Harvesting & Post-Harvest Management

Yields

Average yields in central Jamaica are 13-18 tonnes/ hectare (5-7 tons/acre) of green ginger, with yields being lower in sandy soils and for the native type. In India, the main types planted have a similar yield to Jamaica; in Hawaii, a yield of 44 tonnes/hectare (17 ton/acre) has been reported for their larger green ginger types. Fresh ginger produces 20% (one-fifth) its weight as peeled, dried ginger.

Harvesting

Ginger should be harvested after the leaves have dried (seven to nine months after planting) and the ginger root has fully matured. Internal flesh colour should be pale yellow or bluish. Plants mature and turn yellow around October/November, and dry down by December/ January. The reaping period is December to May. Fresh market ginger is reaped first, and dried market ginger is reaped nearer May. Delaying harvesting after maturity is reached will reduce rhizome quality, decrease the storage life, and increase the incidence of sprouting during storage. with a high pressure hose, coconut fibre, or a soft brush and plenty of water can give rhizomes a fresh appearance. Care is required during this operation to prevent breakage. After washing, a 10-second dip treatment in 5.25% bleach solution (i.e. two drops of bleach per litre of water or nine drops per gallon) is recommended. This will assist in minimizing microbial damage and may improve presentation. After washing and dipping, rapid drying is required, preferably in field crates in a well-ventilated area. Prolonged periods of drying in sunlight are to be avoided as water loss and shrivelling will occur.

Harvest rhizomes carefully by hand using a fork or cutlass to lift and break the soil. Harvesting under very wet or very dry conditions can reduce the ease of operations and increase the level of damage. Transport harvested ginger in field crates from the field to the packing house. Sacks or bags are unsuitable for transport as the level of breakage in sacks is substantially higher than in the field crates, sequentially causing the level of rejection during grading to increase.

Post-harvest handling

Ginger may be successfully stored for up to one year if the correct post-harvest handling and storage procedures are used. Market requirements demand that rhizomes be large and well formed with limited branching. Grading should be carried out in the field to remove rhizomes that do not immediately attain the export specifications. Grading is also required prior to packing to remove rhizomes that were broken or damaged during field transport and handling. Wash rhizomes in water as soon as possible after harvesting, as soil is more difficult to remove when dry. Washing

Grading and packaging for export

For the fresh market trade, ginger is loosely packed in layers. Size grading may be carried out in 18kg cartons based on market requirements. For sea shipment, an additional 5% weight is required to account for weight loss during transport. For the dry market trade, ginger is washed, split and dried (12-15% moisture) before packaged in jute bags based on market requirements.

Appendices

Appendix A: Pre-plant fungicide treatment of ginger planting Material

Step 1 How to prepare fungicide mixture for treatment of planting material

› Take a small amount of water and pre-mix all the required amount of fungicide in it.

› Pour fungicide solution in the total volume of water and mix thoroughly for at least 5 minutes. Add a commercial sticker at the labelled rate for the best results.

› Prepare fresh stock of fungicide mixture after treating 2000 lbs of rhizomes.

› Never reuse fungicide solution the following day.

Step 2 Fungicide treatment

› Fungicide dip treatment should be done on dry, sunny days.

› Use systemic fungicide topsin 70% (a.i.Thiophanate methyl), following the instructions on the label. A 0.2% fungicide mixture is often used.

› Place ginger rhizomes in an onion bag or clean fertilizer bag.

› Make holes in the bottom of the bag to allow for draining of water.

› Dip bag with ginger in fungicide mixture for 20 minutes.

› Make sure that the bag is fully covered by the fungicide mixture.

› Move bag up and down in mixture every five minutes for best results.

› Remove bag with rhizomes and spread on a clean surface to dry.

Appendix B: Hot water treatment for control of parasitic nematodes

Planting material should be washed and surface sterilized with 10% bleach solution before treatment. To treat planting material, dormant seed pieces should be placed in hot water (50°C/120°F) for 10 minutes and then cooled. Seed pieces should be completely dormant or germination will be reduced. Fungicide dip treatments can be done following the hot water treatment. The treated seed pieces should be planted within 2-3 weeks of treatment. Please note thathot water treatment is not effective for other pathogens that may be present in the rhizome.

