Indigenous Western Ghats mixed-homestead clove

Not a single cultivar but a production system: clove grown as an intercrop with arecanut, jackfruit, pepper and spice bushes in mixed homestead gardens. This agroforestry approach is the authentic Indian model.

Key facts

Figures are indicative, compiled from public agricultural sources (ICAR institutes, State Agricultural Universities, the Spices Board and the National Innovation Foundation) and vary with soil, season and management. Confirm with your local package of practices.

Indigenous Western Ghats mixed-homestead clove in detail

A system rather than a single cultivar: clove grown as an understory intercrop with arecanut, pepper, and other spices in shade-rich homestead gardens across the humid heights of the Western Ghats.

Origin & story

Clove was introduced to India around 1800 in an East India Company spice garden at Courtallam, Tamil Nadu. After 1850 its cultivation spread into the Nilgiris and the slopes of what was then Travancore State. The Indian clove population stems from a narrow genetic base brought in originally, and the crop's largely self-pollinating habit has kept natural diversity low. Today's smallholder growers in Kanyakumari, Tenkasi, Idukki, and the Nilgiris work within traditional frameworks, inheriting practice from predecessors rather than from recorded breeding programmes.

How it grows

Clove grows as a shade-dependent intercrop in the humid tropical climate of the Western Ghats, where it joins arecanut, pepper, banana, and other spices in mixed homestead gardens. Trees are typically planted at 6-7 metre spacing using 18-24 month-old seedlings set out during the June-July monsoon. Deep loamy soils rich in organic matter suit the crop; farmers prepare pits of around 75 cm and work in compost and cattle manure. The system relies on partial shade from taller trees or plantain to moderate humidity and temperature. Hand-harvesting happens when buds turn from olive green toward pink-yellow, a few months after flowering. Production concentrates in Kanyakumari district, which yields more than 65 per cent of India's cloves, and across Kerala districts including Idukki, Kozhikode, and Kollam, where well-distributed rainfall and elevation give the cool, moist conditions clove needs.

Quality & character

Bud quality varies across homesteads, shaped by tree age, growing conditions, and harvest timing. Studies comparing young and mature trees report higher eugenol in oil from mature trees. The dried buds darken to deep brown during shade-drying, concentrating the volatile oils. Clove bud oil typically yields in the range of about 10-20%, and eugenol is its dominant component, generally reported around 80-90%, giving cloves their warm, slightly numbing character. Hand-picked, shade-dried buds tend to hold aroma and bioactive compounds better than sun-dried ones.

Why it matters to buyers

Clove from the Western Ghats' mixed homestead system is product shaped by traditional agroforestry rather than plantation monoculture. Hand-harvesting and shade-drying help preserve the high volatile-oil profiles buyers value. Smallholders face real constraints: aging plantations, labour scarcity at harvest, low genetic uniformity, and fragmented market access limit supply and consistency. Research has estimated the cost of production at roughly 581 rupees per kilogram of dried buds. Buyers seeking traceability and sustainability find appeal in the homestead model, though supply stays modest, with domestic Indian production at around 1,100 tonnes a year and the Western Ghats accounting for the bulk of it.

Other clove varieties

• Kanniyakumari Clove
• Local South Indian homestead type
• Zanzibar type
• Penang type
• Sikotok
• Siputih
• Idukki High-Altitude clove
• Tenkasi-Puliyangudi clove
• Nilgiris blue-mountain clove
• Madagascar type
• Sri Lankan type
• Seedling clove (unselected)