| Family |
Bixaceae |
| English Name |
Anatto |
| Malayalam Name |
Sindhooram, Kumkumam chedi |
| Tamil Name |
Aruna, Kunguman |
| Kannada Name |
Aarnatu, Rangamali |
| Telugu Name |
Jaapharaa chettu, Jabaru kaya |
| Hindi Name |
Latkhan, Senduria |
| Sanskrit Name |
Shonapushpi, Sindurapuspi |
| Trade Name |
Anatto |
| Part Used |
Seed coat, seed, leaf, root, |
| In Wild |
NA |
| Under Cultivation |
NA |
| Temperature |
20-26°C |
| Rainfall |
1250-2000 mm |
| Farmers |
NA |
| Traders |
NA |
| Institution |
NA |
| Individually |
NA |
| State/Region |
NA |
| District |
NA |
| Nursery Information |
NA |
| Yield |
Yield is around 0.5 to 1.0 kg of seeds per tree per year. |
| Economic of cultivation |
Cost of cultivation: ₹ 22,300 per hectare.
Market price: Dried seeds - ₹ 300 per kg (as on May 2019). |
| Quantitative quality standards |
1. Foreign matter: Not more than 1.0%
2. Ash: Not more than 4.0%
3. Acid insoluble ash: Not more than 1.0%
4. Ethanol soluble extractive: Not less than
2.7%
5. Water soluble extractive: Not less than 20% |
| Description |
Shrubs or small evergreen trees, 2-5 m high; young branches densely dark scaly. Leaves simple alternate, ovate, sub cordate or truncate at base, long-acuminate at apex, 7-24 x 4-16 cm. Inflorescence a terminal corymb or panicle, 8-50 flowered. Flowers 3-5 cm across, pink to white. Stamens many. Ovary densely covered with thick red bristles. Capsules globose or broadly ovoid, with dense long stiff but soft and flexible bristles, green when young, brownish red or yellowish green with age; seeds obpyramidal, ca 5 x 4-5 mm, covered with a thin waxy orange-red aril. |
| Agro technology/Cultivation practices |
Bixa orellana is a tropical plant, hence requires warm, dry climate with annual temperature of 20-26°C and annual rainfall of 1250-2000 mm, and can grow on almost all soil types, with a preference for well-drained, neutral and slightly alkaline soils.
Cultivation
1. Planting-stock production: Propagules can be raised from seeds and stem
cuttings
2. Seed propagation: Seeds are best suited for propagation. Seedlings are
raised in nursery during April-May, before the onset monsoon in mother
beds or polybags of 25 cm × 10 cm size filled with potting mixture of
soil and farmyard manure and irrigate regularly. Within 8-10 days, seeds
germinate.
3. Vegetative propagation: Cuttings of 10-15 cm long having 3 to 4 nodes
are used. Basal portions of cuttings are dipped in IBA (Indole-3-butyric
acid) for five hours and planted in polypots filled with mixture of soil
and farmyard manure and irrigate regularly.
4. Field planting: Seedlings are transplanted when they are 20 cm tall.
Pits of size 30 cm3 are dug in April-May at a spacing of 4.5 m x 4.5m.
Planting pits are filled with a mixture of soil and compost before the
onset of monsoon. One month old healthy seedlings are planted in the
main field at the onset of rains.
5. Manuring/Fertilization: Apply compost/farmyard manure based on
plant/soil analysis.
6. Irrigation: Regular irrigation depending on the climate is necessary for
good growth and yield of the crop.
7. Pest and diseases: No serious pests or diseases are reported in this
crop |
| Harversting |
Flowering starts in the last week of June and continues up to November. Fruits mature and dry up during December-January. On maturity, the dried capsules make a rattling sound. Another indication is the formation of a crack at the top of the capsule. |
| Processing |
The fruit bunches are collected and packed in gunny bags and kept closed for some days. Later, they are taken out and exposed to the sun. Seeds are separated from the dried capsules by beating them with sticks. The separated seeds are sun dried, cleaned and packed in gunny bags for marketing. |
| References |
NA |
