Vanilla plant

New Delhi, Sept. 26: Vanilla is poised to become the flavour of future agricultural seasons in the Northeast.

The region has been identified as a ?focus area? for the cultivation of vanilla plants, whose extract is one of the most expensive items in the category of spices. An agreement between the Spices Board of India and The Energy and Research Institute, a Delhi-based organisation, has paved the way for the cultivation of vanilla in all the seven states of the region and Sikkim on a ?trial? basis.

?Climatic conditions in the Northeast are similar to the southern states, where vanilla cultivation is becoming popular. The new plantations will be under observation for three years, after which all states are required to submit reports. If the results are positive, the region can expect a windfall,? an official of the spices board said.

Barring Manipur, all states of the region have begun cultivating vanilla, a climbing orchid with a maturity period of about three years. The main plant extract, vanillin, is used in ice-creams, chocolates, bakery products, puddings, pharmaceuticals and perfumes. In the south, about 500 gm of vanillin is extracted from a single plant.

Vanilla is known to grow best in warm and moist areas that annually receive rainfall between 150 and 300 cm and experience temperatures between 25 and 32 Centigrade. A kg of vanilla extract is priced at about Rs 3,500.

Madagascar is the largest producer of vanilla, followed by Indonesia. In 2002, India occupied the sixth position, accounting for about 2 percent of total vanilla exports.

The spice board has been trying to popularise vanilla cultivation in virgin areas because of the steady increase in demand and the campaign against the use of synthetic vanillin. Its agreement with The Energy and Research Institute is meant to facilitate uninterrupted supply of disease-free shoot cuttings produced through tissue culture. ?We have advanced technology to ensure good-quality crop. A large number of disease-free shoot cuttings of uniform quality can be obtained within a short span of time,? said R.K. Pachouri, the director of the research institute.

After the institute?s micropropagation technology park at Gurgaon prepares the cuttings, these are airlifted to Guwahati and Byrnihat in Meghalaya for four months of acclimatisation to field conditions inside laboratories. About 50,000 cuttings were distributed among the northeastern states last year through the spices board. Efforts are on to increase production and supply to about 4 lakh cuttings during the current fiscal.