User:Anmuelle/sandbox

Antonia's Sandbox :-)

== Cultivation ==

Cultivation areas
The main producer and consumer of cumin is India. It produces 70% of the world production and consumes 90% of its own production (which is 63% of the world production). Other producers are Syria (7%), Turkey (6%) and Iran (6%). The remaining 11% production is assigned to other countries (11%). Totally, around 300,000 tons of cumin per year are produced worldwide. 2007 India produced around 175'000 tons of cumin on an area of about 410,000 ha. I.e. the average yield is 0.43 tons per ha.

Climatic requirements
Cumin is a drought tolerant, tropic or semi-tropic crop. Its origin is most probably Egypt, Turkmenistan and the east Mediterranean. Cumin has a short growth season of 100 – 120 days. The optimum growth temperature ranges are between 25° and 30°C. The Mediterranean climate is most suitable for its growth; cumin requires a moderatly cool and dry climate. Cultivation of cumin requires a long, hot summer of three to four months. Upon low temperatures leaf color changes from green to purple. High temperature might reduce growth period and induce early ripening. In India, Cumin is sown from October until the begin of December and harvesting starts in February. In Syria and Iran Cumin is sown from mid-November until mid-December (extensions up to mid-January are possible) and harvested in June/July.

Cultivation parameters
Cumin is grown from seeds. The seeds need 2° up to 5°C for emergence, an optimum of 20°C – 30° is suggested. Cumin is vulnerable to frost damage, especially at flowering and early seed formation stages. Methods to reduce frost damage are spraying with sulfuric acid (0.1%), irrigating the crop prior to frost incidence, setting up windbreaks or creating an early morning smoke cover. The seedlings of cumin are rather small and their vigor is low. Soaking the seeds for 8 hours before sowing enhances germination. For an optimal plant population a sowing density of 12 – 15 kg / ha is recommended. Fertile, sandy, loamy soils with good aeration, proper drainage and high oxygen availability are preferred. The pH optimum of the soil ranges from pH 6.8-8.3. Cumin seedlings are sensitive to salinity and emergence from heavy soils is rather difficult for cumin. Therefore a proper seedbed preparation (smooth seed bed) is crucial for optimal establishment of cumin.

Two sowing methods are used for cumin. Either broadcasting or line sowing. For broadcast sowing, the field is divided into beds and the seeds are uniformly broadcasted in this bed. Afterwards they are covered with soil using a rake. For line sowing shallow furrows are prepared with hooks in a distance of 20 to 25 cm. The seeds are afterwards placed in these furrows and covered with soil. Line sowing offers advantages for intercultural operations such as weeding, hoeing or spraying. The recommended sowing depth is 1–2 cm and the recommended sowing density is around 120 plants/m2. The water requirements of cumin are lower than those of many other species. Despite, cumin is often irrigated after sowing to be sure that enough moisture is available for seedling development. The amount and frequency of irrigation depends on the climate conditions.

Cultivation management
The relative humidity in the center of origin of cumin is rather low. High relative humidity (i.e. wet years) favours fungal diseases. Cumin is especially sensitive to Alternaria blight and Fusarium wilt. Early sown crops are exhibit stronger disease effects than late sown crops. The most important disease is wilt caused by Fusarium resulting in yield losses up to 80%. Fusarium is seed- or soil-borne and it requires distinct soil temperatures for development of epidemics. Inadequate fertilization might favour Fusarium epidemics. Cumin blight (Alternaria) appears in the form of dark brown spots on leaves and stems. When the weather is cloudy after flowering the incidence of the disease is increased. Another, but less important disease is powdery mildew. Incidence of powdery mildew in early development can cause drastic yield losses because no seeds are formed. Later in development powdery mildew causes discoloured, small seeds.

Pathogens can lead go high reductions in crop yield. Cumin can be attacked by aphids (Myzus persicae) at flowering stage. They suck the sap of the plant from tender parts and flowers. The plant becomes yellow, the seed formation is reduced (yield reduction) and the quality of the harvested product decreases. Heavily infested plant parts should be removed. Other important pests are the mites (Petrobia latens) which frequently attack the crop. Since the mites mostly feed on young leaves, the infestation is more severe on young inflorescences.

