Screen Reader
A+
A
A-
Crop Improvement Division of ICAR-IISR possesses world’s largest germplasm collection in various spices. Conservation of secondary genepool is also initiated for major spices such As Garden of Gingers, Piper house, Tree spices and Vanillarium. A total of 36 high yielding and high quality spices varieties have been released. Vegetative and micro propagation techniques for the spice crops were standardized.
The Division of Crop Improvement has had a long and lustrous history that spans some 50 years. Since its inception, the Division has provided a home to innovative scientists who had made it their lives’ work to contribute to spices improvement there by doubling the farmers’ income. Crop Improvement & Biotechnology Division’s commitment has added up to the significant advancements in spices science and technologies in terms of new varieties with high yield, quality and tolerance to biotic stresses.
|
Name of Head of the Division |
Period of service |
Specialization |
|
Dr. T.E. Sheeja |
July 2025 - till date |
|
|
Jun 2022 - july 2025 |
Economic Botany |
|
|
Dr. J. Rema |
Feb 2018 – May 2022 |
Horticulture Science |
|
Dr. B. Sasikumar |
Dec 2013- Jan 2018 |
Plant Breeding |
|
Sri. B. Krishnamoorthy |
Jan 1999- Nov 2013 |
Plant Breeding |
|
Dr. P.N. Ravindran |
1995- Jan 1999 |
Botany and Cytogenetics |
|
Name |
Designation |
Specialization |
|---|---|---|
|
Principal Scientist & Head |
Plant Biotechnology |
|
|
Senior Scientist |
Agricultural Biotechnology |
|
|
Senior Scientist |
Agricultural Extension |
|
|
Scientist |
Plant Breeding and Genetics |
|
|
Senior Scientist |
Spices, Plantation, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants |
|
|
Senior Scientist |
Spices & Plantation Crops |
|
|
Senior Scientist |
Spices, Plantation, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants |
|
| Dr. Akshitha H J |
Senior Scientist |
Spices, Plantation, Medicinal and Aromatic Plants |
|
Scientist |
Tropical fruit crops especially, Kokum; medicinal and aromatic crops; Agro-Eco Tourism |
|
|
Scientist |
Plant Breeding and Genetics |
|
|
Scientist |
Plant Breeding and Genetics |
|
| Dr. Mukesh Sankar .S |
Scientist |
Plant Breeding and Genetics |
|
Scientist |
Horticulture |
|
|
Scientist |
Agricultural Bioinformatics |
|
| Technical | ||
|
Assistant Chief Technical Officer |
Art and Photography |
|
| Mr.Sujeesh E. S | Assistant Chief Technical Officer |
|
|
Senior Technical Assistant |
||
|
Senior Technical Assistant |
||
|
Technical Assistant |
||
|
Technician |
||
1. Conservation and characterization of Piper germplasm (2008- 2025) [Dr. Muhammed Azharudheen T.P, Dr. M.S. Shivakumar, Dr. Honnappa Asangi, Dr. R. Sivaranjani & Dr. Maneesha S.R.]
