Introduction Cassia and Cinnamon are produced from the same tree. Cinnamon is in fact the dried bark of cassia tree. In India, the cassia tree is not a success as it does not bear much fruit. Therefore only its bark is being produced and used. Cassia is produced in India in very small quantity. The spice is used in household and also in the traditional ayurvedic medicines. Cinnamon powder is widely used as an important ingredient of curry powder (garam masala). The economic produces of cinnamon are bark and leaves, which are valued for oil content. Cinnamaldehyde and eugenol are the important components. The annual demand for these spices in the country is about 3,500 tonnes while the domestic production is only about 400 tonnes. India produces real cassia from Cinnamomum cassia and wild cassia bark from C. tamala. However, cassia is not produced at all in India on a commercial scale. India imports about 2,500 M.T. of cassia mainly from China, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Even though the crop is cross-pollinated, seeds are the best source of propagation. Terminal cuttings are also used as propagation material, and their efficiency increases when dipped for 1 min with IBA or IAA 2,000 ppm; rooting increased by 73.2 and 65.1%, respectively, the maximum root length being 6.3 cm The mouth of poly-bag needs to be closed with another polybag to prevent moisture loss; rooting takes place 60-90 days after sowing, maximum success was obtained from cultivar SL 5. Air layering done in July gave 87.5% rooting compared to 50% rooting when the same is done in November

Application of Seradix B at the girdle, covered with moist coir dust and wrapped with polythene sheet produced good air-layers in 2-3 months

Harvesting can be done 5 years after planting, by selecting stems 1.5 to 2 m long with 2.0-2.5 cm diameter for cropping. Leaves and tender twigs can be steam-distilled for 1 or 2 days, or oil-distilled lasting for 7-8 under 6.80 kg (15 lb) pressure The produce is grouped/catergorized as quills/quillings/featherings and chips, depending on the length and shape of the bark

According to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, ICAR, Government of India, four accessions of Cinnamon cassia were added to the germplasm. Among Cinnamomum cassia accessions, A1 and C1 had high bark oleoresin (10.2 and 10.5%), and D1, D3 and D5 had high bark oil (4.7, 4.9 and 4.3%) with high cinnamaldehyde content (86.5, 90.5, and 85.5%).