Safed Musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum L.)

 The Root of Gold / Medicinal and Wonder Crop

Cultivation Practices :

Soil Type & Land Preparation - Sandy foam soil with proper drainage system facilitates its growth; heavy black soil is not suitable. Deep ploughing two-three times and tilling is must to give the land a better pulverization and dryness during April/ May. Deweeding twice should be ensured within a gap of 7 days. At least, 10 trolleys of cow dung manure per acre should be mixed in the month of April/May. Green-manuring too is vital in improving fertility of the soil. Application of bone meal is ideal, as it contains micronutrients.

Musli yields better, if cultivated on raised beds. For sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, raised beds should be prepared so as to have height of 1.5 feet at the centre, tapering to the sides with 3.5 feet breadth and with about 1.5 feet wide channel between two beds for proper drainage. Drip lines should be at the middle of each bed and the inline drippers should be of 3 liters per hour capacity placed 2 ft. apart so that the entire bed is wetted uniformly. For flow irrigation, width of raised bed shall be 2 feet.

Plantation : For first plantation, planting material (wet tubers with crown) is to be purchased from the suppliers. The eventual yield of the crop significantly depends on how properly the plantation has been done. Each planting root is cut 2-3 fingers long with a portion of the crown. Care should be taken to avoid any damage to tuber or its skin. All the raised beds should be well irrigated before sowing. Sowing may commence from 15 May and should be completed before the first shower of monsoon. Planting material of about 5-6 quintals (30000-35000) per acre is planted on ridges at 30 cm row-to-row and 15 cm plant-to-plant distance. Care should be taken to have the crown at the upper side of the tuber and non-crown part at the lower end. Treatment of seeds with cow urine and water in the ratio of 1:6 before plantation is recommended for better germination and disinfections.

Maintenance: Proper and scientific maintenance of the crop during growth, especially the first three months after sowing, assures good yield. The important maintenance issues are regular deweeding, irrigation during dry spells, keeping the field free from water logging, etc.

Harvesting : The crop is harvested at 8-10 months stage and passes through three processes, viz., digging, drying and re-plantation. Although the plants shed their leaves by the months of October-November, the roots are advisably harvested in March/April. Weathering of leaves takes place in 4-5 months leaving the tubers to continue to mature till their skin turns dark brown, digging is done manually. Each tuber is to be delicately lifted with the prescribed implements to obtain maximum quantity of the tuber and to avoid any damage to the crown or disc of the tuber. The entire process should be closely monitored and personally supervised by the farmer so as to ensure the safe harvesting of the full yield. Depending on the quality of land and seeds, manuring, pest control, etc., the average yield of the crop is about 5 to 7 times of the planting material by weight. Accordingly, 25-30 Qtls of fresh (wet) tubers are obtained which, on processing and drying, reduce to 4-5 Qtls of marketab.

Processing: The dug-out tubers are thoroughly washed to remove mud, disinfected and the healthier fingers are detached from the crown for peeling off the skin. The peeled fingers are dried in green houses or shaded sunlight to better quality of dried Musli. It takes 3-4 days for Musli to become dry. From the stage of harvest to packing, there is a natural loss of weight of Musli. Shorter and stouter the tuber, lesser would be the loss of weight. The result is 20-25% of the original wet tubers. The dried fingers are graded on the basis of colour and size and then packed in air-tight bags as per requirements to avoid re-entry of moisture. The present saleable price of the dry Musli ranges from Rs.600/- to Rs.800/- per Kg. However, in International markets, the price goes up sharply to about Rs.5000/-. As such, it is one of the highest paying cash crops. The planting material obtained from the digging process should either be sown in the ready field within two days or preserved. About

Marketing : Against the backdrop of huge domestic and international demand for dry Musli and the fact that the gap between its demand and supply is gulf-wide, there is a ready demand for it. Generally, the private commercial farms in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh that supply the planting material themselves undertake to buy back the processed Musli at very remunerative prices. Besides, there are various pharmacy units as well as private traders who keep on scouting about to locate the farmers to procure the Musli at farm gates. As such, marketing is fully assured.

Economics: The total cost of production of Safed Musli has been worked out to Re.1.40 lakh per acre where the major component is the cost of the planting material of 6 quintals @ Rs.350/- per kg. As against this, the total income works out to Rs.3.20 lakhs which comprises the sale price of 4 quintals of dried Musli @ Rs.800/- per kg. and gains in the form of planting materials weighing 2.5 quintals. Accordingly, the net profit per acre works out to Re. 1.8 lakh, which, probably, no other crop offers.

Reliable source to get seeds: -                        MANAGING DIRECTOR

M/s RAJ & COMPANY                                                VIJAY KUMAR