2. Conservation, characterization, evaluation and improvement of Zingiber and Curcuma sp. (2007-2026) [Dr. S. Aarthi, Dr. V. Vinu, Dr. H. J. Akshitha, Dr. D. Prasath, Dr. Anees K & Mr. V. A. Muhammmed Nissar] (External support: Dr. C. N. Biju)
3. Identification of core collection, characterization, and maintenance of cardamom germplasm (2012- 2025) [Dr. Honnappa Asangi, Dr. S. J. Ankegowda, Dr.H. J. Akshitha, Dr. Mohammed Faisal Peeran, Dr. M. Balaji Rajkumar & Ms Sivaranjani R]
4. Genetic resources management in tree spices and vanilla (2018- 2028) [Mr. V. A. Muhammed Nissar, Dr. Sharon Aravind, Dr. Honnappa Asangi, Dr. Muhammed Azharudheen T.P, Dr. Maneesha S.R. Dr. Aarthi S, Dr. Sivaranjani R, Dr. Mohammed Faisal Peeran][External support: Dr. Shivakumar M.S., & Dr. Anees K]
5. Breeding black pepper for high yield, quality, and resistance to stresses (2012-2025) [Dr. M.S. Shivakumar, Dr. K.S. Krishnamurthy, Dr. Muhammed Azharudheen T. P. & Mr. Mukesh Sankar S.] [External support: Dr. S. J. Ankegowda, Dr. Biju]
6. Evolving high yielding, biotic and abiotic stress resistant cardamom lines through selection and hybridization (2018 - 2029) [Dr. H. J. Akshitha, Dr. S. J. Ankegowda, Dr. M. Balaji Rajkumar, Dr. M. S. Shivakumar, Dr. Mohammed Faisal Peeran & Dr. Honappa Asangi]
7. Screening and evaluation of black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) genotypes for nutrient use efficiency (2023-2028) (Dr. Maneesha S.R., Dr. M. S. Shivakumar, Dr. V. Srinivasan, Dr. T. E. Sheeja, Dr. K. S. Krishnamurthy & Dr. Shamsudheen. M)
8. Rootstock breeding in nutmeg and black pepper for enhanced yield, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses (2023- 2028) (Dr. Sharon Aravind, Dr. Maneesha S. R., Mr. V A Muhammad Nissar, Dr. K. S. Krishnamurthy & Dr. C N. Biju)
9. Development and evaluation of chemically induced ginger mutants for Pythium tolerance (2025-2030) [Dr Vinu V, Dr. S. Aarthi, Dr. Dr. T.E. Sheeja, Dr. Praveena R.]
10. Development of doubled haploid production in black pepper (Piper nigrum L.) (2025-2030) [Dr. Mukesh Sankar S, Dr. Sharon Aravind, Dr. TE Sheeja, Dr. M.S. Shivakumar]
11. DNA fingerprinting and barcoding in spices (2018 - 2026) (Dr. T.E. Sheeja, Mr. Mukesh Sankar S, Dr. Muhammed Azharudheen T.P. & Dr. Maneesha S.R.)
12. Identification and characterization of gene editing targets for disease resistance in ginger (2021-2026) (Dr. P. S. Divya, & Dr. C.N. Biju) (External support: Dr. T.E. Sheeja & Dr. D. Prasath)
13. Development of data-driven pipelines and tools for multiple high throughput sequencing data from spices (2022-2026) (Dr. Sona Charles & Dr. T. E
Sheeja)
14. Genomics-assisted identification of trait-specific markers for major biotic and abiotic stresses and development of core collections of black pepper (2021- 2026) (Dr. T. E. Sheeja, Dr. K.S. Krishnamurthy, Dr. M.S. Shivakumar, Dr.
Sona Charles, Dr. Muhammed Azharudheen T.P, Dr. U.B.Angadi & Dr. Sunil Kumar)
15. DUS project (2010-2025) [Dr. Sharon Aravind, Dr. Vinu V, Dr. S. Aarthi, Dr.H. J. Akshitha, Dr. Maneesha S.R. & Dr. Muhammed Azharudheen T.P] (External support: Dr. M. S. Shivakumar & Dr. Honnappa Asangi)
16. Enabling climate resilience and ensuring food and nutritional security through genome editing in horticultural crops (2024-2026) Sub project: Application of genome editing to develop trait-specific varieties/hybrids in ginger crops [Dr. Divya P. S., Dr. T.E. Sheeja, Dr. Biju C. N., Dr. Praveena R.] Sub project: Application of genome editing to develop trait-specific varieties/hybrids in black pepper [Dr. Mohammed Faisal Peeran & Dr. Sharon Aravind]
17. Integrating whole genome resequencing transcriptome sequencing and genome wide association analysis for allele mining of yield and quality traits in black pepper and cardamom (2024-2027) [Dr.T.E. Sheeja, Dr.M.S. Shivakumar, Dr.S. Mukesh Sankar, Dr. Muhammed Azharudheen T.P., Dr. Sona Charles, Dr. Akshitha H.J., Dr. Honnappa Asangi]
18. National Network Project on Crop Bioinformatics (2024-2029) [Dr. D. Prasath, Dr. Sona Charles, Dr Anees K]
19. Establishment of efficient in vitro techniques for the production of amide alkaloids from Piper longum L. (2024-2027) [Dr. Sharon Aravind, Dr. R. Sivaranjani)
ICAR-IISR possesses world's largest germplasm collection of spice crops. The division of Crop Improvement and Biotechnology explores, collects and conserves the genetic resources of major spice crops in the field gene banks and germplasm blocks situated in various campuses.
