though it can be propagated by cuttings and air layers. Under the west coast conditions, cinnamon flowers in January and fruits ripen during June-August. Seeds are removed from fruits, washed free of pulp, and sown without much delay, as the seeds have low viability. The seeds are sown in sand beds or polythene bags containing a mixture of sand, soil and well powdered dried cowdung in a 3:3:1 ratio. The seeds germinate within 10-20 days. The seedlings need artificial shading till they become 6 months old.
Cultivation
The pits of 50x50x50 cm size are dug at a spacing of 3mx3m. They are filled with compost and top soil before planting. Cinnamon is planted during June-July to take advantage of the monsoon for the establishment of seedlings, then one year old seedlings are planted. In each pit, 5 seedlings can be planted.
Manuring and Fertilizer
Two weeding’s in a year(June-July and October-November)and one digging of soil around the bushes(during August-September) are done. A fertilizer dose of 20g N,18g P2O5 and 25g K20/seedling is recommended for the first year. This dose is increased gradually to 200g N,180 KG P2O5 and 200g K20 for grown up plants of 10 years and above. The fertilizers are to be applied in 2 equal split doses in May-June and September-October. The cinnamon leaves after distillation for oil, are used as a mulch in its plantations.
Irrigation
It is raised mostly as unirrigated crop. But an annual rainfall of 200-250 cm is ideal. In the initial 2-3 years, watering is given during summer months twice a week. The quantity of waters depends upon the soil moisture level and growth of plants.
Harvest And Post Harvest
Cinnamon tree may attain a height of about 10-15m, but in cultivation, it is generally cut back periodically. Two year old plants are cut during June-July to a height of about 15cm from the stump. This operation encourages the development of side shoots from the stump. Shoots are harvested from September-November. Usually coppicing is done in alternate years. The shoots having finger thickness and uniform brown colour are ideal for bark extraction. The stems are cut close to the ground when they are about 2 years old, as straight as possible, 1.0-1.25m length and 1.25 cm thickness. Such shoots are bundled after removing leaves and terminal shoots. Cuttings is followed by scraping and peeling operations.
Yield of Cinnamon
It depends on type of variety and age.
For 3-4 year plants onwards 62 to 125 Kg quills/ha.
For 10 to 11 year and onwards 225 to 300 Kg quills/ha.
In addition, about 75 Kg of quilling and feathering are obtained from cinnamon plants. Further, one ton of cinnamon leaves which yield 1 to 1.50 kg of oil are obtained per year.