Ginger

Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant belonging to the family Zingiberaceae, is an important spice and medicinal plant. It has a very long history of use in various forms of traditional and alternative medicine. It is also intimately associated with the food habits of India, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and other Southeast Asian countries. The potential of ginger in the culinary, non-culinary, and medicinal fields is based on the chemistry of volatile oil and non-volatile pungent principles. Deeper understanding of ginger’s therapeutic potential will help to place this fascinating crop at the forefront of novel therapeutics. Ginger never sets seed and sexual recombination has never been reported. However, variability for yield and quality in cultivated ginger exists in different regions of India such as the northeastern region of India, Kerala, and Koraput region of Odisha. Cultivars have evolved by unconscious selection and are generally known by the name of the region. Ginger is grown both under rainfed and irrigated conditions. Biotechnology and plant genomics can be exploited for development of potential new cultivars with improved yields and disease resistance. It can also be grown as a component and intercrop with other crops. The crop is harvested 7 to 9 months after planting, depending on the cultivar, soil, and growing conditions. Increasing ginger productivity through improved use of resources to achieve higher yields, while promoting the sustainability of farming systems and progressing from subsistence farming to market-oriented agriculture, is to be developed and adopted. There is also a potential for developing newer value-added products, with the medicinal properties being highlighted to replace or supplement conventional ones. The present review covers a brief history of the R&D efforts on ginger in India, taxonomy, botany, genetic diversity, crop improvement, biotechnological interventions, chemistry, crop management, crop nutrition, processing, and products. This review highlights research achievements of biotechnology and new-found knowledge in plant genomics which will result in the development of promising cultivars. Horticultural aspects and post-harvest processing of ginger are also discussed.