Ginger

Kingdom	Plantae
Unranked	Angiosperms
Unranked	Monocots
Order	Zingiberales
Family	Zingiberales
Genus	Zingiber
Species	Z. officinale
Binomial name	Zingiber officinale

Other Common Names:

The other common names for the ginger are African Ginger, Ardraka, Black Ginger, Chiang, Gan-jiang, Nagara, Race Ginger, Shen-jiang and Sunthi.

History

The rhizomes and stems of ginger have assumed significant roles in Chinese, Japanese, and Indian medicine since the 1500s.The Latin name Zingiber is derived from the Sanskrit word, shringavera, which means "shaped like a deer's antlers." The word ginger evolved in English from the Latin zingiber as "gingifer" and "gingivere." The oleoresin of ginger is often contained in digestive, antitussive, antiflatulent, laxative, and antacid compounds.

Cultivated for millennia in both China and India, it reached the West at least two thousand years ago, recorded as a subject of a Roman tax in the second century after being imported via the Red Sea to Alexandria. By the 13th and 14th centuries it was familiar to English palates, and next to pepper, was the most popular spice. A pound of ginger was then valued at the price of one sheep. Ginger is commonly used in the Ayurvedic and Tibb systems of medicine for the treatment of inflammatory joint diseases, such as arthritis.

Description

Ginger is a creeping perennial on a thick tuberous rhizome with upright stems and narrow medium green leaves arranged in two ranks on each stem. The plant gets about 4 ft tall with leaves about 3/4 in wide and 7 long.

Ginger grows from an aromatic tuberlike rhizome (underground stem) which is warty and branched. The inflorescence grows on a separate stem from the foliage stem, and forms a dense spike, to 3 in tall. The bracts are green with translucent margins and the small flowers are yellow green with purple lips and cream colored blotches. Most gingers in cultivation are sterile cultivars grown for the edible rhizome, and the flower is rarely seen.

Range

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) was one of the first Oriental spices to reach Europe. While ginger is indigenous to South East Asia, it is now widely cultivated in China, India, the United States, Australia and the West Indies.

Habitat

It thrives best in well drained solid like sandy soils. Ginger is grown in areas where warm and humid climatic conditions with heavy and well-distributed rains are available during the sowing period.

Cultivation

Ginger is grown in areas where warm and humid climatic conditions with heavy and well-distributed rains are available during the sowing period. It gives best results in partial shade, though it is also grown on a large scale in open areas. Ginger is started from rhizome (root) cuttings rather than from seed. It is best to cut the rhizomes into pieces 1 to 1� inches long, each containing at least one eye. Cut the rhizome pieces a few days ahead of planting to allow the cut surfaces to dry, reducing chances of rotting. In a well-prepared bed, insert each piece and cover with about 1 inch of soil. Space them 15 inches in the row and 15 inches between the row.

Early in the spring is the best time to plant. Undug rhizomes may be divided and replanted. In the Homestead trial, 30 rhizomes were produced per seed piece planted. Prepare beds of convenient length (across the slope where the land is undulating), 1 m wide, and 25 cm high with 40 cm spacing between the beds. Provide drainage channels, one for every 25 beds on flat lands. The best time for planting ginger is during the first fortnight of April, after receipt of pre-monsoon showers. For irrigated ginger, the best-suited time for planting is middle of February (for vegetable ginger).Plant rhizome bits of 15 g weight in small pits at a spacing of 20 x 20 cm to 25 x 25 cm and at a depth of 4-5 cm with at least one viable healthy bud facing upwards.

Parts Used

The rhizome and the root are the most commonly used parts of the ginger for its commercial and medicinal purposes.

Flowering Season

The flower scape grows directly from the root and terminates in a long, curved spike where a white or yellow flower grows from each spike and is in bloom from July to September.

Pests and Diseases

Soft rot and bacterial wilt are major diseases affecting ginger causing huge crop losses.Phyllosticta leaf spot and pests such as the shoot borer causes minor damage.

Medicinal Applications

• Ginger has also been used in the treatment of vertigo, for colic, lack of appetite, for vomiting associated with morning sickness in pregnancy, and rheumatic complaints.

• Ginger is an important herb used in Ayurveda.

• Ginger is used as a digestive aid since it promotes the secretion of saliva and gastric juices and increases the action of peristalsis in the intestines.

• Ginger was used to relieve flatulence and prevent belching. The oil in ginger contains compounds which relieve coughing and are reported to have analgesic and fever-reducing properties.

• In the collapse stage of cholera, powdered ginger is rubbed to the extremities, to check the cold perspiration, improve the local circulation, and to relieve the agonizing cramps.

• Ginger may protect the stomach from the damaging effect of alcohol and non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and may help prevent ulcers.

• The use of ginger may diminish the risk of blood clots forming and increase bleeding time since ginger extracts inhibit the clumping of human platelets.

• Its anti-tumor properties and ability to reduce the risk of blood clot formation makes it a useful herb for lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

• A paste of powdered dried ginger was applied to the temples to relieve headache.

Commercial Applications

• Ginger root is widely used around the world as a spice or food additive.

• A ginger extracts with carbonated water makes the popular drink we call ginger ale.

• Ginger was used in the Middle Ages in Europe to flavour beer.

• Ginger powder is also used in certain food preparations particularly for expecting women and feeding mothers, the most popular one being Katlu which is a mixture of gum resin, ghee, nuts, and sugar.

• The dried roots have a synergistic action between compounds in the essential oil and pungent principles such as gingerol.

• It is also used as a substitute for tea.