Cardamom is called the queen of spices.India and Guatemala are the chief producers of cardamom in the world.India is known as the "HOME OF CARDAMOM".It grows only under shades of Western Ghats of South India . Yield starts in the 3rd year after planting and it continues upto 10-12 years.The life span of Cardamom is 15-20 years .Mysore ,Vazhukka and Malabar are the three types of cardamom.Njanalli is a popular variety grows in this region .Unlike other plants flowers are formed at the bottom. Flowering starts in April-June and with flowering during july/august.Cool humid weather is necessary is during the flowerinfg season for forming the fruits .It takes 90-120 days for fruit maturity.Harvesting is done once in 30-45 days .September to march is the main picking season. Matured capsules are collected by women workers . 1000-1500 freshly harvested green capsules make one k.g.The curing percentag is 20. Drying is very important,done in specially designed curing chamber called cardamom store.24-36 hours is required at a temperature of 50-60 degree Celsius.To retain the green colour. After drying the cardamom ,polishing is done by rubbing against hard surface or using polishing machine .later the dried cardamom is stored in clean gunny bags . Cardamom produced here is the best in the world market.

Pepper is the king of spices.It is a climber.For its cultivation supporting trees are necessary. The common supporting trees are called coral trees.Harvesting is done once in a year in the months of February and march. The Berries are separated from the spike by threshing .After drying in the sun for three days they turn into black ,hence it is called black pepper.The Green and white pepper is also made from the same plant.but the processing is different.

Foe making the white pepper the ripe pepper berries ,i.e.,the red ones are harvested and immersed in running water for 8-12 days .Then by a thorough wash the outer skin is removed and dried in the sun.After a few hours ,turn into white and thus we have white pepper.

The pepper berries are collected before they are ripe and taken to the factory.By means of dehydration methods the green colour and fragrance can be retained.Pepper grown here is the best in the world market.

Nutmeg yields two products of commercial calue ,Nutmeg and mace .It is cultivated throughout kerala.it belongs to the family Myristicaceae .the nutmeg tree bears fruits throughout the year.December to may is the peak season .The nut splits open when the fruits are fully ripe.The mace is separated after dehusking from the nut and dried in the sun for 2-3 days . the nuts are dried separately for 2-4 weeks till the kernels rattle within the shells.

The clove of commerce is the dried unopened flower buds of the clove tree.clove tree starts flowering after 6-8 years of planting .Flowering period is august -september in low elevations and later in the high ranges .It takes about six months to become matured. Harvesting period extends from February to march. Unopened matured flower buds are carefully collected by hand and dried in the sun for 3-5 days till they become crisp and dark brown in colour .Average yield varies from 500g to 2 k.g /tree/year.

Cinnamon is indegenious to srilanka and southeastern India.Therfore true cinnamon is also known as Ceylon cinnamon.Harvesting commences from the fourth year of planting.Harvesting is done in twice in a year in may and November . the shoots are cut with a sharp knife. The leaves and green portions are removed and the bark peeled off using a special knife for this purpose. The peels are kept over night to soften the bark and dried in the sun for 2-5 days . Average yield is 200-300K.g bark/ha.

The Allspice of commerce is dried unripe fruits of the tree. It is also called Jamican pepper or Pimento.This spice has a combined flavour of clove,cardamom and cinnamon.The plant is indegenoius to west indies and central America. Jamaica is the major producer of Allspice .It is cultivated through out kerala in a limited scale.

Vanilla is a climbing orchid. It is cultivated is mainly because it has got a very pleasant flavour. It is a native of Central America. Madagascar is main producer of Vanilla in the world. For its cultivation it needs supporting trees. It requires shade. The ideal timing for planting vanilla is when weather is not too rainy or too dry. August or September is the planting season. Flowering commences in the third year after the planting . depending upon the place of cultivation flowering is from December to march . It requires artificial pollination. The ideal time for pollination is 6a.m to 12 noon. After pollination the been takes 9-11 months for their maturity. In India bourbon method is practiced for processing vanilla beans.

Ginger of commerce is the dried rhizome. It is a very important ingredient in ayurvedic medicines. Dry ginger is inevitable for every ayurvedic concoction. The planting season is april to may with the arrival of pre monsoon showers. Whole or spilt mother rhizomes are used for planting. It is harvested eight months after planting when the leaves turn to yellow and start drying up gradually. The peeled rhizomes are washed and dried in the sun for one week. The average yield of fresh ginger per hectare varies with different varieties ranging from 15 to 25 tonnes.

Turmeric is a tropical herb. It is a shade tolerant crop. The planting season is april - may. The chilly ,maize,colocosia can be grown as intercrops. The harvesting time is January to march. It is used in cooking and it has got some antiseptic values also.

Tea belongs to family camelliacease. The cultivated tea belongs to the species ,camellia sinensis. A few decade ago for planting tea ,seedling propagation was adopted. The present practice of planting tea is vegetative propagation through singe stem cutting nodules.13200 plants can be planted in one hectare. Harvesting commences from the third year of planting. Plucking is done on every 7-15 days interval depending on the rate of growth of the shoots. There are two types of black tea manufacturing. Ctc and orthodox process. Black tea manufacturing can be divided into 5 stages. Withering ,leaf maceration or rolling ,fermentation drying and grading. Orthodox tea gives more flavour. On an average about 250 cups of liquid tea can be made by orthodox while by Ctc it will be 400 cups using 1 K.g tea powder.

Coffee belongs to the family Rubiacecae. Robusta and arabica are the two main varieties of coffee produced in periyar region. Tree coffee is also cultivated. Coffee Arabica is a shrub or bush. The flowers are self fertile. Generally each fruit produces two seeds. Robusta coffee is a bigger shrub than arabica. The fragrant white flowers are self sterile necessitating cross pollination. The fruits mature in 10-11 months. Ethiopia is the home of arabica while central Africa is the home of robusta. Harvesting is done once in a year in November to February. The ripe fruits are hand plucked and dried in the sun for 7-12 days till the seeds rattle within the husk. Then it is taken to the coffee mill and the husk is removed. While roasting the colour changes to brown and the aroma is produced.