Vol.-14 october 2003 No. 7

India is one of the eight important Vavilovian centers of origin and crop plant diversity. It is immensely rich in medicinal and aromatic plants occurring in diverse ecosystems. Like all other old cultures, India uses the plant medicines both for primary health care as also remedies. The traditional Indian systems of medicine consist of four sub-systems: Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga & Naturopathy.

Globally, the early part of the 20th century brought an evolution of the pharmaceutical industry. With the progress in chemical techniques, crude drugs came to be replaced by pure chemical drugs and the developed countries witnessed a decline in popularity of medicinal plant therapy. However, during the recent past, the pendulum has swung again and there is a resurgence of interest in study and use of medicinal plants. Many traditional plant based remedies are back in use and find increasing applications as (i) source of direct therapeutic agents, (ii) as a raw material base for the elaboration of more complex semi-synthetic chemical compounds, (iii) as models for new synthetic compounds, and (iv) as taxonomic markers for the discovery of new compounds. The production, consumption and international trade in medicinal plants, and phytomedicines, therefore, are growing and expected to grow in future quite significantly.

With this growth in global demand for medicinal plants and a large base of local demand for plant based traditional medicines, the pressure on the existing population of medicinal plants has increased tremendously during the last few decades.

India with its varied agro-climatic conditions provide an ideal habitat for rich repository of number of medicinal and aromatic plants which provide raw material for Indian system of medicine and cosmetic industry since ancient times. With greater realization of health hazard and side effect of synthetic drugs, the interest for herbal drug is increasing worldwide. An estimated amount of US$ 3000 million p.a. is being earned from medicinal and aromatic plants from India.

Historically, most of these plants grow in wild as a natural component of vegetation of a particular region. The necessary plant material (roots, barks, leaves, etc.) is collected and sold by the local people to the traders and the industry and exporters purchase them from traders. Since there is no scientific system of collecting or regenerating these plants, several plants have either been completely lost or have become endangered. Such plants are banned for export but, sometimes, still exported under other nomenclature. The trade is also completely unorganized and often manipulative and exploitative. The industry is engaged in primary processing of plants, manufacturing intermediates, final processing and manufacturing branded drugs, OTC products, food supplements, tonics and cosmetics. It constantly faces the problems of raw material supply. There is also limited industrial research and clinical trials, latter due to prohibition to medical practitioners in prescribing drugs from other disciplines. However, the developed countries are showing rising interest in Indian herbal products in food supplements (Neutraceuticals), cosmetics and intermediates. Several ingredients in Indian plants are being investigated abroad and have found application in many allopathic drugs (Phytopharmaceuticals) manufactured for treatments on cancer, AIDS, blood pressure, heart diseases, diabetes, etc.

In order to position the medicinal plants sector on its growth path and to preserve the rich plant resources through insitu conservation and to promote the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants on a sustainable basis through people's participation, GoI has set up a national level body known as "National Medicinal Plant Board" under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.NABARD has identified medicinal and aromatic plants as "Thrust Area" and decided to provide 100% refinance to eligible institutions at a concesssional rate of 6.5% p.a. for loans upto Rs.25,000/- and 6.75% p.a. for any loan above Rs.25,000/-. This will enable the banks to keep a reasonable margin and also offer lower rate of interest to the farmers of medicinal plants.

Incidentally, one Agri Export Zone (AEZ) exclusively for medicinal crops has been notified in Uttaranchal and some more are in the pipeline.

NABARD has also decided to conduct a few sensitization programmes for officials of financial institutions to be conducted by reputed institutions/universities dealing with medicinal and aromatic plants, in association with the National Medicinal Plant Board.

(Circular No.DPD.FS.975/MAPs-490/2003-04 dated.18 August 2003)

Safed Musli : The Root of Gold

Safed Musli or Sweta Musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum) is a medicinal plant, roots of which are mainly used in preparation of nutritive tonic and aphrodisiacs for curing general sexual weakness. It has come to be known as 'Indian Viagra'. This wonder-herb has an estimated global demand of about 40,000 tons as against the existing production of about 5500 tons. Its vast demand, vis-a-vis its short supply, makes it a very costly herb. The Department of Indian Systems of Medicines and Homoeopathy, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI (Medicinal Plants Board) has identified Safed Musli as a high demand crop. Safed Musli is rightly called the "Root of Gold".

Cultivation Practices :

Soil Type & Land Preparation - Sandy foam soil with proper drainage system facilitates its growth; heavy black soil is not suitable. Deep ploughing two-three times and tilling is must to give the land a better pulverization and dryness during April/ May. Deweeding twice should be ensured within a gap of 7 days. At least, 10 trolleys of cow dung manure per acre should be mixed in the month of April/May. Green-manuring too is vital in improving fertility of the soil. Application of bone meal is ideal, as it contains micronutrients.