|
Crop |
Cultivated accessions |
No. of wild/ related accession |
No. of exotic accessions |
Total no. accessions |
Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) |
1868 |
1634 |
09 |
3511 |
ICAR-IISR, Chelavur& Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi |
|
Ginger (Zingiber officinale) |
640 |
28 |
- |
668 |
Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi |
|
Turmeric (Curcuma longa) |
1198 |
206 |
- |
1404 |
Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi |
|
Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) |
625 |
6 |
- |
631 |
ICAR-IISR RS, Appangala |
|
Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) |
267 |
30 |
14 |
311 |
ICAR-IISR, Chelavur& Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi |
|
Nutmeg (Myristica fragrance) |
146 |
20 |
- |
166 |
ICAR-IISR, Chelavur& Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi |
|
Clove (Zyzygium cumini) |
23 |
5 |
- |
28 |
Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi |
|
Garcinia (Garcinia sp.) |
140 |
76 |
25 |
241 |
ICAR-IISR, Chelavur& Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi |
|
Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) |
66 |
11 |
77 |
ICAR-IISR, Chelavur |
ICAR-IISR has the National Active Germplasm Sites (NAGS) of Black Pepper, Ginger and Turmeric at ICAR-IISR, Kozhikode and ICAR-IISR, Experimental farm, Peruvannamuzhi, Kerala.
|
S. No |
Crop |
Reg. No |
Traits |
|
1 |
Black pepper |
INGR 03091 |
Field tolerance to foot rot disease |
|
2 |
Cardamom |
INGR 06027 |
Compound panicle type, high yield, 25.5 branches/panicle |
|
3 |
Ginger |
INGR 432866 |
High essential oil (3.5%) |
|
4 |
Turmeric |
INGR 296550 |
Good yield (14.9 kg) with 7.5% curcumin |
|
5 |
Clove |
INGR 04112 |
Dwarfness |
|
6 |
Cassia |
INGR 05029 |
High oleoresin (10.5%) |
|
7 |
Nutmeg |
INGR 10142 |
High sabinene |
Thirty one improved varieties of spices crops have been released.
|
Crop |
Varieties released |
|
Black pepper |
Sreekara, Subhakara, Panchami, Pournami, PLD-2, IISR Thevam, IISR Girimunda, IISR Malabar Excel, IISR Sakthi, Arka Coorg Excel |
|
Cardamom |
Appangala - 1, IISR Avinash, IISR Vijetha, Appangala-2, IISR Manushree |
|
Turmeric |
Suguna, Suvarna, Sudarsana, IISR Prabha, IISR Prathiba, IISR Kedaram, IISR Alleppey Supreme, IISR Pragati |
|
Ginger |
IISR Varada, IISR Mahima, IISR Rejatha, IISR Vajra |
|
Cinnamon |
IISR Navashree IISR Nithyashree |
|
Nutmeg |
IISR Viswashree, IISR Keralashree |
|
Sl. No |
Variety/ Year of release |
Pedigree/Parentage |
Av. yield kg ha-1 (dry) |
Salient features |
Recommended State/ Region |
|
1 |
Sreekara 1990 |
Clonal selection from Karimunda |
2677 |
High quality variety with piperine 5.1%, oleoresin 13%, essential oil 7% and dry recovery 35.0%. Adaptable to various climatic conditions in all the pepper growing tracts. |
Kerala, South Karnataka and Tamil Nadu |
|
2 |
Subhakara 1990 |
Clonal selection from Karimunda |
2352 |
High quality variety with piperine 3.4%, oleoresin 12.4%, essential oil 6% and dry recovery 35.0%. Suitable for intercropping and high elevations and medium maturing type |
Kerala, South Karnataka and Tamil Nadu |
|
3 |
PLD –2 1996 |
Clonal selection from Kottanadan |
2475 |
Late maturity high quality cultivar contains piperine 3.0%, oleoresin 15.45%, and essential oil 4.8%. Suitable for plains and higher elevations. |
Kerala |
|
4 |
Panchami 2001 |
Clonal selection from Aimpiriyan |
2828 |
