Advances in Spices Research

EDITOR'S: P. N. Ravindran, Dr. K. Nirmal Babu, Dr. K. N. Shiva & Dr. Johny A. Kallupurackal
PUBLISHER: Agrobios (India)
ISBN: 9798177542607
YEAR: 2006 - First Edition
PAGES: 994
SIZE: 19 X 25 X 5 cm.
BINDING: Hard
LANGUAGE: English

ABOUT THE BOOK: During the past fifty years, much research work has been earned out in various spices. However no comprehensive exercise lias been made to collect and collate the achievements of the past. Documentation is as important as research itself. Without proper documentation there is always the peril of someone Irving to "reinvent the wheel".
I feel privileged to present this volume to the spices workers of India. Everyone who matters in spices research in India has found a place in this volume as an author or co-author. Every major achievement on spices, on which research work is going on in India, has been incorporated in the text, making this into a very valuable database.
This volume contains 31 chapters, out of which the first seven are of general nature, covering the general topics pertaining to spices and spices research. 1 he first one is an introductory chapter that gives a detailed treatment on definitions, classification of spices, condiments and herbs and then briefly traces the history of spices in India from ancient to the present. This chapter also gives a general treatment on the use of spices in cooking, medicine, and their use as bioceuticals, and also the role of spices in the socio-cultural history of India. The subsequent chapters deal with production and export, genetic resources, varieties developed, biotechnological approaches and medicinal applications.
I hope that this voluminous compilation will be useful to all those who are interested in spices in one-way or other. This will remain as the only single volume database on the first 50 years of spices research in India. I hope that this volume will be read and referred by students and research workers for many decades to come or as long as spices research remains active. I do hope diat the legacy of many spices research workers will remain alive through the pages of this book. I salute all of them, all those who have gone ahead, and all those who walked along. With all humility I place this volume before the spices workers of India and die Nation at large.

ABOUT THE EDITOR'S:
1. P.N. Ravindran, Ph.D., is one of the topmost and best known Spices Scientists and experts in the world. He held positions such as Director, Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), Calicut; National Coordinator for Spices Research under ICAR; Coordinating Director, Centre for Medicinal Plants Research (CMPR), Kottakkaf, Kerala; Principal Scientist and Head, Division of Crop Improvement and Biotechnology at the IISR, Calicut etc. World's largest spices gene bank as well as the National Genetic Resources Conservatories for major spices were established at the IISR under his leadership during the period 1984 -1998. He was invited to edit the international monographs on major spices such as: Black pepper (2000, Harwood Academic, Amsterdam); Cardamom- the genus Elettaria (2002, Taylor & Francis, London); Cinnamon & Cassia- the genus Cinnamomum (2004, CRC Press), Ginger the genus Zingiber (2005, CRC Press) and Turmeric the genus Curcuma (CRC Press, due in 2006). He has published over 200 research and review papers in the areas of spices and medicinal plants. He also co-edited the much acclaimed compilation: Biotechnology of Horticultural and Plantation Crops. (2000). He was the Founder and Founder-Secretary, and past President of the Indian Society for Spices; Founder Editor and past Chief Editor of the Journal of Spices and Aromatic Crops. He is currently the Visiting Scientist at the Centre for Medicinal Plants Research (CMPR), where he is involved in guiding and monitoring the research activities of the Centre. His current research interest includes medicinal plants conservation, characterization, validation of traditional knowledge, as well as the study on the socio-cultural history of medicinal plants.

2. Dr K. Nirmal Babu, Ph.D had his doctorate from the University of Calicut and did Post-doctoral work in molecular biology at the University of California, Davis, USA. He has done pioneering work in the areas of genetic resources conservation, including in vitro conservation; crop improvement and biotechnology of spices, and is considered as one of the topmost tissue culture scientists in the country. He is the co-editor of the international monographs: Cinnamon &Cassia the genus Cinnamomum (2004, CRC Press); Ginger the genus Zingiber (2005, CRC Press), and Turmeric-the genus Curcuma (due in 2006, CRC Press). He was a recipient of the ICAR Team Award and the Jawaharlal Nehru Award. He is currently a Senior Scientist at the Indian Institute of Spices Research, Calicut, India.

