Cardamom - Botany and Horticulture: A Review

Abstract

Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton), is an important spice crop and is native of evergreen forests of Western Ghats of South India. In spite of its prominence in world trade from time immemorial, cardamom received much attention in the second half of this century. This review highlights achievements in cardamom breeding and production technologies. The scope of the discussion addresses origin, chemistry, medicinal and pharmacology, botany, genetic resources, breeding methods, biotechnological approaches and horticulture aspects of crop production