Presentation on Cultivation of Lemon Grass

Submitted To :
Dr. Yachna
Assistant professor
MMU, Sadopur
 Kingdom: Plantae

 Division: Magnoliophyta

 Class: Liliopsida

 Order: Poales

o Family: Poaceae

Cymbopogon
flexuosus
 :Asia, South and Central America,
Africa and other tropical countries.
Two species of it are popular, citratus and
flexoxus.

Cymbopogon is derived from the Greek words

“kymbe” (boat) and “pogon” (beard), referring to
the flower spike arrangement; Commonly known as
“East Indian Lemongrass”
It is a tall growing perenial plant reaching the
height of 1.5 m. it has distinct dark green foliage and
also produces seed.

ESSENTISL PART; stalk and leaves

Oil extrated from steam distillation.

.
It possesses various pharmacological
Characteristics such as :
a. Anti-bacterial
b. Anti-diarrheal
c. Anti-filarial
d. antifungal
e. anti-inflammatory properties and
f. anti-amoebic
 SOIL Rich loams to poor laterite,
best on sandy loam.

TEMPERATU Warm humid ,High

R E temperature and
plenty of sunshine

100 to 300 cm; water

RAINFAL
L logged condition
should be avoided.
 VARIETIES
(i)For irrigated condition C.K.P-25 released by
RRL, Jammu
(ii)Krishna developed by CIMAP both for irrigated
and rain fed and also hill slopes.

(iii)Nima a dwarf variety developed by CIMAP

found promising. The citral content of Nima is
much higher than Krishna. Oil recovery is in
between 0.8-1.0 %.

(iv)Another suitable variety for NE region is

Jor Lab L-2 developed by RRL, Jorhat
 Culms

Tops of culms are cut off within 20-25 cm above

ground. The Culm (root portion) is divided into
slips containing 2-3 tillers. The lower sheath is
removed to expose young roots and the old
roots are clipped off keeping the slip 25-30 cm
long

45 x 45 cm in plains or 60 x 45 cm in sloppy
land with a requirement of slips 45,000-
50,000/ha.
PLANTING TIME : May-june; Sept-Oct

PLANTING DEPTH: 5-8 cm, 3-4

slips/spot - transplanted.

PLANTING METHOD: Ridges and furrow

Plants get established well within 25-30 days after

planting.
 Manures & Fertilizers

 FYM: 10 tonnes/ha ; at the time of

final land preparation.
 180Kg N, 80 Kg P, 120 Kg K/ha/ in
first year .
 BASAL: Full dose of P and K;20-
25Kg Zinc sulphate
 SPLIT DOSES: N-six equal split doses at two
monthly intervals or 20 days after each
harvest.
 N dose is increased upto 340Kg/ha from
 IRRIGA
TION
 Irrigation is given immediately after
planting when planting is done in
dry days.
 2 irrigations @ 10 days interval.
 Dry season : One irrigation after each
harvest.
 For undulating areas sprinkler
irrigation is advisable.
 Interculture operations

It has weed suppression

capacity.
One hand weeding at 25-30 days
followed by one hoeing at 40-60
days after planting ,
After each harvest a nominal
weeding and earthing up is
beneficial for the next flush.
Distillation waste (spent grass) applied as organic
mulch @ 3 tons/ha in between the rows has been
found very effective in controlling weeds and
maintaining soil moisture as well
 Grass is harvested when individual tiller has 4-5
fully opened leaves.
METHOD: The plants are cut about 10-20 cm
above the ground level with sickles. First harvest
is obtained after 4-5 months of
transplanting. Crop should not be allowed to
produce inflorescence as it adversely affects
growth and development of plants on subsequent
harvests.
Grass harvested at an interval of 60-90 days. If
harvesting interval is below 60 days, oil quality
will be poor.
 : begins in May ;continues till the end of
January. Sunny days are preferable, since
cloudy and misty conditions tend to depress
leaf oil content.
 Herbage yield : 3-4 tonnes/acre per harvest.
 In general, the recovery of oil is lower in rainy
seasons (June - August) than in summer.
The oil extracted from the wilted herb by steam
distillation in stainless steel unit.

The factors influencing the oil production during

distillation are:
(i)Storage of the plant material,
(ii)Treatment (wilting and cutting into pieces) of
the material and
(iii) The method of distillation.
 Steam distillation: In this method, steam
generated in an external boiler is introduced into the
chamber. This method, though involves higher initial
cost, is more efficient and the quality of oil obtained
is superior.

 For effective running of 500 l capacity stem distillation

unit, herbage from 20 acre area is required.
 Anti-amoebic Effect
The essential oil in broth culture was active on
Entamoeba histolytica.

 Anti-bacterial Activity
Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Staphylococus
can be controlled by the help of lemon grass
extract.

 Anti-diarrheal Activity
Cymbopogon citratus stalk decoction reduced
the
fecal output in a dose-dependent manner.
 Anti-fungal Activity
Its oil is active against keratinophilic fungi,
ringworm fungi and food storage fungi.

 Anti-inflammatory Activity
The hot water extract of the dried leaves
administered intragastrically to rats was found to
be effective.

 Anti-malarial Activity
The essential oils of Cymbopogon citratus were
found to produce 86.6% suppression in the growth
of Plasmodium.
  Its oil is effective in cases of athlete's foot,
cuts, scrapes, lower back pain, sciatica,
sprains, tendonitis, neuralgia, circulatory
problems, and rheumatism.
 It can also be tried on the face to help clear
up acne and clean skin pores.
 It has insect repellent properties.

 RISKS : should be avoided by young children,

pregnant women, and people with kidney
or liver disease.
Export
Drug manifacturing
companies
Teaching
profession
Pharmacogonist
Cosmetics
Economic
 S
Marketing difficulties
Quality products
Indiscriminate
harvesting
Planting material
Organic production
Government coordination