Maran
A well-known variety with good dry-ginger recovery and quality.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Ginger
- Type
- Planting material
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- About 200 days; harvest after 8 to 9 months (TNAU)
- Expected yield
- Medium–high
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Moderate
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Maran is a traditional, pungent ginger cultivar with strong flavour, medium-sized rhizomes and buff-coloured skin. Its fibre is on the higher side (6.1% in the TNAU variety table), and a Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu) field-performance study describes it as widely grown in Tamil Nadu. We found no ICAR institute or formal release record for it, which fits a long-standing indigenous cultivar rather than a bred and released variety.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Maran if you farm in Tamil Nadu or the Karnataka hill tracts and your buyer wants strong flavour and pungency. The TNAU variety table lists it at 25.21 t/ha green ginger with 10.0% oleoresin and 1.9% oil, close to Rio-de-Janeiro's 10.5% oleoresin and well above Nadia's 5.4%. Its fibre is higher at 6.1% and its dry recovery an ordinary 20.0%. TNAU gives about 200 days, the same figure it shows for most local types, so read it as the age at harvest (8 to 9 months) and not a Maran-specific rating. No ICAR release record exists, so it comes with no institute rating. Choose Varada or Mahima instead for an IISR-released variety with published dry recovery and essential oil figures. Choose Nadia if you farm in Meghalaya and want the higher yield in that table.
Sowing & cultivation
Advantages & considerations
Things to consider
- The TNAU variety table lists Maran at 25.21 t/ha green ginger with 20.0% dry recovery, 6.1% fibre, 10.0% oleoresin and 1.9% oil. The table does not say where or in which year these were measured, so use it to compare varieties, not to promise your own yield.
- A Nilgiris field study found Maran moderately resistant, with low disease incidence.
- TNAU shows 200 days for Maran, but also exactly 200 days for most local types, so it reads as a common harvest age and not a ripening rating. TNAU says ginger is harvested 8 to 9 months after planting, when the leaves turn yellow and dry, so watch the leaves and not the calendar.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Tamil Nadu
- Karnataka
A variety with no release paper: test it yourself
Maran has no ICAR release record, no release year and no institute rating. What exists is the TNAU variety table (25.21 t/ha, 10.0% oleoresin) and one Nilgiris field study (moderate resistance, low disease). That is thinner evidence than an IISR variety carries.
That does not make it a poor choice. It is a long-standing local cultivar that farmers in Tamil Nadu have grown widely. But you are relying on local experience, so use it.
Ask two or three farmers near you who have grown Maran for their yield, their rot losses and their buyer's price. Then plant a test strip next to a variety you know, give both the same care, and write down the weights at harvest. After one season you will know more than the trial figures can tell you.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This crop is planted from rhizomes, so your own field can supply next season. Lift plump rhizomes with healthy buds from plants that showed no rot or yellowing, store them where it is cool, dry and dark, and leave out every soft or mouldy piece — rot carries over in the planting material. Take fresh, clean rhizomes from a research station, a KVK or a government farm when yields drop.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Ginger variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IISR Rejatha | Oil-rich, low-fibre ginger for fresh or dry use | 200 days (Indian Horticulture 2025); harvest after 8 to 9 months (TNAU) | 22.4 t/ha fresh rhizome (IISR) | Kerala, Karnataka |
| IISR Surasa | Kitchen gardens and grow-bags in Kerala | 220 to 240 days (IISR); harvest after 8 to 9 months (TNAU) | 24.33 t/ha fresh rhizome on average (IISR) | Kerala |
| IISR Vajra | The highest IISR ginger yield, with strong flavour | 220 to 240 days (IISR); harvest after 8 to 9 months (TNAU) | 26.38 t/ha fresh rhizome on average (IISR variety page) | Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha, West Bengal |
