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In this article we will discuss about:- 1. History of Cloves 2. Soil and Climate Required for Growing Cloves 3. Propagation 4. Harvesting and Curing 5. Yield 6. Uses 7. Requirement in India 8. Chemical Composition.
Contents:
- History of Cloves
- Soil and Climate Required for Growing Cloves
- Propagation of Cloves
- Harvesting and Curing with Cloves
- Yield of Cloves
- Uses of Cloves
- Clove Requirement in India
- Chemical Composition of Cloves
1. History of Cloves:
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Syzygium aromaticum (Linn.) Merr. & Perry; Syn. Eugenia aromatica O. Kuntze; E. caryophyllata Thunb.; English—Clove; Hindi—Laung; Bengali— Lavange, langa; Punjabi—Laung, karanfal, Kashmiri—Raung-, Marathi & Gujarati—Lawanga, laving; Tamil— Kiramber, ilavang ap-pu; Telugu—Lavangalu-, Malayalam— Chanki-, Sanskrit—Lavanga’, Persian—Mekhat, Family—Myrtaceae.
Clove is one of the most ancient and valuable spices of the orient and holds a unique position in the international spice trade. Native to Moluccas, the so called ‘Spice Islands’ in the East Indian Archipelago, this spice was first introduced in India around 1800 A.D. by the East India Company.
The company’s spice garden in Courtallam in Tamil Nadu was then established to cultivate clove and nutmeg as the principal spice crops. Induced by the success of the cultivation in Courtallam, cultivation of clove was extended during the period after 1850 A.D. to Nilgiris (Burliar) in Tamil Nadu, Southern regions of Travancore and also to Cochin State on the slope of Western Ghats.
The Important clove growing regions in India now are Nilgiris, Tenkasi hills, and Kanyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu and Kottayam and Quilon districts of Kerala.
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Although clove has been under cultivation in India for over about 170 years, its development has been very slow owing probably to its long pre-bearing period and lack of knowledge regarding the method and economics of its cultivation.
Clove is the dried unopened flower bud of Syzygium aromaticum, a medium statured, cone- shaped ever-green tree belonging to the Family—Myrtaceae. Clove tree attains a height of 10 to 12 metres.
The stem is usually forked near its base with two or three main branches. Smaller branches are slender, rather brittle and covered with grey bark. The leaves appearing in pairs, are lanceolate, acute at both ends and are of dark shining green colour.
The aromatic nature of the leaves is due to numerous oil glands found on their under-surfaces. The flower buds are greenish when fresh and are borne on ends, which are picked green and dried in the sun till they become dark brown, form the ‘clove’ of commerce. The buds have slightly cylindrical base and are surmounted by the plump ball like unopened corolla which is surmounted by the four toothed calyx.
If the bud is left unpicked, the flower develops after fertilization into a fleshy, purple and one- seeded oval fruit as ‘Mother of clove’. The fruit is about 2.5 cm. long and 1.25 cm. in width. The seed is oblong, rather soft in texture and grooved on one side. The leaves, unripe fruit and broken clove, including the stalk are all aromatic and yield an essential oil.
2. Soil and Climate Required for Growing Cloves:
Deep and rich loams with high humus content are best suited for clove cultivation. In India, clove has developed well in the open sandy loams and the laterite soils of South Kerala region. But the best growth is seen in black loams of the semi forest regions. Clove abhors water logging and, therefore, perfect drainage is essential.
Clove is strictly a tropical plant and it requires a warm humid climate. Although there has been a general belief that clove requires proximity to sea for the proper development and cropping, experience in India has shown that the trees do well in the submontane regions and have been found to perform better than those in other areas.
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Humid atmospheric condition and an annual rainfall of 150 to 250 cm. are the other ideal requirements of the crop. Clove thrives altitude of 800 to 900 metres.
3. Propagation of Cloves:
Clove is propagated through seed. Usually the seeds become available for sowing from August to October. The seeds lose their viability within one week after harvest under normal conditions and hence it is necessary to sow them immediately after collection from the tree.
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The seeds can be sown with or without the fruit coat. Raised nursery beds are prepared in a shady place and the seeds are sown in rows adopting a spacing of about 12 cms.
