Aloe Vera Cultivation - 2

Aloe Vera Harvesting

It can take six to eight months for the first harvesting and after that the plants can be harvested further in two months regular intervals. Only mature sticks/bats should be harvested. you can harvest 4 to 6 bats from healthy mature bush. When harvesting the bats, the bats should be removed by using a knife or other appropriate tool if necessary so as not to damage to the parent plant. 

Typically 5,000 kg or more per acre can be harvested annually. It is important to keep in mind that chemical fertilizers should not be used if they are manufactured for export purpose or food purpose.

Matured Aloe Vera Plant - 4-5 Bats can be harvested

Uses of Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera is used to manufacture many products, specially in health and beauty sector. They use aloe vera gel which is stored inside the aloe vera bats for their production and some sell raw aloe vera gel as a beauty product. 

Aloe Vera Gel Inside the bat










Aloe Vera Gel







some of the main trending products in the market are;

• Aloe Vera Drinks
• Aloe Vera Facial Cream
• Aloe Vera Gel
• Aloe Vera Moisturizing Cream

Global Market and Profits

As mentioned in the first article, there is huge global market for aloe vera, but when any business is introduced, the profit will gradually decline as new suppliers arrive to the business. However, It is important to understand that aloe vera cultivation will be good profit making business at least for another 2 years. 

According to current prices, the cost of a plant is less than 0.25 USD. About 6,000 to 7,000 plants are needed per acre. Total cost for an acre will be between 1800 - 2000 USD including labor charges. 

Aloe vera price vary with the time and in general price will be around 0.5 - 2 USD per kilogram. One acre will give approximately 10-15 tons of aloe vera bats per year. That can be sold up to 7500 USD. 

Aloe Vera Cultivation - 1

Aloe Vera Cultivation - 1

Aleo Vera can be identified as a diet as well as a drug. The drug is beneficial for many women's diseases. Aloe vera is botanically  known as "Aloe barbadensis miller" Or "Aloe indica". Aloe vera is cultivated mainly in US, China, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia.

About 15% of the world market share of aloe vera is supplied by China and India. This is a great opportunity for others as there is no supply for another 40% of the global market demand.

This is a perennial crop. A plant that grows to a height of 2 feet or more. The leaf is oblong and solid. The leaves contain liquid jelly. It has a normal bitter taste. The leaves are about 2 feet long and 3 to 4 inches wide. Flowering takes place from October to January, spreading from February to April. 

Aloe Vera Plants 

Health Benefits

There are many health benefits from Aloe vera. few of those are;

• Aloe vera is effective in controlling the cessation of certain hormonal functions in women with age 
• Regulating menstrual cycle
• Natural treatment for skin care
• Reduce scars, acne and black marks
• Eye disease
• Nutritional deficiencies
• Anti-diabetic effect
• Stomach ulcers
• Skin cancer
• Wounds, burning pain
• Insanity, anemia, etc.. 

Also the aloe vera contains seven amino acids that our body cannot manufacture and rich in Vitamin B, C, E, A. Therefore aloe vera is also used for vitamin deficiency. It is one of the most commonly used drugs during night time.

Land Preparation and Suitable Climate

Fenced lands are not suitable for this purpose. Depending on the need for well water, water dependence is harmful to crops. Well drained soils are preferred. Between 1000 - 1200 mm of annual rainfall is preferred.

Planting should be done by turning the soil into pots and pallets. One and a half feet between plants and one and a half feet between rows is appropriate. Otherwise, the plants can be planted as 1 foot between rows and 2 feet between rows. When planting, the green part of the plant should not be covered with soil. Watering should not be done until 4 days after planting. Cultivation is successful with maximum sunlight. But water should be applied. If the sunlight is low, the leaves become darker, causing them to fall down, resulting in reduced yields. If the leaves grow thin, the water supply should be increased. The brown leaves should be carefully removed. Too much water can cause root rot. Watering once a week is sufficient after the first week.

Weeds of aloe vera  should be suppressed for cultivation so as not to damage the roots. This is a task that needs to be done very carefully. 

Aloe Vera Plantation - Correct gaps 

Fertilization

It is not advisable to use chemical fertilizers for aloe vera and composting is sufficient enough for plants. Cow-dung, goat manure, ash and charcoal are suitable. Applying organic fertilizer once a year is sufficient.

In mixture of fertilizer, N:P:K ratio should be 10:40:10 for better result. if you apply more chemical fertilizers to the plant, the plant will be yellowish color and start rotting from roots. 


Harvesting and Market details will be mentioned in next article

Aloe Vera Cultivation - 2

Ginger Plantation

Ginger, the scientific name is "Zingiber officinale". The crops are widely grown across African, Asian and South American regions.  Ginger plantation has a relatively easy plantation procedure and has minimum threats from diseases and animals. 

Ginger plants - 6 month old

However, Ginger has lots of nutritional and extraordinary health benefits to humans. Below are the nutrition included in 100g of ginger. 

Nutrient	Composition for 100g of ginger
Sugar	0 g
Energy	79 cal
Protein	3.57 g
Dietary Fiber	3.6 g
Carbohydrates	17.8 g
Sodium	14.0 mg
Potassium	33.0 mg
Iron	1.15 g
Vitamin C	7.7 g
Vitamin B6 , Magnesium, Zinc, Phosphorus,

In both eastern Ayurveda medicine and the western medicine concept ginger is used as natural medicine for many health issues. some of common health issues which we can directly use ginger as a medicine are;

• Digestion Issues
• Nausea
• Pain reduction
• Inflammation
• Weight Loss
• mucus or phlegm

Ginger can be used to make many kind of products such as Ginger Beer, Ginger Biscuit, Ginger Powder, Ginger as a spice, Ginger tea, Ginger as a medicine ingredient, and many more products. Because of all of these reasons, value of the ginger is also little bit high and so the ginger plantation is good profit making plantation. 

Land and Environmental Conditions for Ginger Plantation  

Despite the variety in nature and generic composition, it is certain that all ginger types grow in the same soil and atmospheric conditions. Little warm weather, with humid climate will cause the crops to grow nutritious healthy.  

Sandy and clay loam mostly red loam are recommended, this is due to the fact that they are rich in humus. A farmer is also not advised to grow ginger on the same field  year after year .this may negatively  affect the growth of the newly germinated plants .when preparing the land ,the field should be ploughed 2 to 3 times to thoroughly to remove all unwanted rots including weeds. 

Ginger plant need good water supply, hence In regions where rain is scarcely, farmers have to use irrigation methods to provide sufficient water. If the farmer wants to do the plantation by using rain water best possible time is just before the rain season start. For asian countries like India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka this period is May to June in each year. Late in planting rhizomes will result poor yield. however little larger rhizomes will give good yield. 

In general gap between plants is 25-30 cm this gap is purely depend on the soil condition. Rhizomes grow near the surface level, and so it is enough to place the rhizomes 4-10cm deep when planting. 

Other important factors will be discussed in 2nd Article...