A high yielding variety with excellent fruit set. Spike twisted in appearance due to high fruit set. Oleoresin content is high. Piperine 4.7%, oleoresin 12.5%, essential oil 3.4% and dry recovery 34.0%. |
Kerala and Southern Karnataka |
|
5 |
Pournami 2001 |
Clonal selection from germplasm |
2333 |
Tolerant to root knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita). A moderately high yielding vine with high oleoresin content. Shade tolerant & suitable for intercropping with arecanuts and banana. Piperine 5.3 %, oleoresin 11.18 %, essential oil 3.5 % and dry recovery 35.3% |
Kerala and Southern Karnataka |
|
6 |
IISR Shakthi 2004 |
Open pollinated progeny of Perambramundi |
2352 |
Moderately resistant to Phytophthora foot rot. Piperine content 5.6%, oleoresin 10.6%, essential oil 1.5% and dry recovery 34.0% |
Kerala and Karnataka |
|
7 |
IISR Thevam 2004 |
Clonal selection from germplasm of Thevanmundi |
2481 |
Field tolerant to Phytophthora foot rot. Piperine 1.6%, oleoresin 8.15%, essential oil 3.1% and dry recovery 32.5%. Suitable to high altitude areas, coffee & tea estates of South India |
Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu |
|
8 |
IISR Girimunda 2004 |
Hybrid of Narayakodii X Neelamundi |
2880 |
High yielding and better stability. Medium maturing type. Suited to high altitude areas, coffee & tea estates. Piperine 2.2%, oleoresin 9.65%, essential oil 3.4% and dry recovery 32.0% |
Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu |
|
9 |
IISR Malabar Excel 2004 |
Hybrid of Cholamundi X Panniyur 1 |
1440 |
High quality variety with piperine 5.1%, oleoresin 13%, essential oil 7% and dry recovery 35.0%. Suitable for higher elevation, plains and coffee & tea estates |
Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu |
|
10 |
Arka Coorg Excel 2012 |
Seedling selection |
3267 |
Bold seeded, long spiked, high yielding pepper variety |
Kodagu district or similar climatic areas |
|
11 |
IISR Chandra
|
Hybrid |
2788 |
Vigorous, regular bearer, Early maturing hybrid with high fruit set and long spike |
Suitable for all Pepper growing regions |
|
Sl. No |
Variety/ Year of release |
Pedigree/Parentage & Plant type |
Av. yield kg ha1 (dry) |
Salient features |
Recommended State/Region |
|
1 |
Appangala 1/ IISR Suvasini 1993 |
Selection from open pollinated progeny of CL-37 |
745 (potential yield 1322) |
High quality variety and produces 89% bold (7.2 mm and above) capsules. Suitable for high production technology. Responds well for nutritional inputs. Contains 8.7% essential oil, 42.0% 1, 8 cineole, 37.0% α-terpinyl acetate and 22.0% dry recovery. Tolerant to thrips & shoot borer |
All cardamom growing tracts of Karnataka |
|
2 |
IISR Avinash 1999 |
Selection from open pollinated progeny of Appangala 1 |
847 (potential yield 1483) |
High yielder, tolerant to rhizome rot, suitable for planting in valleys. Has extended flowering period. Yields well at 2.5 x 2 m spacing. High essential oil (6.7%), 30.4% 1,8 cineole and 34.6% α terpinyl acetate content |
Kodagu, Hassan and Chikka-magaluru in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala |
|
3 |
IISR Vijetha (NKE 12) 2001 |
Clonal selection from a field resistant katteplant, a Malabar type |
643 (potential yield 979) |
Virus resistant selection with 77.0% bold capsules. Oil 7.9%, 1, 8 cineole 42.0%, α-terpinyl acetate 23.4%, dry recovery 22.0%. Recommended for moderate rainfall areas with moderate to high shaded and mosaic infected areas, field tolerant to thrips and borer as well as mosaic |
Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala |
|
4 |
Appangala-2 2014 |
Hybrid of Appangala 1 × NKE 19 |
927.3 kg dry capsules ha-1 |
First Katte resistant hybrid. Malabar type, has high oil and high α-terpinyl acetate. Contains 6.3% essential oil, 40.3% α-terpinyl acetate and 21.10% dry recovery |
Kodagu, Karnataka and Wayanad, Kerala |
|
5 |
IISR Manushree 2022 |
Selection from germplasm |
550 kg dry capsules/ha under irrigated conditions and 360 kg dry capsules/ha under moisture stress conditions |
Malabar type tolerant to drought. Essential oil 8.74 % (irrigated conditions) and 8.84 % (moisture stress conditions) and 50 % of the capsules are bold (having > 8 mm). Drought susceptibility index is 0.89 and drought tolerance efficiency is 70.71%. No significant changes in composition of α-terpinyl acetate and 1,8 cineole under irrigated and moisture stress conditions. |
Kerala, and Karnataka |
|
6 |
IISR Kaveri 2022 |
Selection from germplasm |
482 Kg dry capsules/ha under irrigated conditions and 308 kg dry capsules/ha under moisture stress conditions |
Malabar type, compact flowering variety with 80 % of the capsules are > 7 mm, relatively tolerant to moisture stress. High essential oil 9.08 % (irrigated conditions), 9.51 % (moisture stress conditions) content |
Karnataka |
|
Sl. No |
Variety/Year of release |
Pedigree/Parentage |
Av. yield kg ha-1 (fresh) |
Salient features |
Recommended State/Region |
|
1 |
IISR Varada 1995 |
Clonal selection |
22.6 |
Good quality, high yielding variety with plumpy rhizomes having flattened fingers and medium sized reddish brown scales. Contains essential oil 1.70%, oleoresin 6.7%, dry recovery 19.5%, fibre content 3.29-4.5% (low fibre). Dry ginger less prone to storage insect damage. |
All ginger growing regions |
|
2 |
IISR Mahima 1995 |
Selection from germplasm |
23.2 |
High yielder, plumpy extra bold rhizomes, resistant to M. incognita and M. javanica pathotype 1. Contains essential oil 1.72%, oleoresin 4.5%, dry recovery 23.0%, fibre content 3.26%. |
All over Kerala |
|
3 |
IISR Rejatha 2004 |
Selection from germplasm |
22.4 |
High yielder, plumpy and bold rhizomes. Contains essential oil 2.36%, oleoresin 6.3%, dry recovery 23.0%, fibre content 4%. Relatively free from diseases |
Kerala and Karnataka |
|
4 |
IISR Vajra 2020 |
Developed through germplasm selection |
11.77 |
Desirable flavor owing to its high zingiberene content (29.83%). Contains essential oil 2.45%, oleoresin 7.26%, dry recovery 20.7%, fibre content 5.67% |
Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha and West Bengal |
|
5 |
IISR Surasa
|
Selection (Participatory breeding) |
24.33 |
Bold and plumpy rhizomes with slight whitish yellow rhizome core. Dry recovery (21.97%) if used for dry ginger. High mean oleoresin of 4.45% with a potential of 6.27% and high Zingiberene content (26.18%). |
Kerala |
|
Sl. No |
Variety/Year of release |
Pedigree/Parentage |
Av. yield t ha-1 (fresh) |
Salient features |
Recommended State/Region |
|
1 |
Suguna 1991 |
Selection from germplasm collected from Assam |
29.3 |
Short duration type (190 days), curcumin 4.9%, oleoresin 13.5%, essential oil 6.0% and dry recovery 20.4%, field tolerant to rhizome rot. |
Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala |
|
2 |
Sudar-shana 1991 |
Selection from germplasm collected from Singhat, Manipur |
28.8 |
Early maturing (190 days), field tolerant to rhizome rot. Curcumin 4.9%, oleoresin 13.5%, essential oil 6.0% and dry recovery 20.4% |
Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala |
|
3 |
Suvarna 1991 |
Selection from germplasm collected from Assam |
17.4 |
Bright orange coloured rhizome with slender fingers. Maturity 200 days, field tolerant to rhizome rot, leaf blotch, leafspot, rhizome scale and shoot borer. Curcumin 4.3%, oleoresin 13.5%, essential oil 7.0% and dry recovery 20.0%. |
Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh |
|
4 |
IISR Prabha 1996 |
Open pollinated progeny selection |
28.8 |
High yielding and high quality variety, curcumin content 6.5%, oleoresin 15.0%, essential oil 6.5% and dry recovery 19.5%, crop duration 205 days. |
Kerala and Tamil Nadu |
|
5 |
IISR Prathiba 1996 |
Open pollinated progeny selection |
37.5 |
High yielding and high quality line, 6.2% curcumin content with high yield, 16.2% oleoresin, 6.2% essential oil, 18.5% dry recovery, crop duration 225 days. |
Kerala, Tamil Nadu and other states |
|
6 |
IISR Alleppey Supreme 2004 |
Clonal selection from Alleppey turmeric |
35.4 5.58 (dry) |
Shows tolerance to leaf blotch disease. Rhizomes contain 5.55% curcumin, 16.0% oleoresin, 19.0% dry recovery, crop duration 210 days |
Kerala (rainfed) Maharashtra, Karnataka and North Bengal (irrigated) |
|
7 |
IISR Kedaram 2004 |
Clonal selection from germplasm |
34.5 5.28 (dry) |
Tolerant to leaf blotch disease, Rhizomes contain 5.5% curcumin, 13.6% oleoresin, maturity 210 days and 18.9% driage. |
Kerala (rainfed) Maharashtra, Karnataka and North Bengal (irrigated) |
|
8 |
IISR Pragati 2016 |
Clonal selection from germplasm collections |
33.19 |
High yield potential, short duration nature, moderately tolerant to root-knot nematodes and curcumin content of 5.02%, oleoresin 15.29%, essential oil 6.3% |
Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana |
|
9 |
IISR Surya 2025 |
Clonal selection from germplasm collections |
41.00 |
The Curcumin content ranges from 2-3% on par with other light-coloured turmeric varieties. Rich in major and minor compounds viz. zingiberene (21.07%), ß-sesquiphellandrene (14.13%), 1,8-cineole (3.42%) and a-humelene(6.30%) having unique flavour and curucminoids profile (DMC > BDMC > CUR)
|
|
|
Sl. No |
Variety/Year of release |
Pedigree/Parentage |
Average yield kg bark ha-1 |
Salient features |
Recommended State/Region |
|
1 |
IISR Navasree 1995 |
Seedling selection from Sri Lankan collection |
200 kg dry quills ha-1 |
Higher shoot regeneration. Bark oil 2.7%, leaf oil 2.8%, bark oleoresin 8.0%, bark recovery 40.6%, cinnamaldehyde in bark oil73%, cinnamaldehyde in leaf oil 15%, eugenol in bark oil 6.0%, eugenol in leaf oil 62% |
All cinnamon growing areas of India |
|
2 |
IISR Nithya-sree 1995 |
Clonal selection |
200 kg dry quills ha-1 |
Higher cinnamaldehyde and oleoresin. High quality quills with bark oil 2.7%, leaf oil 3.0%, bark oleoresin 10.0%, bark recovery 30.7%, cinnamaldehyde in bark oil 58%, cinnamaldehyde in leaf oil 14%, eugenol in bark oil 5.0%, eugenol in leaf oil 78% |
All cinnamon growing areas of India |
|
Sl. No. |
Variety/Year of release |
Pedigree/parentage |
Average yield (kg ha-1) |
Salient features |
Recommended State/Region |
|
1 |
IISR Vishwa-shree 2002 |
Clonal selection from elite trees (Mannoor, Calicut) |
1000 fruits tree-1 |
Bushy, compact canopy with high quality and low incidence of fruit rot. Nut oil 7.14%, mace oil 7.13%, nut recovery 70%, mace recovery 35%, oleoresin in nut 2.48%, oleoresin in mace 13.8%, butter in nut 30.9%, myristicin in nut oil 12.48%, myristicin in mace oil 22.0 %, elemicin in nut oil 13.65%, elemicin in mace oil 20.8% |