The seeds begin to germinate in four to five weeks after sowing. The seedlings are very slender and delicate and grow very slowly. Watering is necessary throughout the nursery period.
The seedlings after about six months of nursery life are transferred to baskets made of bamboo or mud pots and nurtured properly under the shade till they attain an age of 12 to 18 months. Clove can also be propagated vegetatively by grafting on its own stock.
Clove can conveniently be grown mixed with other commercial crops like arecanut, coconut, nutmeg, etc. The shade cast by these crops will provide enough protection to clove from the sun.
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4. Harvesting and Curing with Cloves:
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Clove tree begins to yield from the seventh or eighth years after planting. The full bearing stage is attained after about 15 to 20 years. The flowering season is September-October in the plains and December-January in high altitudes. The buds are ready for harvest in about four months.
Just before flowering there is fresh flush of young leaves and soon after this, the flower buds begin to appear. The optimum stage for picking clove buds is indicated by the change in the colour from green to slightly pinkish tinge.
The unopened clove buds are carefully picked with hand when they turn pink in colour. It is necessary to pick the buds before they open, otherwise, the value of spice will be lost to a considerable extent.
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The harvested buds are spread evenly to dry in the sun either on grass-mats or on cement drying floor. During nights the buds should be stored under cover, lest they re-absorb moisture. Normally it is possible to dry the cloves in four to five days under direct sun and in about four hours when they are heated in zinc trays over a regulated fire. Fully dried buds develop the characteristic dark brown colour and crisp.
If the produce is uniformly good, approximately 8,000 to 10,000 cloves would weigh one kilogram. Clove is graded according to its appearance and impurity content.
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Good quality clove should be brownish black in colour, with full and plump crown, somewhat rough to the touch and without wrinkles and it should not contain more than 16% moisture and 5% foreign matter. Also it should have fine aroma and flavour and should readily exude oil when the stem is pressed with the finger nail.
5. Yield of Cloves:
There is considerable variation in the yield of clove. Under favourable conditions well grown trees may yield as much 4 to 8 kg. of cloves. It is, however, common to meet with low yielding tree in clove plantations, sometimes in large numbers, resulting in low and uneconomic production, particularly in certain years.
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The average yield from a bearing tree in a well maintained plantation, in India is reported to be about 2.5 kg. Considering that the percentage of bearing tree will be around 60, one hectare of plantation containing about 250 trees will yield about 375 kg. of cloves.
6. Uses of Cloves:
Clove is very aromatic and fine flavoured and imparts warming qualities. In all Indian homes, it is used as a culinary spice as the flavour blends well with both sweet and savoury dishes. Clove is used for flavouring pickle, curries, ketchup and sauces. It is highly valued in medicine as a carminative, aromatic and stimulant. Clove has stimulating properties and is one of the ingredients of betel chewing.
In Jawa, clove is used in preparation of a special brand of cigarette for smoking. The essential oil which is obtained by distilling clove with water or steam, has even more uses. It is used medicinally in several ways. The chief constituent of the oil eugenol, is extracted and used as an imitation carnation in perfumes.
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7. Clove Requirement in India:
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The requirement of clove in India is being met through imports. We have been importing large quantities of clove in the past. The average annual imports of cloves was about 2,940 tonnes valuable at about Rs. 183 lakhs in the 1950’s.
However, owing to the restrictions imposed from time to time, it has been possible to cut down the imports considerably and in the 1960’s the annual import was of the order of 500 tonnes valued at about Rs. 47 lakhs.
The chief clove producing countries are Zanzibar, which grow 90% of the total output, Indonesia, Mauritius, and the West Indies.
8. Chemical Composition of Cloves:
Moisture 5.4%; protein 6.3%; volatile oil 13.2%; fat (non volatile ether extract) 15.5%; crude fibre 11.1%; carbohydrates 57.7%; mineral matter 5.0%; ash 0.24%; calcium 0.7%; phosphorus 0.11%; iron 0.01%; sodium 0.25%; potassium 1.2%; vitamin B, 0.11 mg/100 g.; vitamin B, 0.04 mg/100 g.; niacin 1.5 mg/100 g.; vitamin C 80.9 mg/100 g. and vitamin A 175 International Units (I.U.), calorific value 430 calories per 100 g.
