~ 2088 ~ International Journal of Chemical Studies 2018; 6(6): 2088-2092 P-ISSN: 2349–8528 E-ISSN: 2321–4902 IJCS 2018; 6(6): 2088-2092 © 2018 IJCS Received: 15-09-2018 Accepted: 20-10-2018 Harsha KN Spices Board, Indian Cardamom Research Institute - Regional Station, Sakleshpur, Hassan (D), Karnataka, India VK Sharma Department of Agronomy Forage and Grassland management, CSK HPKV, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India Suresh Kumar Department of Agronomy Forage and Grassland management, CSK HPKV, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India Pawan Pathania Department of Agronomy Forage and Grassland management, CSK HPKV, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India Yudhvir Singh Department of Vegetable Science, CSK HPKV, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India Ajay Kumar Sood Department of Entomology, CSK HPKV, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India SP Dixit Department of Soil Science, CSK HPKV, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh, India Correspondence Harsha KN Spices Board, Indian Cardamom Research Institute - Regional Station, Sakleshpur, Hassan (D), Karnataka, India Optimization of seed rhizome type and multiplication method of turmeric ( Curcuma longa L.) for mid hills of North West Himalayan region Harsha KN, VK Sharma, Suresh Kumar, Pawan Pathania, Yudhvir Singh, Ajay Kumar Sood and SP Dixit Abstract Turmeric is an important spice, medicinal and cosmetic crop of south Asian countries being propagated through rhizomes requiring huge quantity of seed rhizome (2500 kg ha -1 ) which accounts for 20-22% of production cost. An experiment was conducted to optimize type of seed rhizome and method of multiplication under shade house conditions at Agronomy Research Farm, CSK HPKV, Palampur during 2017 and 2018. The experiment was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) consisting of four treatments and five replications. Significantly higher germination percentage (92.0 and 92.8%) and germination index (2.53 and 2.21) were noticed in seedlings raised in portrays using primary rhizome during both the years. Besides, better growth attributes viz., seedling height (13.32 and 13.58 cm), root length (10.64 and 11.18 cm) and seedling vigor index (2204 and 2219) were also recorded during both the year in turmeric seedlings raised through primary rhizomes in portray as compared to seedlings raised using mother rhizome in portray or polybag and seedlings raised in poly bag using primary rhizome. Significantly higher total dry matter accumulation (2.59 g plant -1 ), root dry weight and root to shoot ratio (0.41 and 0.51) were observed in seedlings raised in poly bags. For raising turmeric seedlings primary rhizomes and portray found to be better propagating material and method, respectively than mother rhizomes and polybag. Shifting from rhizome planting to transplanting of turmeric seedlings in mid hills of Himalayan region is expected to conserve 80% of the seed material besides saving the expenditure on weeding and irrigation. Transplanting of turmeric seedling may also help in resource conservation along with better resource use efficiency and sustainability. Keywords: turmeric, seedlings, germination, portray, potting media, primary rhizome Introduction Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) belongs to family Zingiberaceae is one of the important herbaceous plant grown and used as spice, medicine, cosmetic and dye in India and South Asian countries since ancient times (Ishimine et al., 2003) [9] . Use of turmeric can be traced back to the Vedic period, where turmeric was the principal spice, medicinal plant and also used for its religious significance. In India, turmeric is cultivated in an area of 1.89 lakh ha with production of 8.52 lakh tonnes and productivity of 4503 kg ha -1 . In Himachal Pradesh (HP) turmeric is cultivated in an area of 200 ha with production of 550 tonne and productivity of 550 kg ha -1 (Anon., 2015) [5] . Turmeric offers a good scope to diversification of cereal based cropping system in Himachal Pradesh. Intensive cultivation of turmeric in the HP state will help not only to meet its own requirements but also help the country to boost its export. Productivity levels of turmeric in Himachal Pradesh is too low compared to national average mainly because of below optimal soil and atmospheric temperature, poor nutrient and weed management practices and moisture stress during rhizome development stage. Cultivation of turmeric in mid hills of north west Himalayan region needs special attention in this aspect, as this region experiences lower soil and atmospheric temperature than optimum temperature of 30-35 0 C required for germination of turmeric rhizome (Panigrahi et al., 1987) [12] . Due to lower atmospheric and soil temperature (Fig. I) turmeric rhizomes took 60-70 days for germination itself in this region. During this time, field will be invaded by season bound weeds which in turn pose threat for crop establishment besides adding additional burden of weeding expenses and efforts.