IISR Navashree
The highest bark recovery of the Indian cinnamon selections — 40.6% — and strong shoot regeneration, so more of every shoot you cut ends up as saleable bark.
Quick facts
- Type
- Seedling selection (ICAR-IISR release)
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- First harvest about 3 years after planting; flowering from year 4, then a bark cut every 18–24 months
- Seed rate
- Planted as 10 to 12 month old nursery seedlings, not sown in the field — about 1,100 plants per hectare at 3 × 3 m or about 2,500 at 2 × 2 m, plus 10% extra for gap-filling.
- Expected yield
- 200 kg dry quills/ha, potential 250 kg/ha; 201.1 g dry bark per plant
- Suitable soil
- Sandy or lateritic soils with plenty of humus
- Release
- ICAR-IISR Kozhikode. The institute's own variety page gives the year of release as 1996, while its table of released spice varieties gives 1995 — the page and the table do not agree, and both are IISR's own.
About this variety
IISR Navashree is one of the two cinnamon selections released by ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode. What sets it apart on paper is bark recovery: 40.6% of the shoot weight comes off as bark, the highest of the Indian selections, and the plant regenerates strongly after coppicing — IISR records 25.45 shoots per four plants. Yield is put at 200 kg of dry quills per hectare with a potential of 250 kg, and 201.1 g of dry bark per plant. Bark oil is 2.7%, leaf oil 2.8% and bark oleoresin 8.0%. IISR says no major pest or disease attack was noticed on it.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose IISR Navashree if quills are your product and you want the best bark recovery — 40.6% against 30.7% for IISR Nithyashree and 35.3% for YCD 1 — plus the strongest shoot regeneration, which keeps the stump filling after each cut. Choose IISR Nithyashree instead if you plan to distil leaf oil, since its leaf oil carries 78% eugenol against Navashree's 62%. Choose YCD 1 if your garden sits at 500 to 1,000 m and you want higher quill tonnage with a big leaf crop, or PPI (Ci) 1 at 100 to 500 m if you can also sell chips and dust.
Key characteristics
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timePlant out in June–July with the monsoon (TNAU allows June to December). Nursery sowing of fresh seed is July–August, right after the pulp is washed off.
- Seed ratePlanted as 10 to 12 month old nursery seedlings, not sown in the field — about 1,100 plants per hectare at 3 × 3 m or about 2,500 at 2 × 2 m, plus 10% extra for gap-filling.
- Spacing2 × 2 m (TNAU) to 3 × 3 m (Karnataka State Spices Development Board), in pits of 50–60 cm cube.
- Sowing methodOne healthy seedling per pit filled with topsoil and about 10 kg of farmyard manure; the Karnataka package allows up to five seedlings in one pit for a denser stump clump. Give partial shade for the first years and a drainage channel on sloping land.
- IrrigationWater twice a week through the summer for the first two or three years; after that the crop is grown rainfed, with protective watering in summer only.
- FertilizerAbout 20 g N, 18 g P₂O₅ and 25 g K₂O per plant with 20 kg farmyard manure in the first year, rising by that much every year to about 200:180:250 g per plant with 20 kg FYM at ten years and above (TNAU); the Karnataka board gives 200:180:200 g with 50 kg of manure. Split in two, May–June and September–November.
- HarvestingCoppice the plant at about two years, then cut shoots 18 to 24 months old in May and November, as soon as the rains stop. Peel, roll, scrape and dry into quills. With 40.6% bark recovery, a cut shoot of this selection gives more bark than most.
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Sandy or lateritic soils with plenty of humus; tolerates the poor, low-nutrient soils of the west coast
- Irrigation
- Free drainage essential for young plants; standing water around the pit kills them
Climate
- Maturity
- Hot and moist, average about 27°C
- Irrigation
- About 150–250 cm a year, mostly rainfed
- Climate
- Sea level to about 1,000 m. IISR recommends it for all cinnamon-growing areas, and the Karnataka board for both plains and high altitudes.
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
First harvest about 3 years after planting; flowering from year 4, then a bark cut every 18–24 months
Expected yield
200 kg dry quills/ha, potential 250 kg/ha; 201.1 g dry bark per plant
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Major pests
Management notes
- Spray 1% Bordeaux mixture through the rainy season for pink disease and nursery leaf spot and die-back.
- Hand-pick cinnamon butterfly caterpillars on the young flush; the Karnataka board advises 0.05% quinalphos for a heavy attack.
- Cut out and burn bored shoots; TNAU advises a monthly carbaryl 50 WP smear at 2 g per litre on stems and branches.
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Highest bark recovery of the Indian selections at 40.6% — more saleable bark from the same cut shoots.
- Strong shoot regeneration (25.45 shoots per four plants), so the stump refills quickly after each harvest.
- The higher cinnamaldehyde and oleoresin in the bark are what IISR names as its special characteristics.
- Recommended for all cinnamon-growing areas of India, so it is not tied to one altitude band.
- No major pest or disease attack noticed in IISR trials.
Things to consider
- IISR's own sources disagree on the release year (1996 on the variety page, 1995 in the variety table) and on the parentage (Indian collection on the page, Sri Lankan collection in the table).
- The cinnamaldehyde figure for bark oil is printed as both 58% and 73% on the IISR variety page, and the IISR table gives 73%.
- At 200 kg of dry quills per hectare it yields below TNAU's YCD 1 (about 360 kg) and PPI (Ci) 1 (about 980 kg of total bark), so compare on your own altitude and on which products you sell.
- The Karnataka State Spices Development Board quotes a much lower average of 56 kg/ha for the first four years — that is early-years yield, not the mature figure.