| IISR Varada | Low-fibre, plump ginger with 20.7% dry recovery, for both fresh sale and drying | 195–205 days | ~225 q/ha | Karnataka |
| Mahima | Ginger rated resistant to root-knot nematode, with bold, plump rhizomes, for Kerala | 200 days | 220–270 q/ha (fresh rhizome) | Kerala |
| Maranthis page | Pungent, strong-flavoured ginger from Tamil Nadu and the Karnataka hills, with 10.0% oleoresin and 25.21 t/ha in the TNAU table | About 200 days; harvest after 8 to 9 months (TNAU) | Medium–high | Tamil Nadu, Karnataka |
| Nadia | The Meghalaya farmer's ginger (Ing Bah) with 28.55 t/ha, 22.6% dry recovery and low fibre in the TNAU table | About 200 days; harvest after 8 to 9 months (TNAU) | High | Meghalaya |
| Rio-de-Janeiro | Bold ginger with high oil (2.3%) and the highest oleoresin (10.5%) in the TNAU table, grown for the fresh market | About 190 days; harvest after 8 to 9 months (TNAU) | 17.65 t/ha fresh rhizome (TNAU table) | Karnataka, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh |
| Suprabha | Ginger for drying into saunth: 20.5% dry recovery, 8.9% oleoresin and low fibre | About 229 days | About 166 q/ha (fresh rhizome) | Kerala, Karnataka, Odisha |
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 Ginger is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Ginger plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Ginger variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Ginger into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Ginger rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Ginger seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Maran really an Assam ginger variety?
No. It is a Tamil Nadu cultivar, tested in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
Was Maran bred and released by an ICAR institute?
No — no ICAR institute or formal release record was found for it; it appears to be a long-standing indigenous cultivar rather than a bred-and-released variety.
What fresh-rhizome yield can Maran give?
The TNAU variety table lists 25.21 t/ha fresh rhizome. It does not say where that was measured, so actual farm yield will vary with conditions.
Is Maran good for dry ginger?
It is average, not special. TNAU lists 20.0% dry recovery, close to Varada (20.7%) and Suprabha (20.5%), and its fibre is higher at 6.1%. Its strength is the 10.0% oleoresin, which suits a buyer who pays for pungency or extract.
How disease-resistant is Maran?
A Nilgiris field study found it moderately resistant, with low disease incidence under field conditions.
Is Maran grown from seed or from rhizome pieces?
Like all ginger it is planted from rhizome pieces, called seed rhizomes. Keep firm, healthy pieces from your own crop, and discard any that are soft or discoloured.
Should I expect 25.21 t/ha from Maran on my farm?
No. TNAU does not say where or when that figure was measured. Test it on a small plot for a season before planting your whole area.
How does Maran compare with Rio-de-Janeiro?
In the TNAU table Maran gives 25.21 t/ha against Rio-de-Janeiro's 17.65. Their quality figures are close (oleoresin 10.0% against 10.5%, fibre 6.1% against 5.6%), and TNAU gives about 200 days for Maran and about 190 for Rio-de-Janeiro. Maran is the pungent traditional type, while Rio-de-Janeiro is a low-yielding Brazilian type grown for the fresh market.
What should I check when buying Maran seed rhizomes?
Maran has no ICAR release record, so no institute guarantees the seed and the name on the bag is only as good as the seller. Buy from a grower or nursery you can visit, ask to see the mother crop, and pick firm, plump, disease-free pieces. Treat the pieces before planting and keep the field well drained.
Maran or Varada or Mahima — which should I choose?
Maran if you farm in Tamil Nadu or the Karnataka hills and your buyer wants strong flavour and pungency, at about 200 days by the TNAU table. Varada or Mahima if you want an IISR-released variety with published dry recovery and oil figures, also in about 200 days. Varada gives 20.7% dry recovery, and Mahima is the one with nematode resistance.
Sourced from: Ginger production technology, TNAU Agritech Portal (variety table: Maran 25.21 t/ha green ginger, about 200 days, 20.0% dry recovery, 6.1% fibre, 10.0% oleoresin, 1.9% oil), Ginger harvest, TNAU Agritech Portal (ginger is harvested 8 to 9 months after planting, when the leaves turn yellow and dry). editorial policy.