Lemon grass cultivation

Lemon grass cultivation

Common name: Lemon grass

Botanical name: Cymbopogon

Family: Poaceae

Origin: Island Southeast Asia (Malesia)

Introduction:

• Lemon grass is tall sedge that grows in tropical and sub-tropical areas of South East Asia and Africa.

• The main lemon grass producing states of India are Kerala, Karnataka, UP and Assam.

• India’s annual production varies in between 300-350 tonnes.

• Lemon grass contains strong lemon like odour due to the presence of citral in the oil.

• Its oil is useful in cosmetics, beverages, perfumery etc.

• As it is good source of citral, it has germicidal, medicinal and flavoring properties.

Climate:

• Cultivation of lemon grass shows best results in warm humid climatic conditions.

• It requires well distributed rainfall of 1800-3000 mm and full sunshine.

• Cultivation of lemon grass is also possible in those places where rainfall is less but there must be other proper methods of irrigation.

• High temperature and proper sunshine boost the development of oil in the plant.

Soil:

• Although lemongrass flourishes in a wide variety of soil ranging from rich loamy to poor laterite but sandy loam soil and red soils are comparatively more suitable to its cultivation.

• Preferred soil should have a good drainage capacity and should also be rich in organic matter.

• It would be better to avoid waterlogged soils as it affects their development.

Season:

• Generally, the preferred month of sowing is May-June.

• On the other hand, if the farmer is going to prefer a proper irrigation method then its cultivation is possible throughout the year except for the month of December and January.

Fertilizer and Manure:

• 10 t/ha of FYM should be applied and mixed well at the time of land preparation.

• The required ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium oxide is 150:60:60

• At the time of land preparation, a full dose of phosphorus and potassium oxide should be supplemented with the soil.

• It is recommended that nitrogen should be applied in six equal doses at two-monthly intervals.

• The farmer would be on the safer side if the soil gets analyzed first.

Variety:

Some of the popular varieties of lemongrass are mentioned below:

Seed rates:

2.5 kg per hectare is the seed rate of lemongrass.

Land preparation:

• Cultivation of lemongrass requires fertile and irrigated land. It requires repeated ploughing and harrowing.

• For the plantation of lemongrass, raised beds are required.

Plant spacing:

• Plant spacing for low fertile land: 60 cm × 45 cm.

• Plant spacing for high fertile land: 60 cm × 30 cm.

Irrigation:

• If a plantation is done on dry days then it requires immediate irrigation.

• To establish the crop we need to irrigate the field two times at the interval of 10 days.

• For the ideal herb production, the field requires one irrigation after each harvest and also requires recommended doses of fertilizer.

Harvesting:

• The first harvest can be done after 4 months of the plantation.

• A subsequent harvest can be carried out at the interval of 2 to 3 months.

• The crop should be harvested by cutting the grass 10 cm above the ground level.

• The harvesting can be done 3 times in the first year of crop and after that 5 times per year.

• Immature and over mature crop harvesting can cause low yield and poor quality of the oil.

Yield:

25-30 tonnes per hectare.