Genetics and Breeding of Cardamom

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), a monocot member of the Zingiberaceae, is a well-known spice and medicinal herb since ancient times. The Trade Promotion Council of India estimated the size of the global cardamom industry in value terms as US $69.8 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach USA $86.4 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 2.8%. Global market of cardamom is highly concentrated, and 60% of the production is from two major producing countries, viz. Guatemala and India. Cardamom being cross-pollinated crop offers tremendous scope for increasing the productivity by selection of open-pollinated progenies. Also, amenability for both sexual as well as asexual propagation gives good scope for crop improvement. However, development of improved cultivars in cardamom requires many breeding cycles and dozens of years because of semi-perennial nature of the crop. This chapter highlights the achievements in cardamom breeding for yield, quality, and disease resistance.