Harvesting and post-harvesting cardamom in Nepal

Harvesting

The yield starts from 3rd years onward after planting. Fruit is ripped during August to November. Harvesting is done with the help of mechanical instruments e.g. knife. After harvesting, Cardamom capsules are separated manually by hands.

Drying and Curing

The harvested fruits are processed mainly using traditional or improved drying technology (bhatty). The existing traditional practice of curing and drying the Cardamom is age-old types, where the capsules are dried by direct heating in the traditional bhatty. Under this system the Cardamom comes in direct contact with smoke and turns the capsule to dark browner black color with a smoky smell. To reduce smoke and produce light purple capsules, improved bhatties are being introduced.

After 18 to 24 hours of drying, the capsules are removed. But the total time of drying varies depending on factors such as fire management, initial moisture content of the capsules,weather condition and bhatty structures.

There is no clear indicator to decide if the drying process is complete or not. In some cases, the capsules are either over-dried or under-dried at the same condition of fire and weather. Sometimes the farmers feel that the product is over-dried and they sprinkle water to increase weight. This practice leads to difficulty in maintaining consistent quality. In Taplejung district, there is a provision of premium price for improved bhatty products but prices also vary depending on tail-cut, moisture content, color and the level of dryness.

Although it varies from place to place, and variety to variety, about 26 kg of Cardamom (dry) is produced from 500 sq m (a ropani) of land. Similarly, the total cost of production per ropani is in the range of NRs. 2,800 to 3,400.