How to Grow Aromatic Ginger!

Kencur or Cekur (Kaempferia galanga) is a plant that has stem roots embedded in the soil, commonly used for spices and medicinal herbs; This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae, sub kingdom: Phanerogamae, division: Spermatophyta, sub division: Angiospermae, class: Monocotyledonae, series: Epigynae, order: Scitaminales, family: Zingiberaceae, genus: Kaempferiam, species: galanga. Kencur plant parts that are often used are rhizomes, roots and leaves.

The number of active compounds or ingredients contained, makes kencur rich in health benefits. Launching various sources, the following are the various benefits of kencur for health, namely preventing cancer, treating antibacterial diseases, treating diarrhea, treating colds and flu, relieving throat and coughs, overcoming vomiting, increasing appetite, lowering cholesterol, and overcoming mold.

In the cultivation of kencur there are several things that must be known, namely:

Growing Conditions

To be able to grow optimally, here are some things to consider:

Altitude 50 – 600 masl.
Average annual temperature 25 – 30 degrees C.
Number of wet months 5 – 9 months per year and dry months 5 – 6 months.
Annual rainfall is 25– – 4000 mm.
The intensity of full sun (100%) or shaded up to 25 – 30 percent until the plant is 6 months old.
Soil texture to sandy loam.
Land slope < 30 percent with latosol soil type, regosol, association between latosol – andosol.
If the soil packaging is pH 4.5 – 5.0, agricultural lime (captain/dolomite) can be added to pH 5.5 – 6.5.
Land must be free from disease, especially bacterial wilt.

Plant Material

Kencur is a plant from the Zingiberaceae family (findings) which is divided into two types based on leaves and rhizomes. First, broadleaf kencur with large rhizome size. Second, narrow-leaved kencur with a smaller rhizome size.
Broadleaf kencur has less essential oil. One of the high yielding clones of kencur with large deviations is a candidate for superior variety from Bogor (BALITTRO V2). Its physical characteristics are very specific, namely the skin of the rhizome is light brown and the flesh of the rhizome is yellow. Another characteristic is that the leaves are rounded, the tips of the leaves are tapered with a dark green color.
Another superior variety is BALITTRO V3 or V4 whose main characteristics include dark brown rhizome skin. The flesh of the rhizome is white with purple stripes, the shape of the leaves is round with a pointed tip and the color is bright green. The production potential can reach 14-16 tons per hectare with an essential oil content of 4-7.6 percent.

Breeding process

Kencur plant seeds are taken from the rhizome with the following conditions:

Rhizome is old.
Derived from plants that are 10 months old.
Makes sound when defended by hand.
Shiny skin.
The texture of the rhizome flesh is a bit hard.
Has 2 – 3 buds.
Weighs approximately 5 – 10 grams.

Before planting, the seeds are germinated first. Planting should be done during the rainy season. Rhizomes ready for planting are those that have just sprouted (< 1 cm), so they can adapt and are not easily damaged.

If planted before the rainy season, the rhizomes can be planted directly without sprouting first. Please note that kencur is slightly different from ginger, kencur can be planted before the rain falls as long as the rhizomes have not sprouted. The rhizome of kencur will adapt to the environment, then when it rains, the shoots will appear simultaneously.

To do the cultivation of kencur, here are some preparations that need to be done:

1. Land preparation

Prepare the land by cultivating it using a fork or hoe as deep as 40 cm. Clean the soil from the remaining branches and grass.

2. Spacing

Spacing for good kencur cultivation is 15 cm x 15 cm or 20 cm x 15 cm. While in the mixed crop pattern, the spacing used is 20 cm x 20 cm depending on the type of soil and mixed plants.

3. Fertilization

Give manure when planting in the hole at a dose of 20-30 tons / ha. On land that is poor in nutrients and has a dense texture, 30 tons/ha of manure is applied. While on land that is quite fertile 20 tons / ha.

The immature manure is spread in the planting hole at least 2 weeks before planting. Meanwhile, artificial fertilizers are given individually or in a row with a distance of 5 cm from the plant, the dose of urea is 200-250 kg/ha, SP 36 250-300 kg/ha. KCL 250 – 300 kg/ha depending on soil fertility.