General Information

  • Category- Vegetable, drug
  • Binomial Name- Asparagus racemosus
  • Common Names- Garden asparagus, sparrow grass, shatavari
  • Spread- 24-48 inches
  • Height- 36-72 inches
  • Average Production- 200-250 grams per plant
  • Days to Maturity- 1095-1460 days

Environmental Requirements:

  • Soil- Sandy loam, well drained and rich in nutrients
  • Soil Moisture- 20%
  • Soil pH- 6.5-8.0
  • Soil temperature- 10 degree celsius
  • Sun Requirements- Full sun
  • Best Time to Plant- Fall or Spring (September-October or February-March)

Tips to Grow Shatavari:

  1. Arrange good quality of shatavari seeds. Soak the seeds for 24 hours in cow urine before planting. 
  2. Soil should be slightly acidic and well draining. It should be moist but not wet. Add some compost in the soil prior planting.
  3. Arrange a tray and fill it with the soil. In each block of tray sow two seeds 1\2 inches deep and cover it with dirt. Gently give water to the seeds. Germination starts after 20 days of sowing the seeds and is completed in 30 days.
  4. Transplanting of seedlings should be done, when crop attain height of 45 cm. 
  5. To prevent plant from soil borne disease apply bio pesticides, Dhatura, Chitrakmool, Cow’s urine etc. 
  6. It is very important to control weed growth around shatavari, especially in the first few years after transplanting a young crown. Apply a leaf or straw mulch.
  7. Do not harvest shatavari the first year you plant it. The roots of plants get mature by 20-30 months after transplantation. Depending upon soil and climatic conditions roots get mature within 12-14 months. 
  8. After harvesting, peeling is done in boiled conditions. After peeling roots are air dried. From ripen roots several products like powder, gulam and ghritam are made after processing.

Chemical Constituents of Shatavari:

  • Shatavari roots contain steroidal saponins which are collectively called as Shatavarin I-IV.
  • The other compounds isolated from A. racemosus are β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, their glycosides, sarsasepogenin, spirostanolic acid, furostanolic saponins etc.

Uses:

  • The root is alterative, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, demulcent, diuretic, galactogogue and refrigerant.
  • It is taken internally in the treatment of infertility, loss of libido, threatened miscarriage, menopausal problems, hyperacidity, stomach ulcers and bronchial infections.
  • Externally it is used to treat stiffness in the joints.
  • The root is used fresh in the treatment of dysentery.

 

Vegetables