SAFED MUSLI Herbal Plantation in India

SAFED MUSLI

Chlorophytum borivilianum Family - Liliaceae Santapau

It is herb with linear leaves appearing over ground with the advent of summer rains. Flowers white. It is propagated through rootstocks.
REGIONAL NAMES
English : White Musale
Marathi : Pandhri Musli
Gujarati : Dhouli Musli
Kannada : Belwadi
Tamil : Tanirvitang
Malayalam : Milyatali
Bengali : Taalmooli
DISTRIBUTION

Foot Hills of Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh & Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Kanataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
PART USED


Tuberous Root
MEDICINAL PROPERTIES & USES

It is merging as a natural aphrodisiac and also utilised in various neutraceutical and phytopharmaceutical. It is prescribed in debility, gonorrhoea and also considered useful in diarrhoea and asthma.
CULTIVATION & PROPAGATION
Soil and Climate

Safed Musli requires well drained loamy to sandy loam soils rich in organic matter. Warm and humid climatic condition with good amount of soil moisture during the growing season favour luxuriant vegetative growth and facilitate fleshy root development.
Nursery Raising and Planting

It could be propagated through seeds as well as by vegetative means (root stock bearing buds or growing points).
1. Vegetative propagation

The initiation of sprouts of fleshy roots starts by the mid of May but sometimes it could be as early as the last week of April in stored material. In the forest seedlings emerge from the ground within 4-6 days after the rains. However, for the purpose of raising plants in the field either the sprouted seedlings should be collected from the forest between 10 to 30 days after the rains and transplanted in the field or fleshy root bunches should be taken out from the ground or storage place by mid of May.
2. By seeds

The seeds are black in colour and with angular edges. It takes 12-16 days to sprout. The seeds should be sown in prepared seedbed, which is heavily manured by FYM, or leaf litter in the first or second week of June and adequate moisture should be continuously maintained during absence of rain in the early monsoon. The seedlings can be transplanted in the field during the next rainy season only at 30 x 15 cm spacing because the development of plants as well as roots by means of seeds in the first year is not vigorous enough as compared to the vegetatively propagated plants.

Even a small, 1 cm long and slightly shrinken fleshy roots or rootstocks have a capacity to reproduce into new plants. These fleshy roots sprout from second week of May to second week of June. The sprouted fleshy propagules should be planted in the field in first or second week of June, followed by irrigation. The practice of planting on top of the ridges of 15-20 cm height at a row distance of 30 x 15 cm is found adequate for obtaining commercial yield. It is estimated that 250-300 kg of rootstocks will be required for planting one hecatare land. Safed Musli could be easily intercropped in between maize rows.
Manure/Fertilizer

The use of 10-15 ton of farmyard manure (FYM)/hectare provides good nutrient status to the substratum for supporting healthy plant growth.
Irrigation

The crop may be sown after the rainfall. If there is no rains after sowing of fleshy root propagules and its transplanting then one irrigation should be provided immediately. Later, when soil moisture has receded in the fields, irrigation may be done after 10 to 15 days interval.
Weeding

One to two weeding-cum-hoeings are needed to keep the soil porous and free of weedy growth.
HARVESTING/POST-HARVESTING

The crop matures in about 90 days after cultivation. At maturity the leaves start yellowing and ultimately dry up from the collar part and fall down. The crop could thus be harvested when leaves have dried which occurs in the month of September & October. During digging of plants, fleshy root bunches should be lifted from the soil. The harvested fleshy roots a removed and cleaned and white musali tubers are dried and spread in the shade for about 4-7 days.
CHEMICAL CONSTITUENTS

Glycosides, saponins, sapogenins, steroids, asparagin, vitamins & carbohydrates.
Yield

About one ton of fleshy root per hectare, is collected. This, after processing and drying is reduced to 200 kg.