Cultivation of Tinospora Cordifolia /Giloe

Tinospora cordifolia generally named Guduchi/Amrita in Sanskrit; Hindi name is Giloe/Gurcha; belongs to the family Menispermaceae. It is a hereditarily assorted, enormous, deciduous climbing bush with greenish-yellow ordinary blossoms, found in every part of India. This plant has great medicinal importance, especially stem and root. Giloe is endemic to India and can grow well in both tropical and subtropical regions with an altitude of 600 to 800 meters

Botanical Description of Tinospora cordifolia or Giloe ;

1) It is a climbing deciduous shrub that has several twanging branches with elongated leaves
2) Leaves are ovate and acute, 15–20 cm. in length
3) Flowers are unisexual dioecious yellow
4) Fruit of 3 shortly stalked subglobose drupes
5) The bark of this plant is grey-brown or creamy white, warty, papery thin, and can be peeled off easily.
6) The aerial roots of the plant arise from nodal scars of branches.

Medicinal Importance of Tinospora Cordifolia  or Giloe ;

Giloe can be taken in powder form, juice form, and capsule form. The stem of giloe has more utility in comparison to the roots and leaves. The Important uses of Giloe are ;
1) Boosts immunity it is a power-house of anti-oxidant which keeps cell healthy and disease-free
2) Used to cure chronic Fever; Giloe is antipyretic in nature and the juice of its leaves helps to cure fever
3) Help to improve digestion
4) Giloe is used to cure several respiratory problems
5) It reduces stress and anxiety
6) Wonder plant in the treatment of diabetes
7) Helps in improving the vision
8) Used to cure asthmatic disorders

Nutritive Values of Tinospora Cordifolia or Giloe;

Nutrients	Fresh	Dehydrated
Moisture %	31.36	9.64
Ash %	2.3	5.88
Carbohydrates (g)	3.34	7.53
Protein (g)	2.3	5.23
Fat (g)	0.36	1.05
Fibre (g)	11.321	52.295
Iron (g)	5.87	22.55
Calcium (g)	85.247	210
Vitamin C (mg)	56	16
Beta-Carotene (μg)	303.7	428.5
Energy (Kcal)	88.64	240

Source: National Library of Medicine

Climate and Soil Requirement for Tinospora Cordifolia  or Giloe Cultivation ;

Giloe is a plant of tropical and subtropical conditions, and it can be grown in any type of soil but the light sandy loam soil enriches in organic content and is more suitable for its growth. This plant can tolerate waterlogged conditions and heavy rains

Propagation of T. cordifolia/Giloe

Planting Method ;
It can be grown by seeds or vegetative cuttings. Seeds take more time to mature in comparison to vegetative cutting; hence vegetative cutting is the best. The stem cutting for vegetative propagation can be obtained from the mother plant in May-June. To achieve greater medicinal values, it requires support to grow and it can be provided with the help of wooden stakes or tralies or some trees like mango etc
Field Preparation;
Land should be well ploughed and harrowed Apply 10 tonnes of FYM and half doses of nitrogen 75 kg must be applied at the time of field preparation
Raising the propagules Through Nursery techniques ;
1) Stem cuttings are planted in polybags of size 4 inches x 6 inches in Feb – Mar. 

Intercultural operations in Tinospora Cordifolia or Giloe;

Harvesting of Tinospora Cordifolia or Giloe;