1st Pilot project for Cinnamon cultivation rolled out successfully in HP

Himachal Pradesh first pilot project for   Cinnamon    cultivation has been successfully rolled out in Una  District which will pave the way  for commercial cultivation of Cinnamomum verum in  lower belt of  state  .
 At present  some species of Cinnamomum genus is  naturally  grown wild in forests. It thrives well as a forest tree at 300-350 meter above MSL said Virender Kanwar Agriculture Minister here today. 
HP, with the cultivation of Cinnamomum Verum also called sweet wood  has become the first state in India to have organized cultivation of Cinnamon.
He said that the first sapling of cinnamon  verum   one of the earliest known spices,  was  successfully planted in Vill Kholin, Distt. Una  recently under the aegis of  department of agriculture  and   CSIR’s institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT)  on pilot basis..
This project has been conceived by CSIR-IHBT and is being implemented in association with ICAR’s Indian Institute of Spice Research, Calicut, Kerala and Department of Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh,the minister said A CSIR-IHBT team trained farmers on cinnamon cultivation and established a cinnamon demonstration plot in Una .
A target has been fixed to train around 1000 farmers in cinnamon cultivation in the lower elevations of the state  by organizing training camps/ farm visits  in their respective areas commercially cultivated  high yielding varieties  like Navashree, Konkan Tej, Yercaud 1, and Nithyashree known for   delicate aroma and spicy flavor.
It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavoring material.  Cinnamon is a versatile spice which can be added to any food item such as salads, confectionaries, beverages, soups, stews and sauces.Besides its culinary usage, it has important medicinal applications.   In the initial phase, as many as 600 to 700 plants of true dalchini have been planted and  a target has been fixed to  distribute  40,000- 50,000 plants of    cinnamon  verum  every year free of cost to the farmers to propagate the cinnamon cultivation in the region .
A total around 200 hectare area will be brought under cinnamon cultivation in the state in next five years and on an average 40 hectare area will be brought under the  cinnamon cultivation  each year in the five districts .  This  sun loving plant can be successfully  grown in  Una , Hamirpur , Bilaspur , Kangra and Sirmour District having    a hot and humid climate with   moderate  temperature  and  rainfall  of 1,750-3,500 mm per annum. said Virender Kanwar Agriculture Minister here today.
The harvesting starts from the 4th or 5th year after planting. The plant will provide   125 kg quills/ha  yield after 4 th year while 250 kg quills/ha  yield will be recorded after 10 years onwards  the minister said  Harvested produce is called as ‘Quills’ which  are made by rolling the pealed bark and join several of them together to get a pipe like structure in the required length.
The farm scientist of  CSIR-IHBT Palampur  would provide the technical know-how and update the skills of the farmers involved in the pilot project in  cinnamon cultivation in the state  while the expertise of national-level agencies will be utilized at a later stage. 
 Regular field visits supervision will be done for cinnamon plantation over different locations by experts  Sh Virender Kanwar  said. 
  He said that the cultivation of cinnamon, one of the most valuable commodities being traded in the country today has the potential to change the economic condition of people in the lower  areas of the Himachal Pradesh .
  Trials on cinnamon cultivation will be laid out in five Distt. of Himachal Pradesh and data will be analyzed on environmental factors, agrotechnology followed and plant morphology including quills yield.  
  He said the new areas adjoining  present location in five  districts  will be included in the cinnamon   cultivation where pilot project results have shown positive results to make   cinnamon cultivation  a standard practice in state, Sh Virender  Kanwar  Agriculture   Minister 
   Cinnamon or sweet wood is one of the oldest known spices and it’s commercially cultivated in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. The dried inner bark of Cinnamon is used as a spice and this tree can reach up to a height of 6 to15 meters on full growth. It has very good demand in local as well as in the international markets due to its health benefits some the cinnamon health benefits are listed below.
  There’s hardly any Indian kitchen that doesn’t use     cinnamon . But, until now, the bulk of this important condiment and flavoring material was imported from    Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China, Nepal and Indonesia  The annual demand of cinnamon in India is 50,319 tones, out of which 5,000 tones is fulfilled by local production (C. verum and C. tamala). 
While for the remaining need, India imports 45,318.6 tones (909.87 crore) of cinnamon and cassia . Of the 45,318 tones of imports, astonishingly, India imports 37,897.37 tones of C. cassia (deleterious cassia) from China and Vietnam. 
There is no organized cultivation of cinnamon in the country. The reported C. verum production belongs to the naturally occurring plants in Kerala and surrounding coastal areas Cinnamon is regarded as commercially important Non Timber Forest Product (NTFP) that, if harvested properly, can contribute to the income of the forest-dwelling communities    said Virender Kanwar Agriculture Minister here today