Ginger Farming & Exportation

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a flowering plant which belongs to the order Scitamineae and family Zingiberaceae. It is a tropical monocotyledonous and an herbaceous perennial plant which produces annual stems. The plant produces erect, tall and dark green shoot (pseudo stems) which measures about 30-100cm above the ground with long, narrow, ribbed green leaves which are 5-25 cm long and 1-3cm wide. It produces clusters of white and pink flower buds which bloom into white or yellowish-green flower. Ginger plant is mainly grown for its roots (which are known as rhizomes) popularly called ginger. Ginger is the underground root of the ginger plant with a firm striated texture. It has a brownish skin which could be either thin or thick depending on when it is harvested. The ginger flesh is most times yellow in color and is some cases white or red. It is widely used as a spice or herbal medicine because of its aromatic, pungent and hot taste. Ginger can be used fresh in dishes or in its processed forms such as dry ginger rhizomes, powder ginger, pickled ginger, ginger crystals and ginger paste. Ginger is also an important export crop valued for its powder, oil and oleoresin.

Ginger plant originated from south eastern Asia. It is indigenous to south China and has since spread to other parts of Asia, subsequently West Africa and the Caribbean. Ginger was exported to the Europe through India but this made it an expensive spice in that area since it was imported from Asia. Therefore the Spanish explorers introduced ginger plant to areas like the West Indies, Mexico and South America. In 1585, Jamaican ginger was the first spice to be imported back to Europe. India is now the world’s largest producers of ginger, beating China which comes second. In Africa, Nigeria is the largest producers of ginger and fourth largest producers of ginger in the world. Its cultivation in Nigeria commenced in 1927 in southern Zaria, Jemma Federated district and neighboring part of Plateau but today, ginger is cultivated nationwide. It is important to know that India and Jamaica produces the best ginger.

Ginger can be harvested based on demand and end use of the ginger. However, ginger attains full maturity when the leaves turn yellow and start to dry at about 7 months to 10 months after planting. If the ginger is required for fresh vegetable purpose it can be harvested earlier at about 6 months after planting, if required for making dry ginger it should be harvested when fully mature and for maximum oil and oleoresin contents it should be harvested at about 8-9 months. Irrigation should stop one month prior harvesting. Harvesting can be done with the use of spade or digging fork. In large scale farming, tractors can be used for harvesting.

Fully dried ginger can be stored in airtight container or high density polythene bags in a temperature of 10-15°C. This helps to prevent damage from cigarette beetle. Fresh ginger should be stored in cold (10-12ºC) and high humid environment in freezer, if unpeeled. For seed material, big and healthy rhizomes should be selected from disease-free ginger plant immediately after harvest and stored in pits of convenient size made in shade to protect from sun and rain. Walls of the pits may be coated with cow dung. Seed rhizomes are stored in pits in layers along with well-dried saw dust.

Ginger is used in numerous forms, including fresh, dried, pickled, preserved, crystallized, candied, and powdered or ground. The flavor is somewhat peppery and slightly sweet, with a strong and spicy aroma. The concentration of essential oils increases as ginger ages and, therefore, the intended use of the rhizome determines the time when it is harvested. If extracting the oil is the main purpose, then ginger can be harvested at 9 months or longer. Ginger is commonly pickled in sweet vinegar, which turns it a pink color; this form is popular with sushi. Ginger harvested at 8-9 months has a tough skin that must be removed before eating, and the root is more pungent and is used dried or pulverized into ground ginger. This is the form most commonly found in our spice racks and used in cookies, cakes, and curry mixes. Candied or crystallized ginger is cooked in sugar syrup and coated with granulated sugar. Ginger harvested at 5 months is not yet mature and has a very thin skin, and the rhizomes are tender with a mild flavor and are best used in fresh or preserved forms.

Source: https://www.agriculturenigeria.com