Cinnamon
Botanical Name -Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume
Family – Lauraceae
YCD 1, PPI – 1, IISR Nithyasree, IISR Navasree, Konkan Tej, Sugandhini and
RRL(B)C-6.
Soil –
Well-drained soil rich in humus content is most suitable. Sandy loam soils liberally incorporated with organic manures are best. Red dark brown soils free from rockj gravel or quartz are also good, for cinnamon cultivation.
Climate-
The optimum temperature for growing cinnamon is between 20-30 degree C and rainfall between 1250 to 2500 mm. It thrives well as a forest tree at 300-350 meter above MSL. The C.
June – December
1)Seed
2)Semi hardwood cuttings
Nursery
Seeds collected from selected mother trees are sown immediately in nursery beds in
rows of 12 cm apart. July – August is the best season for sowing.Germination occurs within
15 to 20 days.Six months old seedlings are transplanted to polythene bags when they attain
a height of 15 cm.
Planting
Take pits of 60x 60x 60cm at 2 m x 2 m spacing. Fill the pits with top soil and FYM 10 kg. One year old seedlings or rooted cuttings are transplanted under partial shade.
Protective watering during summer is beneficial.
| Manures and fertilizers | First year | Annual increase | Tenth year onwards |
| FYM | – | 2 kg | 20 kg |
| N | 20 g | 20 g | 200 g |
| P | 18 g | 18 g | 180 g |
| K | 25 g | 25 g | 250 g |
Immediately after transplanting, the plants are provided with temporary shade by erecting a small pandal. Weeds are removed as and when necessary. Young trees are cut close to the ground to produce side shoots. This process is called “Coppicing”. By stooling around the stumps, more side shoots are encouraged from the base of the trees.
Pests
Shoot borer: Smear stem and branches with dimethoate 2 ml/lit of water once in a month
Leaf spot
Spray 1 % bordeaux mixture or copper oxychloride @ 0.25 %
The harvest starts from 4th or 5th year after planting. Cut the shoots in May
November for bark harvest. Young shoots spring up from the stump are ready for removal in subsequent season within 18 months when they attain one metre long and 1 to 2 cm thick.
Terminal ends of shoots are removed. Peeling is done by knives after scraping off the outer
bark. Cutting is followed by scraping and peeling operations. It is done by using a specially
made knife which has a small and round end with a projection on one side to facilitate
ripping of the bark. A knife fabricated at TNAU, Horticultural Research Station,
Thadiyankudisai facilitates easy extraction of bark and it saves 30 to 40% time in extraction.
Harvested produce is called as ‗Quills‘. From leaves, Cinnamon oil can be extracted by
steam distillation.
100 g of dried bark/ bush/ year. 35 kg of leaf oil/ ha/ year.
