• Turmeric is picked, cleaned, boiled, dried and polished before it is transported

• It has a pungent, slightly bitter flavour and is used as the main ingredient in curries besides being a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory herb.

• Related to ginger, turmeric is a kitchen spice in use for food and medicine for ages.

• Andhra Pradesh is the leading state in producing turmeric followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Kerala and Bihar.

• The humble journey of this fine yellow power begins in the fields where well developed or split mother rhizomes are used for planting and treated before storing.

• “The crop needs to be mulched immediately with green leaves or sugarcane trash.

• Depending on the variety, the crop is ready for harvest in seven to nine months.

• The land is ploughed and the rhizomes are gathered by hand picking or the clumps are carefully lifted with a spade.

   

Source: The Hindu