Cumin

Cultivation of this crop in Kenya limited because of lack of information on planting, cultural practices and control of the diseases like alternaria blight that appears in an epidemic form.

India is the leading country in the world in terms of production, consumption and export of cumin.

Though  is an important spice crop with high economic returns, its cultivation has not taken place in areas where it can grow well.

USES AND IMPORTANCE of cumin

It is used in the preparation of a number of medicines; it is a good carminative  for controlling diarrhea and astringent digestive disorders.

It is also used in veterinary medicine, in the manufacture of cosmetics, curry powder, culinary preparations, and spice blends and  beverages.

ENVIRONMENTAL REQUIREMENTS

The plant grows well in cool and dry weather; heavy rains during the growth period damage the plant.

On the other hand warm weather increases the incidence of the disease attaining an epidemic form at flowering and seed formation.

Frost or cool air also affect the flowers negatively-all these factors combined, result to shriveled seeds.

FIELD PREPARATION

A very fine seed bed should be prepared; to achieve a fine seed bed in loamy soil, 3-4 deep plowings should be done followed by harrowing and leveling.

The field should be kept free from water logging by providing suitable draining channels.

VARIETIES OF CUMIN

1. MC 43,

2. RS 1,

3. RZ 19,

4. Gujarat cumin 1.

SEED AND SOWING

The selection of seed, seed treatment, sowing time and method of sowing are the important practices that influence the production of cumin.

About 10-12 kg of healthy treated seed is required for 1 hectare.  The seed is treated with any suitable fungicide like agrosan or cerasan at the rate of 2 grams for every kilogram of seed as a precaution against the seed borne diseases.

The best time to sow cumin seeds in Kenya is from the mid October to the mid November. It has been noticed that early sowing prolongs the vegetative period and increases incidence of cumin blight.

Late sowing in December is preferred to produce high quality seed. The seeds are very small in size, so very careful sowing is required for constant distribution of seed on the farm.

Seed can be broadcasted or dropped in lines by specially designed mechanically operated seed drills.

The recommended spacing between the furrows is 30 cm while between the plants is 10 cm. Space, between the plants is adjusted through thinning operations 15-20 days after sowing.

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS

The addition of 10-15 tones of well decomposed farmyard manure month before sowing the seed improves the tilth of the soil making it desirable for a cumin.

Under rain fed conditions, 20 kg of Nitrogen and 20 kg of phosphorous should be applied as a basal dose. The remaining 20 kg of nitrogen is applied in form of a foliar spray. after  rains commences.

Under irrigated conditions, 30 kg of Phosphorus and 20 kg of potash are applied in the split doses; one after irrigation, the other during the early stage of vegetative growth or as a foliar spray with 2% urea.

WEED CONTROL

Weeding should be done in the early stages of the crop growth to reduce competition of weeds with the crop for the soil moisture, nutrients and sunlight.

Weed control can be achieved by hand hoeing after 15-20 days of sowing or spraying of herbicides like isoprotun at the rate of 1 Kg of active ingredient in 800 liters of water as pre-emergence application.

IRRIGATION

Adequate field moisture is necessary for the germination of the seeds. Cumin seeds germinate within 9-10 days after sowing depending on the soil moisture levels.

Irrigate frequently at an interval of 10-15 days taking care no water logging occurs in the field. After flowering, one, light irrigation is given and the crop is left to mature.

HARVESTING AND THRESHING

The crop is ready for harvesting in 90-130 days. Harvesting is generally done early in the morning to avoid shedding of the seeds.

Harvesting done by uprooting the whole plant; the harvested crop is spread out on the threshing floor to dry in the sun for 2 days, after which threshing is done by beating lightly with a stick.

YIELD

5-12 quintals per hectare (500-1200 kg) are produced under good climatic conditions if the crop was without any epidemic diseases and pest damage.

The yield of volatile oil from the mature seed ranges from 2-3% by weight and a strong aromatic greenish oil to an extent of about 10%.

diseases of cumin

Cumin is attacked mainly by fungi which cause two serious diseases;

1. Cumin blight disease
2. Powdery mildew

cumin blight 

The disease is caused by alternaia species and  appears during warm humid weather taking an epidemic form at flowering stage.

The seed is affected to the extent that they can’t mature to the full size where seeds mature,they become shriveled and are easily blown during winnowing.

It has been observed that early sown crop makes is highly susceptible to the disease; producing unmarketable seed.

To control the disease,  a foliar spray of difolan or dithane M45 effectively reduces the disease incidence.

Spray the crop repeatedly with cuman at the rate of 100 ml in 100 liters of water or spray the crop with Bordeaux mixture 1%.

The first spray should be 3 weeks after sowing and subsequent 3 sprays at intervals of a fortnight.

Powdery mildew

This disease is also caused by a fungus in warm humid climate, a white growth of fungus mycelia is visible on the ventral and dorsal surface of the leaves and the stems.

flowers are malformed and covered with white powder and no seeds are formed.

To control the disease, the crop is sprayed with fine sulfur at the rate of 20kg/ha in two doses; the 1st with the onset of flowering and the second after 10 days.

After 2 or 3 days spray cosan at the rate of 100g in 100 liters of water at fortnightly intervals from onset of flowering.