3. Dr. K. N. Shiva, Ph.D., had his post graduate and doctoral degrees in Horticulture from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. He joined the ICAR as a Scientist in Horticulture, and for some time worked in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Later be joined the IISR and became associated with the All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices (AICRPS), where he is now a Senior Scale Scientist. For the last few years he has been actively involved in the monitoring of the spices research programmes being carried out in over twenty centers under the AICRPS. He has published over 25 research and review papers and book chapters.

4. Dr. Johny A.Kallupurackal, M.Sc, Ph.D., took his post-graduate and doctoral degrees in Botany from the University of Kerala. He started his career as a soil microbiologist, later became a spices expert. He was associated with the All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices (ICAR) located at the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR), where he is now the Technical Information Officer. He has played an important role in popularizing spices research results through over 50 semi -popular and popular papers. He has also co-authored two books and 13 book chapters.

CONTENTS:
1. Preface
2. Acknowledgements
3. Spices: Definition, Classification, History, Properties, Uses and Role in Indian Life
        P. N. Ravindran
4. Spices Production and Export from India - Scenario Through Five Decades
        K. V. Peter, E.V. Nybe and M. R. Shylaja
5. Genetic Resources of Spices and their Conservation
        P. N. Ravindran, K. Nirmal Babu and K. N Shiva
6. High Yielding Spices Varieties Developed in India
        Johny A. Kallupurackal and Ravindran P. N.
7. Indian Spices: An Overview of Therapeutic Applications
        E. Porchezhian, R. M. Dobriyal and D. B. Anantha Narayana
8. Progress of Spices Biotechnology in India
        K Nirmal Babu, D Minoo, Geetha S Pillai and VNJayakumar
9. Three Decades of Research and Development Under AICRP on Spices - An Overview
        K V Ramana, Johny A Kallupurackal and KN Shiva
10. Black Pepper
        P. N. Ravindran, K. Nirmal Babu and K. N. Shiva
11. Diseases of Black Pepper
        K. P. Mammootty and V. P. Neema
12. Cardamom
        V. S. Korikanthimath, M. N. Venugopal, M. R. Sudharshan and D.Prasath
13. Ginger
        P. N. Ravindran, K. N. Shiva, K. Nirmal Babu and B. N. Korla
14. Turmeric
        A. Manohar Rao, R. Jagdeeshwar and K. Sivaraman
15. Diseases of Ginger and Turmeric
        N. P. Dohroo
16. Chilli - Improvement Through Five Decades
        T. R. Gopalakrishnan and P. Indira
17. Vanilla
        M. R. Sudharshan, S. S. Bhatt, Y. S. Rao, K. Mary Mathew, C.R. Sivadasan, N. Ramesh Babu, K. V. Prakash and N. S. Radhika
18. Large Cardamom
        Y. S. Rao and K. J. Madhusoodanan
19. Tree Spices
        E. V. Nybe, N. Mini Raj, T. Thangaraj and R. Richard Kennedy
20. Insect Pests of Major Spices and Their Management
        S. Devasahayam
21. Coriander
        D.L. Singhania, Dhirendra Singh, andR. S. Raje
22. Coriander as an Essential Oil Crop
        Kalra, A., Agarwal, K. K., Gupta, A. K and Khanuja, S. P. S.
23. Cumin
        I. D. Patel and S. L. Dashora and S. Agrawal
24. Fennel
        D. L. Singhania and Dhirendra Singh
25. Fenugreek
        D. L. Singhania, R. S. Raje, Dhirendra Singh and S. S. Rajput
26. Minor Seed Spices: Ajowan, Dill, Celery, Aniseed
        Suresh K. Malhotra
27. Minor Seed Spices: Parsley, Caraway, Black Caraway and Nigella
        Suresh K. Malhotra
28. Saffron
        M. Ayoob Mantoo and Farooq Ahmad Zaki
29. Minor and Underutilized Spices and Herbs
        P. N. Ravindran, Geetha S. Pillai andM. Shylaja
30. Quality Aspects of Seed Spices
        Sanjeev Agrawal
31. Spices: Processing Technology and Product Development in India
        J. S. Pruthi
32. Economics, Marketing and Export of Spices
        M. S. Madan and S. Kannan
33. Development of Spices in India: A Retrospect and Prospects
        M. Tamil Selvan, K. Sivaraman, K. G. Thomas and K. Manojkumar
34. Subject Index