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Cardamom
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=== Production practices === According to Nair (2011), in the years when India achieves a good crop, it is still less productive than Guatemala.{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=267}} Other notable producers include [[Costa Rica]], [[El Salvador]], [[Honduras]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Tanzania]], [[Thailand]], and [[Vietnam]].{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=267}} Much production of cardamom in India is cultivated on private property or in areas the government leases out to farmers.{{sfn|Kusters|Belcher|2004|p=136–46}} Traditionally, small plots of land within the forests (called ''eld-kandies'') where the wild or acclimatised plant existed are cleared during February and March. Brushwood is cut and burned, and the roots of powerful weeds are torn up to free the soil. Soon after clearing, cardamom plants spring up. After two years the cardamom plants may have eight-to-ten leaves and reach {{convert|1|ft|cm|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=on}} in height. In the third year, they may be {{convert|4|ft|cm|sigfig=2|order=flip|abbr=on}} in height.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=514}} In the following May or June the ground is again weeded, and by September to November a light crop is obtained. In the fourth year, weeding again occurs, and if the cardamoms grow less than {{convert|6|ft|cm|sigfig=2|order=flip|abbr=on}} apart a few are transplanted to new positions. The plants bear for three or four years; and historically the life of each plantation was about eight or nine years. In [[Malabar region|Malabar]] the seasons run a little later than in [[Mysore]], and β according to some reports β a full crop may be obtained in the third year. Cardamoms grown above {{convert|2000|ft|m|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=on}} elevation are considered to be of higher quality than those grown below that altitude.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=514}} Plants may be raised from seed or by division of the [[rhizome]]. In about a year, the seedlings reach about {{convert|1|ft|cm|sigfig=1|order=flip|abbr=on}} in length, and are ready for transplantation. The flowering season is April to May, and after swelling in August and September, by the first half of October usually attain the desired degree of ripening. The crop is accordingly gathered in October and November, and in exceptionally moist weather, the harvest protracts into December.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=514}} At the time of harvesting, the scapes or shoots bearing the clusters of fruits are broken off close to the stems and placed in baskets lined with fresh leaves. The fruits are spread out on carefully prepared floors, sometimes covered with mats, and are then exposed to the sun. Four or five days of careful drying and bleaching in the sun is usually enough. In rainy weather, drying with artificial heat is necessary, though the fruits suffer greatly in colour; they are consequently sometimes bleached with steam and sulphurous vapour or with ritha nuts.{{sfn|Watt|1908|p=514}} The industry is highly labour-intensive, each hectare requiring considerable maintenance throughout the year. Production constraints include recurring climate vagaries, the absence of regular re-plantation, and ecological conditions associated with deforestation.{{sfn|Nair|2011|p=270}}
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