- Planting material has to come from ICAR-IISR Kozhikode or a nursery it supplies; it is not sold at every local nursery.
Suitable regions
ICAR-IISR recommends this selection for all cinnamon-growing areas of India, and the Karnataka State Spices Development Board says it suits both plains and higher altitudes.
- Kerala
- Tamil Nadu
- Karnataka
- Maharashtra
- Assam
Why 40.6% bark recovery is the number that pays you
Every cinnamon harvest is the same work whichever selection you grow: cut the shoots, test them with an oblique cut, peel, roll, scrape in the piping yard, grade and dry. The labour is fixed per shoot. What changes between selections is how much dry bark comes off that shoot — and that is bark recovery.
IISR puts Navashree at 40.6%, against 30.7% for IISR Nithyashree and 35.3% for TNAU's YCD 1. On the same number of shoots cut and the same hours of peeling, Navashree sends about a third more weight to the buyer than Nithyashree does. Its per-plant figure, 201.1 g of dry bark, is also slightly ahead of Nithyashree's 194.6 g.
The other half of that equation is regeneration: 25.45 shoots per four plants, which IISR names as its special characteristic. More shoots on the stump means more cuttable bark at the next round, 18 to 24 months later, without planting anything new.
Can you save seed from this crop?
This is a selection, not a hybrid, but seed saved from it will not come true to type — cinnamon is cross-pollinated and the Indian selections were themselves picked out of variable seedling populations. If you want more of exactly this plant, use air layering by the ring method (indole acetic or indole butyric acid at 50 ppm improves rooting), ground layering, or semi-hardwood cuttings, all of which the Karnataka package lists. If you do raise seedlings, remember that cinnamon seed must be sown fresh — it keeps no viability — and never sun-dried, which cracks the seed coat.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Cinnamon (Dalchini) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IISR Navashreethis page | A grower who sells quills and wants the most bark out of every shoot cut, anywhere in the Indian cinnamon belt | First harvest about 3 years after planting; flowering from year 4, then a bark cut every 18–24 months | 200 kg dry quills/ha, potential 250 kg/ha; 201.1 g dry bark per plant | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam |
| IISR Nithyashree | A grower with a distillation unit or an oleoresin buyer within reach, who wants leaf oil and oleoresin income alongside quills | First harvest about 3 years after planting; flowering from year 4, then a bark cut every 18–24 months | 200 kg dry quills/ha, potential 250 kg/ha; 194.6 g dry bark per plant | Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Assam |
| PPI (Ci) 1 | A low-elevation, rainfed garden at 100 to 500 m, for a grower who can also sell chips and dust to a grinding or distillation unit | Suitable for coppicing at 18 to 24 month intervals; the tree can be retained for up to 50 years | About 980 kg bark/ha — 248.42 kg quills plus 731.58 kg chips and dust — 25% above the Pechiparai local | Tamil Nadu, Kerala |
| YCD 1 | A Tamil Nadu or Karnataka garden at 500 to 1,000 m that wants the highest bark tonnage plus a big leaf crop for distillation | Harvest from the third year after planting; economic life about 20 years, with a bark cut every 18–24 months | About 359.75 kg quills/ha plus 3,800 kg dried leaves/ha, at 35.3% bark recovery | Tamil Nadu, Karnataka |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Cinnamon (Dalchini) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Cinnamon (Dalchini) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Cinnamon (Dalchini) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Cinnamon (Dalchini) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Cinnamon (Dalchini) in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Cinnamon (Dalchini) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Cinnamon (Dalchini) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Was IISR Navashree released in 1995 or 1996?
Both years come from ICAR-IISR itself: the institute's variety page for Navashree says 1996, and its table of released spice varieties says 1995. The same disagreement runs through its parentage — the page says a seedling selection from the Indian collection, the table says from the Sri Lankan collection. For a farmer it changes nothing about how the plant performs; only the institute can settle the record.
How does Navashree compare with Nithyashree on quality?
Both carry 2.7% bark oil. Navashree has the better bark recovery (40.6% against 30.7%) and, per IISR, higher cinnamaldehyde in the bark. Nithyashree has more bark oleoresin (10.0% against 8.0%), slightly more leaf oil (3.0% against 2.8%) and far more eugenol in the leaf oil (78% against 62%). So Navashree is the quill grower's plant and Nithyashree the one to pick if leaf oil is part of your income.
When will I get my first bark crop from this selection?
IISR puts the crop duration at three years to the first harvest, with flowering starting in year four. The Karnataka State Spices Development Board also gives three years for the first harvest and TNAU says the fourth or fifth year. The first crop is small — 65 to 125 kg of quills per hectare for the crop in general — and the garden reaches its full 225 to 300 kg per hectare only by year ten or eleven.
Where do I buy genuine IISR Navashree planting material?
From ICAR-IISR Kozhikode — the institute runs its own Krishidhan nursery and an online sales portal — or from a state horticulture department or KVK nursery that sources from it. Ask for the selection by name in writing, and confirm the species is Cinnamomum verum, because much of what is sold as dalchini planting material is cassia.
Does Navashree need a different package of practices from other cinnamon?
No. Spacing, pit size, manuring, the two weedings a year, coppicing at about two years and the May and November harvests are the same as for any cinnamon in India. What the selection changes is what comes out of the same work — bark recovery, shoot numbers and bark quality — not how you grow it.
Sourced from: ICAR-IISR Kozhikode — Navasree (Cinnamon) variety page, ICAR-IISR — Varieties of spice crops (released-variety table), Karnataka State Spices Development Board — Cinnamon package of practices, TNAU Agritech Portal — Cinnamon. editorial policy.