Fruits: They are ovate with pointed end, lightweight and brown with grayish tint.
The fruit of cumin resemble like caraway fruit, but is bigger and about two lines in
length, very much longer than the pedicels and little contracted at the sides, fusiform,
nearly tapering, crowned by the short teeth of the calyx, the covered densely with
short and rough hair. Seeds of the fruits are two in number and are ovoid; plane
surfaces together with plano convex. The taste and odor of fruits are comparable to
caraway fruits, but is warmer and not so delightful.
Seeds: Seeds are yellowish to brownish gray, elongated in the form of nine
protuberances and possess various health benefits. The cumin seeds are used as
aromatic stimulant, carminative, stomachic, and astringent. Aromatic and astringent
properties of cumin herb are beneficial to the digestive system. It also used in the
management of intricate biological disorders, as a eupeptic and carminative, and as
astringent in mustang respiratory organ disorders, a cough medication, and as an
analgesic (Hanif et al. 2012; De et al. 2003). The volatile oil obtained from the seeds
exhibits a massive antibacterial property against K. pneumonia.
20.2 Production
Cumin is mainly cultivated in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the geographical
area of the Asian countries, which are the major cumin exporters. It is currently
largely grown in Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Morocco,
India, Syria, Egypt, Mexico, and Chile. Cultivation of cumin needs an extended
warm summer for 3–4 months with the day-time temperature approximately 30
C
and is usually grown in Mediterranean climates, which is drought tolerant. In
general, sandy soil is the best for cultivation. The cumin plants blossom during the
month of June and July. Like the other Umbelliferae members, these plants are also
harvested once the seeds become brown, threshed, and dried (Singh et al. 2017). The
seeds must be planted in tiny pots, packed with loose soil, and pushed into an
exceptionally modest hotbed to bring up the seedlings. Weeding could be done and
therefore the plants can flower fine.
20.2.1 Description
Cumin belongs to the Apiaceae family. The Apiaceae is also called as Umbelliferae
(both of these Umbelliferae and Apiaceae are acceptable by the International System
of Botanical Nomenclature). These families include usually aromatic plants having
hollow stems, like parsley, parsnip, carrot, fennel, caraway, dill, etc.
Some extremely poisonous plants like hemlock belong to these families.
Apiaceae is a massive family consisting of around 300 genera and over 3000
numbers of species. The former name Apiaceae is derived from the term “inflorescence” being within the style of composite “umbel” flowers, which is symmetric
20 Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) Seed
509
The fruit of cumin resemble like caraway fruit, but is bigger and about two lines in
length, very much longer than the pedicels and little contracted at the sides, fusiform,
nearly tapering, crowned by the short teeth of the calyx, the covered densely with
short and rough hair. Seeds of the fruits are two in number and are ovoid; plane
surfaces together with plano convex. The taste and odor of fruits are comparable to
caraway fruits, but is warmer and not so delightful.
Seeds: Seeds are yellowish to brownish gray, elongated in the form of nine
protuberances and possess various health benefits. The cumin seeds are used as
aromatic stimulant, carminative, stomachic, and astringent. Aromatic and astringent
properties of cumin herb are beneficial to the digestive system. It also used in the
management of intricate biological disorders, as a eupeptic and carminative, and as
astringent in mustang respiratory organ disorders, a cough medication, and as an
analgesic (Hanif et al. 2012; De et al. 2003). The volatile oil obtained from the seeds
exhibits a massive antibacterial property against K. pneumonia.
20.2 Production
Cumin is mainly cultivated in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the geographical
area of the Asian countries, which are the major cumin exporters. It is currently
largely grown in Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Turkey, Tajikistan, Morocco,
India, Syria, Egypt, Mexico, and Chile. Cultivation of cumin needs an extended
warm summer for 3–4 months with the day-time temperature approximately 30
C
and is usually grown in Mediterranean climates, which is drought tolerant. In
general, sandy soil is the best for cultivation. The cumin plants blossom during the
month of June and July. Like the other Umbelliferae members, these plants are also
harvested once the seeds become brown, threshed, and dried (Singh et al. 2017). The
seeds must be planted in tiny pots, packed with loose soil, and pushed into an
exceptionally modest hotbed to bring up the seedlings. Weeding could be done and
therefore the plants can flower fine.
20.2.1 Description
Cumin belongs to the Apiaceae family. The Apiaceae is also called as Umbelliferae
(both of these Umbelliferae and Apiaceae are acceptable by the International System
of Botanical Nomenclature). These families include usually aromatic plants having
hollow stems, like parsley, parsnip, carrot, fennel, caraway, dill, etc.
Some extremely poisonous plants like hemlock belong to these families.
Apiaceae is a massive family consisting of around 300 genera and over 3000
numbers of species. The former name Apiaceae is derived from the term “inflorescence” being within the style of composite “umbel” flowers, which is symmetric
20 Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) Seed
509