Isabgol

Introduction

Isabgol or Psyllium (Plantago ovata) belongs to the family plantaginaceae. It derives its name from two Persian words, ‘asp’ and ‘ghol’ meaning a ‘horse –ear’ referring to its characteristic boat-shaped seeds.

The husk of the seed is economic part and contains colloidal mucilage which consists of xylose, arabinose, galacturonic acid. The husk yields a colloidal mucilage consisting mainly of xylose, arabinose and galacturonic acid. Isabgol is a stemless annual herb. It attains a height of 30 – 40cm with rosette leaves. Fruit is a capsule, each seed is encased in a thin white translucent membrane, the husk which is odourless and tasteless.

In India it is grown in about 16,000 to 20,000 hectare in North Gujarat and it is also recently cultivated in small areas in Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar. The husk and peel are exported largely to USA, West Germany, the UK and France. fetching a foreign exchange of more than 10 crores annually.

Uses

It is important for its seed and husk which have been used in the indigenous medicine for many countries. It has the property of absorbing and retaining water (40-90 %) and therefore it works as an anti-diarrhea drug. It is beneficial in chronic dysenteries of amoebic and basillary origin. The seed has also cooling and demulcent effect.

Climate

Isabgol thrives well in warm- temperate regions. It requires cool and dry weather and hence in India, the crop is grown in winter i.e. from November – December to March – April. At maturity, if the weather is humid, its seeds shatter resulting reduction in yield. The temperature requirement for maximum seed germination is should be 20 to 30°C

Soil

It is an irrigated crop which grows well on light soils. Soil should be light, well drained, sandy loam to rich loamy soil with a pH of 7 – 8 is ideal.

Preparation of Land

Field must be free of weeds and clods. Ploughing, harrowing and hoeing shoud be done depending upon the soil conditions. The field should be divided into suitable plots of convenient size. The land is laid into flat beds of convenient sizes i.e. 1.0 X 2.5m

Sowing

To get higher germination rate, seeds from the preceding crop season should be sown. Seed rate varies from 4 – 6 kg/ha. Before sowing, seeds should be treated with thiram @ 3 gm/kg of seed to protect the seedling from the possible damping off.

Manures and Fertilizers

The FYM of 10-15 tonnes /ha is applied during land preparation. It does not require application of heavy doses of fertilizers. A fertilizer dose of 50kg N, 25kg P2O5 and 30kg K2O/ha gives maximum seed yield. The full dose of P and K along with half of the N should be given as a basal dose. The second split of N is applied as a top dressing after one month of sowing.

Intercultural Operations

Weeding is very important and useful for good growth of plants. 25kg/ha and 25kg P/ha are applied as basal dose at the last ploughing and another dose of 25kg/ha is top dressed after 30 days of sowing. It requires light irrigation immediately after sowing. First irrigation is given with light flow of water. Seeds start germinating in 6-7 days. Second irrigation is given if the germination is poor. After that irrigation is given as and when necessary.

Harvesting and Processing

The crop become ready for harvest in February-March generally 110-130 days after sowing. The crop turn yellowish and the spikes turn brownish on maturing. The seeds are shed when the spikes are pressed even slightly. At the time of harvest, the atmosphere must be dry and there should be no moisture on the plant, harvesting will lead to considerable seed shattering. Hence, the crop should be harvested after 10 am only.

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