Surabhi

Surabhi is the odd one out among Indian ginger releases in that it did not come from picking a superior plant out of a landrace. It was produced by X-ray induced mutation of a local Odisha cultivar and developed at the High Altitude Research Station at Pottangi under Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology, making it one of the very few mutation-bred gingers anywhere. It carries the highest oleoresin figure of the Pottangi group at 10.2%, with 2.1% essential oil and 4% crude fibre over a 225-day season, yielding around 4 tonnes per hectare of dry ginger. Rhizomes have cylindrical rather than flattened fingers and a dark, glazed-looking skin, and the plant tillers profusely. Note that the same variety appears in Indian literature under the spellings Suravi and Surari, which can cause confusion when comparing sources.