| Family |
Solanaceae |
| English Name |
Black Night Shade |
| Malayalam Name |
Manithakkali, Karimthakkali |
| Tamil Name |
Manathakkali |
| Kannada Name |
Kaakihannu |
| Telugu Name |
Kachchipandu |
| Hindi Name |
Makoi |
| Sanskrit Name |
Kakamaci, Bahuphala, Jaghenephala |
| Trade Name |
Black Night Shade |
| Part Used |
Whole plant |
| In Wild |
NA |
| Under Cultivation |
NA |
| Temperature |
NA |
| Rainfall |
NA |
| Farmers |
NA |
| Traders |
NA |
| Institution |
NA |
| Individually |
NA |
| State/Region |
NA |
| District |
NA |
| Nursery Information |
NA |
| Yield |
12-20 tonnes of fresh herbage per hectare. |
| Economic of cultivation |
Market price: Dried herbage - ₹ 170 per kg (as on July 2019). |
| Quantitative quality standards |
1. Foreign material: Not more than 1 per cent
2. Total ash: 11.29 per cent
3. Acid insoluble ash: 6.2 per cent
4. Ethanol soluble extractive: 5.2 per cent
5. Water soluble extractive: 17 per cent |
| Description |
Erect annual herbs; stem glabrous or sparsely hispid. Leaves 2-5 x 1-3 cm, ovate or elliptic, base rounded, shortly decurrent on the petiole, subentire, acute to acuminate at apex, membraneous; petiole to 5 cm long. Flowers small, in axillary to extra-axillary umbellate cymes. Corolla white, 3-4 mm across. Berry, 4-5 mm across, globose, purplish-black; seeds c. 1 mm long, discoid, minutely pitted. |
| Agro technology/Cultivation practices |
The plant comes up very well in tropical and subtropical climate upto 2000 m altitude. They can be raised on a variety of soils good in organic matter. The plant grows in different kinds of soil including dry, stony, shallow or deep soils. It usually grows in moist habitat in wastelands
or as weed. It can be cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical agro-climatic regions.
Cultivation
1. Planting - stock production: Propagation is by seeds. Optimum
germination temperature for seed is between 25-30°C. May - June is the
best time for raising seedlings. The seedlings are first raised in the
nursery and transplanted to the main field 30-45 days after sowing when
the plants attain 8-10 cm height. During rainy season, planting is done
on ridges while during summer in furrows, at a spacing ranging from 30-
90 cm depending upon the stature and spreading habit of the plant. The
transplanted seedlings should be given temporary shade for 2-4 days
during summer.
2. Manuring: Farmyard manure/compost is applied at the time of land
preparation.
3. Weeding: One or two weeding needed to control the weeds.
4. Irrigation: The nursery beds and plantation should be irrigated
periodically as and when required weekly or fortnightly. The plants are
irrigated till it flowers. Irrigation is needed at 3-4 days interval
during summer and on alternate days during fruiting period.
5. Pests and diseases: Shoot borers, mealy bugs, leaf webbers, root knot
nematode, wilting, miners and mosaic disease are noted on the crop.
Field sanitation, crop rotation and burning of crop residues are
recommended. |
| Harversting |
Plants need staking to avoid lodging due to heavy bearing. The crop is usually ready for harvesting after 4-6 months depending upon the climate and soil. |
| Processing |
The plants are collected and dried in shades. |
| References |
NA |
