Seventy-Five Years of Research and Development in Seed Spices

The present chapter presents a bird’s eye view of the seed spices research in India during the past seven decades since independence. The research on seed spices started in India in a rudimentary way in the pre-independent India itself. From that rudimentary state, seed spices research got a boost with the starting of the state agricultural universities. The state agricultural universities (SAUs) in the seed spices growing states soon started research programs for the improvement of the crops and for developing appropriate production technology for enhancing production and productivity, and for the control of pests and diseases. The whole program got a further boost with the starting of the All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices (AICRPS), which was instrumental in initiating multilocation trials in various SAUs for variety testing, technology testing, and for increasing the general knowledge base on seed spices. A new chapter in seed spices research was opened with the establishment of the National Research Centre for Seed Spices (ICAR-NRCSS) at Ajmer (Rajasthan) with the exclusive mandate for researching on various seed spices. The chapter discusses the seven decades of seed spices research in India including: development of improved varieties through sustainable use of seed spice germplasm, quality seed production, research and development of crop production technologies, organic production technology, major insect pests, recent advancements in physiological and biochemical profiling of germplasm, recent advancements in postharvest management and processing, development of value chain in fennel, postharvest storage, and studies on high-value compounds and their therapeutic potential. Finally, a brief discussion is provided on the major challenges in future seed spices programs.