The open canopy of cumin is another problem. Only a low proportion of the incoming light is absorbed. The Leaf Area Index (LAI) of cumin is low (approximately 1.5). This might be a problem because weeds can compete with cumin for essential resources such as water and light and thereby lower yield. The slow growth and a short stature of cumin favours weed competition additionally. Two hoeing and weeding sessions (30 and 60 days after sowing) are needed for the control of weeds. During the first weeding session (30 days after sowing) thinning should be done as well to remove excess plants. The use of pre-plant or pre-emergence herbicides is very effective in India. But this kind of herbicide application requires soil moisture for a successful weed control.

Fertilization recommendations in India 
 * 20 kg phosphate / ha (sowing)
 * 30 kg N / ha, either
 * single dose (30 days after sowing) or
 * two doses (30 and 60 days after sowing)

Fertilization recommendations in Syria 
 * 50 kg triple super phosphate (at planting)
 * 50 kg urea (at planting)

== Cultivation ==

Cumin is a drought tolerant, tropic or semi-tropic crop. Its origin is most probably Egypt, Turkmenistan and the east Mediterranean. Cumin has a short growth season of 100 – 120 days. The optimum growth temperature ranges between 9° and 26°C, other sources suggest a daytime temperature of around 30 °C. The Mediterranean climate is most suitable for its growth. Cultivation of cumin requires a long, hot summer of three to four months. Upon low temperatures leaf color changes from green to purple. High temperature might reduce growth period and induce early ripening. In India, Cumin is sown from October until the begin of December and harvesting starts in February. In Syria and Iran Cumin is sown from mid-November until mid-December (extensions up to mid-January are possible) and harvested in June/July.

The seeds need 2° up to 5°C for emergence, an optimum of 20°C – 30° is suggested. Cumin is grown from seeds, sown in spring. The seedlings of cumin are rather small and their vigor is low. Soaking the seeds for 8 hours before sowing enhances germination. For an optimal plant population a sowing density of 12 – 15 kg / ha is recommended. Fertile, sandy, loamy soils with good aeration, proper drainage and high oxygen availability are preferred. The pH optimum of the soil ranges from pH 4.5-8.3. Cumin seedlings are sensitive to salinity and emergence from heavy soils is rather difficult for cumin. Therefore a proper seedbed preparation (smooth seed bed) is crucial for optimal establishment of cumin. The recommended sowing depth is 1–2 cm. Densities of around 120 plants/m2 in rows with 40 cm distance gave best results.

The relative humidity in the center of origin of cumin is rather low. High relative humidity (i.e. wet years) favours fungal diseases. Cumin is especially sensitive to Alternaria blight and Fusarium wilt. Pathogens can lead go high reductions in crop yield. The open canopy of cumin is another problem. Only a low proportion of the incoming light is absorbed. The Leaf Area Index (LAI) of cumin is low (approximately 1.5). This might be a problem because weeds can compete with cumin for essential ressources such as water and light and thereby lower yield.

Fertilization recommendations in India 
 * 20 kg phosphate / ha (sowing)
 * 30 kg N / ha, either
 * single dose (30 days after sowing) or
 * two doses (30 and 60 days after sowing)

Fertilization recommendations in Syria 
 * 50 kg triple super phosphate (at planting)
 * 50 kg urea (at planting)

== Cultivation == Cumin is a tropic or semi-tropic crop despite its origin is most probably Egypt, Turkmenistan and the east Mediterranean. The optimum growth temperature ranges between 9° and 26°C, the Mediterranean climate is most suitable for its growth. The seeds need 2° up to 5°C for emergence, an optimum of 20°C – 30° is suggested. Upon low temperatures leaf color changes from green to purple. High temperature might reduce growth period and induce early ripening.

The relative humidity in the center of origin of cumin is rather low. High relative humidity (i.e. wet years) favours fungal diseases. Cumin is especially sensitive to Alternaria blight and Fusarium wilt. Pathogens can lead go high reductions in crop yield. The open canopy of cumin is another problem. On one hand only a low proportion of the incoming light is absorbed. The Leaf Area Index (LAI) of cumin is low (approximately 1.5).

The seedlings of cumin are rather small and their vigor is low. Sandy, loamy soils with good aeration, proper drainage and high oxygen availability are preferred. The pH optimum of the soil ranges from pH 4.5-8.3. Cumin seedlings are sensitive to salinity and emergence from heavy soils is rather difficult for cumin. Therefore a proper seedbed preparation (smooth seed bed) is crucial for optimal establishment of cumin. The recommended sowing depth is 1-2 cm. Densities of around 120 plants/m^2 in rows with 40 cm distance gave best results.