Crops Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)

Summary Information



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The origins of the crop probably lie in the Eastern Mediterranean area; it is now grown widely in Russia, India, Morocco, Central and Eastern Europe, and parts of America for these traditional purposes. The seed oil has now been shown to contain about 75 percent of petroselenic acid, a possible starting point in the manufacture of some plastics, lubricants, detergents, industrial nylons and cosmetics, raising interest in the possibility of developing the crop for supplying further industrial needs.

Seedling

Plant in rosette stage

The plant is an annual, forming a taproot and initially a rosette of shiny dark green leaves, which are compound and subdivided. The flowering stem is erect and may in good conditions exceed 1 m in height; it is lightly ridged and often much-branched, bearing feathery upper leaves. Frequently, the upper stem and leaves may become purplish or bronzed.

Flower head

Plants in flower

The flowers are small, white or pink-tinged, grouped closely together in rounded heads; from these develop the globular fruits, which ripen from a glossy green to a light yellow- brown colour.

Cluster of ripe fruits

The ripe seeds have a pleasant aromatic smell, but, while green, the plant often has a disagreeable odour. Coriander prefers an open, sunny situation and performs best on fairly light soils, though not if short of water. It is customarily sown in early spring, but is frost-tolerant as a young plant and may be drilled in October as a winter annual. Seed (usually rubbed free from the fruits) is sown into a firm, fine seedbed at a rate of 12-20 kg per ha, row widths between 17 and 30 cm being recommended. Ideal establishment is probably 50-70 plants per square metre, but satisfactory yields have been obtained from a range of plant densities between 20 and more than 100 plants per square metre Some 50 kg per ha of nitrogen may be added to the seedbed or as an early top-dressing. Weed control is important before stem extension; many herbicide products are effective and appear to be crop-safe, but few are recommended for use. Harvest is taken when about 50 percent of the fruits have ripened, since delaying combining after this stage may result in unacceptably high losses. Yields vary between 1 and 2 t per ha: at Sonning the winter-sown crops have usually shown a distinct yield advantage. Coriander is mostly imported into Europe for its traditional uses and this may be expected to continue: cultivation for the potential industrial markets suggested above is unlikely to commence before suitable commercial methods of fractionating the petroselenic acid have been developed. The seeds of other related species, such as parsley (Petroselenium crispum), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and alexanders (Smyrnium crispum) also contain a high proportion of petroselenic acid, but these plants have longer life-cycles, so coriander is the species most likely to be developed if the demand should arise.