Production techniques for the cultivation of safed musli (Chlorophytum borivilianum)

Chlorophytum borivilianum (family Liliaceae) is a high-value medicinal plant becoming rare because it is harvested from the wild. To encourage its adoption as a crop plant, propagation and cultural methods were investigated under semi-arid tropic conditions of Hyderabad, India. Single tubers will sprout if attached to a portion of crown, and yields of fresh tuber and musli (the peeled and dried end-product) were improved by increasing the planting weight of tubers to 12.5 g per unit. Further, at this unit weight of planting material, the tuber multiplication ratio (ratio between fresh tuber yield and weight of planting material, 4.63) and musli-fresh tuber ratio (0.17) were highest. Yields were also increased by farmyard manure (FYM) at 40 t ha-1 because of significant improvements in number, length and thickness of tuber and musli-fresh tuber ratio. Plant size and yields of fresh tuber and musli were greater in a pot experiment with up to 25.mg N kg-l of soil. Pinching of inflorescences increased leaf (18%) and tuber lengths (32%) and the yields of fresh tubers (22%) and musli (30%).