Agronomical aspects of medicinal and aromatic plants

1. Agricultural Practices of
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Sridhar Gutam, PhD
Senior Scientist (Plant Physiology)
ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region
Research Centre, Ranchi 834010

2. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
• Forests - main source of the raw materials for
Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicines.
• IUCN Red Data book – Due to unsustainable
collections from the forests.
• Promoting cultivation of medicinal plants.
• Directorate of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research
(DMAPR)/Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• The Department of AYUSH/National Medicinal Plants
Board (NMPB).

3. Some Important Medicinal Plants
• Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera Dunal)
• JA 20 and JA 135 - important high yielding varieties available for cultivation.
• Safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum Santapu& Fern.)
• JA 405 is the high yielding variety available for cultivation.
• Guggal (Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari
• Tinospora (Tinospora cordifolia Miers ex Hook f. & Thoms.)
• Satavary (Asparagus racemosus)
• Kalmegh (Andrographis paniculata Nees)
• Isabgol (Plantago ovata Forsk.)
• GI 1, GI 2, GI3, JI 4, HI 5 and Niharika are available for cultivation.
• Senna (Cassia angustifolia Vahl)
• Aloe (Aloe barbadensis Mill)
• Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus (L) G.Don)

8. Guggal
Commiphora wighti (Arn.) Bhandari

9. Guggal
• The oleo-gum-resin is of importance in
international trade
• Extracted at unsustainable rates, causing declines
• Guggal gum - is a mixture of 61 % resins and 29.3 %
gum.
• Guggulosterol and guggulosterone are the
important active ingredients of the gum resin.
• The oleo-gum-resin of guggal is highly effective in
the treatment of obesity, arthritis and several other
diseases in Indian System of Medicine.

10. Guggal - Oleo-gum-resin
• Oleo-gum-resin is present
in the ducts of
paranchymatous bark.
• Near the base of the tree,
an incision is made at a
depth of about half the
thickness of the bark.
• Oleo-gum-resin oozes
from the cut and gets
solidified to brownish
yellow.

11. Guggal Cultivation: Method and
Practices
• Practiced spacing under cultivation: 3 x 3 m2
• Tapping of the tree: November – January
• Collection: Until June
• Growth and development under different plant
population densities
• 1, 4, 6, 11 plants/m2 [30x30, 40x40, 50x50, 1x1
m2]
• Yield and production of oleo-gum-resin
• 6, 12 & 12 months after planting
Gutam (2009) Unpublished

12. Oleo-gum-resin: Tapping yield
Treatment Expt. A
Oleogumresin
Yield (g)
Tapping
Technique
Success
(%)
Expt. B
Oleogumresin
Yield (g)
Tapping
Technique
Success
(%)
T1 11 Plants/m2
16.80 28 18.17 63
T2 6 Plants/m2
19.76 19 13.61 71
T3 4 Plants/m2
8.79 31 13.42 76
T4 1 Plant/m2
3.86 44 9.31 81
Gutam (2009) Unpublished

13. Xanthomonas axonopodis pv.
commiphorae (Xac)

14. Guggal – Plant Population Density
• Thickness of the stem range was 12 – 14 mm at 6 months after
planting (MAP). However, at 12 MAP and 18 MAP, the stem
thickness increased to 22 – 31 mm.
• The stem thickness (83 mm) and heavy stem (80 g) was found in 1
plant/m2 density as no much competition per unit area when
compared to other treatments.
• When compared among the treatments, higher dry matter was
partitioned into stems in T4 (71%).
• When guggal is tapped, it yielded 4 g/m2 at 44% tapping success
whereas, T1 and T2 yielded 187 g/m2 and 120 g/m2 at 28% and
19% tapping success (higher density of plantation).
• The plant population density and the stem characters like
thickness and weight can be effectively used for the successful
tapping of guggal for higher ole-gum-resin production per unit
area under commercial cultivation.
Gutam (2009)

15. Thank You All
@SridharGutam
gutam2000@gmail.com
sridhar.gutam@icar.gov.in