| Fenugreek seeds |
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 Fenugreek is a dried, ripe seed of the herb Trigonella foenum - graecum. It is brownish-yellow in color and is one of the oldest cultivated medicinal plants.
 Fenugreek is primarily used as food, condiment, medicine, dye and animal feed. It is widely used as an ingredient in curry powder. It is also found in pickle mixes, chutneys and confectionery. The seeds are used in colic flatulence, dysentery, diarrhoea, dyspepsia, chronic cough and enlargement of liver and spleen, rickets, gout and diabetes. It is also used as a carminative, tonic, and aphrodisiac. Fenugreek oil is used in the manufacture of hair tonics.
Fenugreek is cultivated in India, Argentina, Egypt and Mediterranean countries (Southern France, Morocco and Lebanon). In India it is grown extensively in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.
It is a cold season crop and is fairly tolerant to frost and very low temperature. It is best suited to tracts of moderate to low rainfall and is sown in all types of soil but perform better in loam and clayey loam with proper drainage. It can also be grown on black cotton soils. |
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