Cinnamon – Technical Growers’ Guide

Below is a , written in a farmer-friendly but technically complete format. If you want, I can also turn this into a printable manual, slideshow, or illustrated infographic.

**🌿 CINNAMON (Cinnamomum verum)

Technical Growers’ Guide
(Philippines & Tropical Asia Conditions)**

1. Species Profile

Scientific Name: Cinnamomum verum (syn. C. zeylanicum)
Common Names: “True Cinnamon,” Ceylon Cinnamon
Family: Lauraceae
Type: Evergreen aromatic tree

Economic Uses:

  • Bark → Spice & essential oils
  • Leaves → Essential oil (eugenol)
  • Wood → Fuel, biomass
  • Flowers/fruits → Minor products, bee forage

Climate Suitability:

  • Rainfall: 1,250–2,500 mm/year
  • Temperature: 20–32°C
  • Elevation: 0–1,000 masl
  • Ideal for: Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam

2. Site Requirements

Soil

  • Well-drained loam or sandy loam
  • pH: 5.5–6.5 (slightly acidic)
  • Deep, friable soils; avoid clayey or waterlogged areas
  • Rich in organic matter

Light & Shade

  • Young plants: Partial shade (30–50%)
  • Mature trees: Full sun

Slope & Topography

  • Ideal for sloping lands (10–40%)
  • Reduce erosion with contour planting & mulch

3. Propagation & Nursery Operations

A. Propagation Methods

  1. Seeds
    • Viability: 10–15 days only—plant fresh
    • Germination: 60–75%
    • Treatment: Soak in water 12 hours
    • Germination time: 15–20 days
  2. Vegetative Propagation
    • Cuttings (semi-hardwood) using root hormone
    • Air-layering: 8–12 weeks
    • Grafted seedlings: Best for uniformity

B. Nursery Guide

Seedbed / Potting Mix

  • 40% garden soil
  • 30% compost
  • 30% sand
  • Add mycorrhiza & Trichoderma for root health.

Nursery Care

  • Shade: 50% shade net
  • Watering: Daily (light)
  • Fertilizer: Compost tea every 2 weeks
  • Hardening: Reduce shade to 30% in last 2–4 weeks

Plantable Size

  • 6–9 months
  • At least 25–35 cm height
  • Strong stem & active roots

4. Field Planting & Establishment

Planting Distance

Monocrop Cinnamon

  • 3 × 3 m
  • 4 × 4 m for high rainfall areas

Agroforestry with Agarwood / High-value Trees

  • Cinnamon understorey: 2.5 × 2.5 m
  • Agarwood spaced at 4 × 4 m
  • Use cinnamon as:
    • shade regulation
    • biodiversity enhancer
    • additional income

Planting Hole Preparation

  • 40 × 40 × 40 cm hole
  • Mix topsoil with:
    • 5 kg compost
    • 200 g lime if pH < 5.2
    • Optional: 50 g rock phosphate

5. Maintenance & Cultural Management

A. Weed Management

  • First 2 years: Keep weed-free
  • Use mulch (coconut husk, leaves, rice straw)

B. Fertilization Schedule

Organic Program (Recommended)

Year 1–2:

  • 3–5 kg compost/tree every 3–4 months
  • Sprays: Compost tea, seaweed extract, amino acids

Year 3 onwards:

  • 5–10 kg compost/tree
  • Add biofertilizers (mycorrhiza, nitrogen fixers)

C. Pruning

  • Remove:
    • dead, crossing branches
    • suckers
    • weak stems
  • Encourage multistem formation (3–4 stems per tree)

D. Irrigation

  • 20–30 liters/week per tree in dry season
  • Drip irrigation recommended for sandy soils

6. Pests and Diseases

Common Pests

  1. Bark borers
  2. Leaf miners
  3. Scale insects
  4. Mealybugs

Control:

  • Neem oil
  • Beauveria bassiana
  • Sticky traps
  • Pruning affected branches

Diseases

  1. Root rot (Phytophthora)
  2. Leaf spot
  3. Dieback

Control:

  • Elevate seedbeds
  • Improve drainage
  • Trichoderma application
  • Avoid waterlogging

7. Harvesting & Processing

A. Harvest Timing

  • First bark harvest: 4–5 years old
  • Peak production: 8–12 years
  • Harvest interval: Every 2 years

B. Harvest Technique

  1. Cut stems at ground level
  2. Scrape off outer bark
  3. Loosen inner bark with a smoother
  4. Peel in long strips
  5. Dry by rolling into “quills”

C. Yield Estimates

  • 250–350 kg dry bark/ha/year (starting years)
  • 500–700 kg/ha/year (mature plantations)

8. Postharvest Handling

Drying

  • Sun drying for 3–4 days
  • Final moisture: 10–12%

Grading

  • Length, thickness, aroma, color
  • Premium: Light brown, smooth, uniform quills

Storage

  • Air-dry room with 10–12% humidity
  • Avoid metal containers (oxidation risk)

9. Economics & Profitability (per hectare)

(Approximate; can be customized for your farm)

Establishment Cost (Year 1–2)

  • Land prep, seedlings, labor, fertilization
    → ₱120,000 – ₱180,000 per hectare

Annual Maintenance Cost

→ ₱40,000 – ₱60,000 per hectare/year

Income Potential

  • Bark, leaves, essential oils
  • 5th year onward: ₱120,000–₱200,000 / ha / year
  • 10th year onward: ₱250,000–₱350,000 / ha / year

Profit depends on:

  • product quality
  • access to spice or essential oil buyers
  • processing (value addition increases margins 2–5×)

10. Best Practices for High Yield

✓ Use disease-free seedlings
✓ Promote multi-stem growth
✓ Maintain organic-rich soil
✓ Integrate cinnamon with nitrogen-fixing trees
✓ Maintain 30–50% partial shade in early years
✓ Establish strong weed control in years 1–2
✓ Use organic pest management (avoid bark contamination)

11. Agroforestry Integration Options

Cinnamon integrates extremely well with:

✔ Agarwood (Aquilaria malaccensis/crassna)

  • Cinnamon acts as nurse/shade crop
  • Aromatic synergy
  • Generates dual-income system
  • Improves biodiversity

✔ Nutmeg, Clove, Black Pepper, Cacao, Coffee

  • Multistory cropping
  • Higher revenue per hectare

✔ Fruit Trees (Avocado, Jackfruit, Banana)

  • Temporary shade
  • Early cash flow crops

If you want, I can generate the full Cinnamon–Agarwood Agroforestry Model layout map.

Would you like this converted into:

📘 A printable PDF Growers’ Manual
📊 A training module for farmers
🖼️ Infographics
📄 A Cinnamon Business Plan (financials + market analysis)

Just tell me!