2025, Vol. 8, Issue 2, Part C

author(s)
Saraswati SS, Vijayakumar BN, Mohammed Farooq, Bhuvaneshwari G, Prasanna SM and Ashok

abstract
Turmeric has a very long history of medicinal use, dating back nearly 4000 years. In South East Asia, turmeric is used not only as a principal spice but also as a component in religious ceremonies. Because of its brilliant yellow color, turmeric is also known as ’Indian saffron’. An investigation on “Influence of growth retardant on growth, yield and quality of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) under northern dry zone of Karnataka.” was carried out at Dhanvantari Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Garden (DMAPG), Sector No. 41, Department of Plantation, Spices, Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, College of Horticulture, Bagalkot, Karnataka during 2022-23 and 2023-24. The details of the materials used and the techniques adopted during the investigation are presented here under. From the experiment pooled data, it can be concluded that T₈ (Nipping at 90 DAP + Cycocel at 150 DAP) emerged as the optimal for achieving high dry rhizome yield, rhizome curing. Treatments like T₄ (Cycocel (250 ppm) at 90 DAP), T₉ (Nipping at 120 DAP + Cycocel at 150 DAP) and T₇ (Cycocel (250 ppm) at 180 DAP) were most effective for higher volatile oil, curcumin and oleoresin content respectively. However, in terms of dry rhizome yield and B:C ratio of particular interest to farmers, T₈ produced higher yields (7.79 t/ha) with B:C ratio (2.35), while T₄ and T₃ also provided commendable results. Consequently, in the absence of growth retardants, the aforementioned nipping technique at 150 DAP is recommended for optimizing turmeric yield in Northern Dry Zone of Karnataka.