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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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