Geography of Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum M.)

Kodoth Prabhakaran Nair is an eminent international agricultural scientist who has worked in Europe, Africa and Asia for more than three decades, during which time he has held a number of prominent academic positions, including the National Chair of the Science Foundation, The Royal Society, Belgium; Professor and Head of the Departments of Agriculture, Soil Sciences and Basic Sciences at The University Center, The Republic of Cameroon; and Senior Professor at the University of Fort Hare, Republic of South Africa – the alma mater of the late Nelson Mandela, and where he began the struggle against apartheid. Professor Nair is best known, globally, for developing “The Nutrient Buffer Power Concept”, a revolutionary soil management technique that is changing the face of modern farming in the developing world. The recipient of several national and international awards for developing this concept and currently nominated for the 2020 Volvo Environment Prize, he has authored tenbooks, including “ISSUES IN NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE”, which was launched by India’s great President, the late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Raj Bhavan, Chennai. He has received six invitations to contribute invitational chapters to ADVANCES IN AGRONOMY, the magnum opus of agricultural science, a world record. He is also a Senior Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Research Foundation. Currently pursuing global agricultural research, he lives with his wife, Dr Pankajam Nair, a nematologist trained in Europe, in Calicut, Kerala State, India.

• Preface.- Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Cardamom botany.- Chapter 3: Cardamom chemistry.- Chapter 4: The agronomy of cardamom.- Chapter 5: The role of “The Nutrient Buffer Power Concept” in cardamom nutrition.- Chapter 6: Cardamom pathology.- Chapter 7: Cardamom entomology.- Chapter 8: Harvesting and processing of cardamom.- Chapter 9: Industrial processing of cardamom and cardamom products.- Chapter 10: The economy of cardamom production.- Chapter 11: Pharmacological properties of cardamom.- Chapter 12: A peek into the future of cardamom.- Chapter 13: Large cardamom.- Chapter 14: False cardamom.- Chapter 15: Specification for cardamom.- Research Highlights in Cardamom.- Efficacy of The Nutrient Buffer Power Concept in cardamom nutrition.- Research Innovations in cardamom production for farmers' benefit.