Lemon grass, Cymbopogan flexousus.

Description about Lemon grass,classification, cultivation practices, its benefits and uses.

1. Cymbopogon flexuosus LEMON GRASS

2. BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Cymbopogon Species: flexuous

3. INTRODUCTION ORIGIN : 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”

4. B ased on colour of stem : A) C . flexuosus var. flexuosus .   Stem and leaf sheath are reddish or purple.  Oil content : 0.3 to 0.5%. Citral : 80-86%  Oil has good solubility in alcohol and hence is superior in quality. It is recognized as true lemongrass and is commercially cultivated. B) C . flexuosus var. albescens “white grass   ” Stem and leaf sheath are white in color   Oil content : 0.4 to 0.7%. Citral : 55-70%  Oil has poor solubility in alcohol and hence is inferior in quality. It is normally seen wild.

5. . BOTANY : Tufted perennial C4 grasses with numerous stiff stems arising from a short, rhizomatous rootstock as with citrus flavor. It is a tall growing perenial plant reaching the height of 1.5 m. it has distinct dark green foliage and also produces seed. Citatus is bulous . ESSENTISL PART; stalk and leaves Oil extrated from steam distillation.

6. 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

7. SOIL TEMPERATURE RAINFALL Rich loams to poor laterite, best on sandy loam. High temperature and plenty of sunshine Warm humid; 1800 to 3000 mm; water logged condition should be avoided.

8. 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

9. PREPARATION OF ROOT SLIPS VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION : 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 Spacing 45 x 45 cm in plains or 60 x 45 cm in sloppy land with a requirement of slips 45,000- 50,000/ha.

10. PLANTING PLANTING TIME : May-June; For irrigated planting all round the year, except December-January PLANTING DEPTH : 5-8 cm, 2 slips/hole- transplanted. PLANTING METHOD : Ridges and furrow Plants get established well within 25-30 days after planting.

11. MANURES AND FERTILIZER APPLICATION FYM: 10 t/ha ; at the time of final land preparation. N, P205 & K 20-150: 60: 60 kg/ha/year . BASAL: Full dose of P and K SPLIT DOSES: N-six equal split doses at two monthly intervals.

12. IRRIGATION 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.

13. WEEDING AND INTERCULTURE 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.

14. MULCHING 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

15. PEST AND DISEASES

16. PEST AND DISEASES

17. HARVESTING 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 .

18. HARVESTING TIME : 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.

19. DISTILLATION 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.

20. There are  two types of distillation: Hydro-distillation : In this method, the herb is packed in a vessel and partly filled with water. The vessel is heated by direct fire without an external boiler. This country method of distillation is less efficient, but the unit is simple and cheaper . 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.

21. MEDICINAL USES 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-filarial Activity Fresh leaves control Setaria digitata .

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. CONGESTION COUGHING BLADDER DISORDER HEADACHE FEVER STOMACH ACHE DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS DIARHOEA GAS, BOWL SPASMS VOMITING FLU SYMPTOMS RELIEVES

25. OPPORTUNITIES Export Drug manifacturing companies Teaching profession Pharmacogonist Cosmetics Economic development

26. CONSTRAINTS Marketing difficulties Quality products Indiscriminate harvesting Planting material Organic production Government coordination

27. THANK YOU