All nutmeg growing areas of Kerala |
|
2 |
IISR Kerala-shree 2012 |
Seedling selection from Burliar. The first variety developed by Farmer’s Participatory Breeding |
2000 fruits tree-1 |
High yield, high quality and extra bold fruit mace and nut. Nut oil 5.9%, mace oil 7.5%, nut recovery 70%, mace recovery 35%, oleoresin in nut 9.1%, butter in nut 24.9%, myristicin in nut oil 1.6%, myristicin in mace oil 9.4 %, elemicin in nut oil 1.4%, elemicin in mace oil 0.07%, α- pinene in nut oil 7.1%, α –pinene in mace oil 4.7%, sabinene in nut oil 35.4%, sabinene in mace oil 29.4% |
All nutmeg growing areas of India |
The speed breeding chamber is a custom-engineered, climate-controlled plant growth system designed to enable rapid generation advancement through precise environmental regulation. The unit contains two independent growth compartments, each providing an internal cultivation area of 60 x 120 x 100 cm (L x W x H). Each chamber is equipped with a 400-W all-in-one horticultural LED lighting system, and environmental parameters can be independently modulated via an integrated touch-screen control interface. The system allows the real-time adjustment of atmospheric CO2 concentration (350-1200 ppm) using dedicated CO2 injection and monitoring sensors.
A wide range of growth conditions can be imposed to optimize developmental rates, including:
The combined control of thermal, photic, and atmospheric inputs enables accelerated vegetative growth and the induction of early reproductive development in diverse plant species, making the system highly suitable for speed breeding, phenotyping, and controlled-environment experimentation.
Plant Tissue Culture Facility at ICAR- IISR is a dedicated facility for the in vitro culture and micro-propagation of key spice crops - black pepper, ginger, turmeric, vanilla, and others. The lab operates under strictly aseptic conditions to ensure successful initiation and maintenance of cultures along with in vitro conservation of major spices.
The DNA fingerprinting and barcoding facility was established to provide fingerprinting services, facilitating the release of varietals from AICRPS centres/ ICAR institutes and state agricultural universities. The facility has identified DNA marker-based technology for establishing the uniqueness of proposed new varieties of spice crops. So far, variety-specific DNA profiles of more than 50 spice varieties of tropical spices, as well as seed spices, were developed using ISSR, SSR, and RAPD markers from this facility.
The Bioinformatics and Integrative Genomics (BIG) Facility at ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research serves as a central hub supporting multidisciplinary research in spices. The facility provides computational expertise across genomics, transcriptomics, metagenomics, metabolomics, and proteomics, enabling researchers to explore gene expression, regulation, and molecular mechanisms underlying plant growth, stress responses, and disease. Our team also specializes in computational chemistry and structural bioinformatics, including molecular docking, virtual screening, and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate spice phytochemicals and their functional roles. We develop scalable, modular, and reusable pipelines for large biological datasets, ensuring robust, reproducible, and high-quality analyses for diverse research programs.