Indian Institute of Spices Research

Did You Know?

• IISR received the Outstanding ICAR Institution Awards in 1999, 2009, and 2021.
• The institute's library is automated with LIBSYS software and maintains an institutional repository called 'D-Spice'.

History

The Indian Institute of Spices Research began as a project in 1971, when ICAR started the All India Coordinated Spices and Cashew Improvement Project at the Central Plantation Crops Research Institute in Kasaragod, Kerala. This project became a Regional station and moved to Kozhikode in 1975. In 1986, ICAR combined that station with the Cardamom Research Centre in Appangala, Karnataka, to create the National Research Centre for Spices. That centre was then upgraded to the Indian Institute of Spices Research in 1995.

Mandate

IISR was established with a five-fold mandate. For farmers and planters, it aims to conserve genetic resources of spices and the soil, water, and air of spice agroecosystems, and to develop high-yielding, high-quality spice varieties with sustainable production and protection systems using traditional and biotechnological approaches. For farmers, planters, and industries, it develops post-harvest technologies for product development and diversification for domestic and export markets, including value addition and studies on nutraceuticals and pharmacokinetics. For farmers, planters, researchers, and development agencies, it serves as a training centre for research methodology and technology upgradation, coordinating national research projects. For farmers, planters, and policymakers, it monitors adoption of technologies to ensure research meets farming community needs, covering economics, statistics, and modeling.

Service profile

IISR provides research facilities for spice crops through institute-funded and externally funded projects. Research objectives include collection, conservation, evaluation, and cataloging of germplasm; developing varieties with high yield, quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses; standardizing propagation methods; developing agrotechniques; integrated pest and disease management; post-harvest technology; socio-economic studies; and nutraceutical and pharmacokinetic investigations. The institute offers doctoral research programs affiliated with Mangalore University, University of Kerala, Kerala Agricultural University, Acharya Nagarjuna University, and Kannur University in subjects such as biochemistry, biotechnology, botany, entomology, and plant pathology. It also provides MSc/MTech project platforms, MPhil thesis work, and post-MSc/MTech training. IISR coordinates the All India Coordinated Research Project on Spices (AICRPS) and maintains a farmer knowledge base with packages of practices, pamphlets in Malayalam, planting material information, spice variety details, and success stories.

Facilities

IISR houses several centralized laboratories. A GCMS facility fingerprints aroma compounds, and a Biocontrol laboratory mass-produces biocontrol agents and natural enemies. The National Informatics Centre on Spices (NICS) maintains global scientific literature, e-journals, databases, and a library with 4311 books, 3451 bound volumes, and subscriptions to 36 foreign and 84 Indian journals. A DUS testing laboratory, set up with PPV&FR Authority, tests crop varieties for distinctiveness, uniqueness, and stability. IISR also certifies tissue-cultured spice plants for virus infection and genetic fidelity.