Musli yields better, if cultivated on raised beds. For sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, raised beds should be prepared so as to have height of 1.5 feet at the centre, tapering to the sides with 3.5 feet breadth and with about 1.5 feet wide channel between two beds for proper drainage. Drip lines should be at the middle of each bed and the inline drippers should be of 3 liters per hour capacity placed 2 ft. apart so that the entire bed is wetted uniformly. For flow irrigation, width of raised bed shall be 2 feet.

Plantation : For first plantation, planting material (wet tubers with crown) is to be purchased from the suppliers. However, in subsequent years, the planting material will be available from the existing farm itself. The eventual yield of the crop significantly depends on how properly the plantation has been done. Each planting root is cut 2-3 fingers long with a portion of the crown. Care should be taken to avoid any damage to tuber or its skin. All the raised beds should be well irrigated before sowing. Sowing may commence from 15 May and should be completed before the first shower of monsoon. Planting material of about 5-6 quintals (30000-35000) per acre is planted on ridges at 30 cm row-to-row and 15 cm plant-to-plant distance. Care should be taken to have the crown at the upper side of the tuber and non-crown part at the lower end. Treatment of seeds with cow urine and water in the ratio of 1:6 before plantation is recommended for better germination and disinfection. Safed Musli can be grown as an intercrop in initially grown orchards. The onset of the monsoon helps sprouting of the seeds and the plant emerges in a period of just 10 days. Flowering begins at the 15th day and the leafy part grows to its maximum by 70 days. It matures by 120 days as the leafing continues to remain 4 months on the soil even after the leaf-fall as the tuber gets the cuticle layer on the fingers and there is an intake of material from soil to the tuber till 9 months.

Maintenance : Proper and scientific maintenance of the crop during growth, especially the first three months after sowing, assures good yield. The important maintenance issues are regular deweeding, irrigation during dry spells, keeping the field free from water logging, etc.

Harvesting : The crop is harvested at 8-10 months stage and passes through three processes, viz., digging, drying and re-plantation. Although the plants shed their leaves by the months of October-November, the roots are advisably harvested in March/April. Weathering of leaves takes place in 4-5 months leaving the tubers to continue to mature till their skin turns dark brown, digging is done manually. Each tuber is to be delicately lifted with the prescribed implements to obtain maximum quantity of the tuber and to avoid any damage to the crown or disc of the tuber. The entire process should be closely monitored and personally supervised by the farmer so as to ensure the safe harvesting of the full yield. Depending on the quality of land and seeds, manuring, pest control, etc., the average yield of the crop is about 5 to 7 times of the planting material by weight. Accordingly, 25-30 Qtls of fresh (wet) tubers are obtained which, on processing and drying, reduce to 4-5 Atls of marketable dry musli per acre.

Processing: The dug-out tubers are thoroughly washed to remove mud, disinfected and the healthier fingers are detached from the crown for peeling off the skin. The peeled fingers are dried in green houses or shaded sunlight to better quality of dried Musli. It takes 3-4 days for Musli to become dry. From the stage of harvest to packing, there is a natural loss of weight of Musli. Shorter and stouter the tuber, lesser would be the loss of weight. The result is 20-25% of the original wet tubers. The dried fingers are graded on the basis of colour and size and then packed in air-tight bags as per requirements to avoid re-entry of moisture. The present saleable price of the dry Musli ranges from Rs.1000/- to Rs.1700/- per Kg. However, in International markets, the price goes up sharply to about Rs.5000/-. As such, it is one of the highest paying cash crops. The planting material obtained from the digging process should either be sown in the ready field within two days or preserved. About 2.5 quintals of planting materials can be obtained per acre of cultivated land. With this, the farmer is safely ensconced in the remunerative cycle of planting-harvesting re-planting.

Marketing : Against the backdrop of huge domestic and international demand for dry Musli and the fact that the gap between its demand and supply is gulf-wide, there is a ready demand for it. Generally, the private commercial farms in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh that supply the planting material themselves undertake to buy back the processed Musli at very remunerative prices. Besides, there are various pharmacy units as well as private traders who keep on scouting about to locate the farmers to procure the Musli at farm gates. As such, marketing is fully assured.

Economics: The total cost of production of Safed Musli has been worked out to Re.2.90 lakh per acre where the major component is the cost of the planting material of 6 quintals@ Rs.400/- per kg. As against this, the total income works out to Rs.5 lakhs which comprises the sale price of 4 quintals of dried Musli @Re.1000/- per kg. and gains in the form of planting materials weighing 2.5 quintals. Accordingly, the net profit per acre works out to Re.2.10 lakh which, probably, no other crop offers.

Tax and Subsidy Benefits : Being a medicinal plant coming under horticultural crops, Musli cultivation entitles one to tax-free returns. Under the scheme of "Development of Commercial Horticulture through Production and Post-Harvest Management" of National Horticulture Board (NHB), back-ended capital investment subsidy @20%, subject to a maximum limit of Rs.25 lakh, is available. Financial support from banks is available for the cultivation of Musli.

Breakthrough : A tissue culture method has been developed at Department of Bio-sciences, Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidya Nagar, Gujarat for its large-scale multiplication and conservation.

Credit support for cultivation of MAPs