Method 1: How to dip ginger in hot water

This method requires:

› Two half 200-litre metal drums for hot water

› One drum for cold water

› One or two buckets

› A long thermometer

› Two fires

› Several clean fertilizer bags (onion bags can also be used)

› Sufficient water

› Ginger planting material for dipping

Step 1: Place two of the half drums, each about twothirds full of water, on the fire. Heat the water in DRUM 1 to 50oC, and the water in DRUM 2 near to boiling point (hotter than the water in DRUM 1).

Cool water is kept in third drum.

Step 2: Carefully select dormant planting material and place in the bag.

Step 3: Place bag at the bottom of DRUM 1 as a cushion and immerse bag with planting material into the water at 50 oC.

› The rhizomes will soon absorb some heat and the temperature will drop nearer to or below 48 the water temperature between 48 oC and 50 oC for the right length of time (10 minutes).

› If necessary, hotter water from DRUM 2 should be added slowly to DRUM 1 to bring the temperature up, to between 48 oC and 50 oC.

› If the water temperature gets to over 50 oC, cool water from DRUM 3 should be added to bring it back to between 48 oC and 49 oC. It soon becomes very easy to keep the temperature steady by adding hotter or cool water, and regulating the fire which should be low at this point.

The water temperature must be kept constant. Temperatures above those recommended will damage the seed pieces while temperatures below will not effectively control the nematodes.

Step 5: Cool rhizomes on clean surface.

Method 2: How to dip ginger in hot water

Step 1: Prepare fire, drums for cold & hot water, and thermometer for temperature control.

Step 2: Select apparently healthy dormant rhizomes. Discard all seed pieces showing any cracking injury or rot.

Step 3: Place ginger into bags. Place fertilizer bag at the bottom of the drum as padding.

Step 4: Dip seed pieces in hot water at 50°C for 10 minutes. Check temperature of water frequently.

Step 5: Place rhizomes on the clean surface to cool. Treatment can be done a few days prior to planting or fungicide dip treatment.

Step 4: Dip planting material for 10 minutes. The temperature should be checked every 5 minutes or so. More than one batch of ginger may be dipped by having a third or fourth fire. It is very important to keep

Appendix C: Estimated Cost of Production of Fresh Ginger per Hectare

Estimated Cost of Production of Fresh Ginger per Hectare

References

1. Chung, P., 1999. Growing ginger in Jamaica. Rural Agricultural Development Authority.

2. Hepperly, P., Zee, F., Arakawa, C., Meisner, M., Kratky, B., Hamamoto, K., and Sato, D. 2004. Producing bacterial wilt-free ginger in greenhouse culture. University of Hawaii Soil and Crop Management Series SCM-8 cultivation of Ginger. (Zingiber officinale) rhizomes. Acta Hort 659:397-402.

3. Kandiannan K., Sivaraman, K. Thankmani C. K and Peter K.V. (1996) Agronomgy of ginger (Zingiber offcinale Ros.) a review. Journal of Science and Aromatic crops 5(1): 1-27

4. Kratky, B. and C.I. Bernabe. 2009. Outdoor growing of clean edible ginger seed by a pot-inpot-sub-irrigation method. Proc. of the 35th National Agricultural Plastics Congress. American Society for Plasticulture.

5. Myers, L. Elliot S. and Young, F. (2002). Evaluation of pre-plant treatments in the control of rhizome rot disease of ginger in Jamaica. JAGRIST, the Bulletin of the Jamaican Society for Agric. Sci., Kingston Jamaica. 14:74-87

6. Nishina, M. S., D. M. Sato W. T. Nishijima, and, R. F. L. Mau. Ginger root production in Hawaii COMMODITY FACT SHEET GIN-3(A)

7. Prabhaharan Nair. 2013. The agronomy and economy of Turmeric and Ginger. The invaluable medicinal spice crops

8. Rural Agriculture Development Authority (RADA), 2012. Fungicide treatment of Ginger planting material for control of Rhizome Rot

9. Rural Agriculture Development Authority (RADA), 2012. Hot water treatment of Ginger planting material for control of Plant Parasitic Nematodes.

10. Trujillo E. E. 1964 Diseases of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) in Hawaii CIRCULAR 62 Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station University of Hawaii December 1964