lavender farming profit per acre | lavender cultivation in India

In this post we will be highlighting lavender farming profit per acre in India, best practices and project report.

Lavender plant introduction  

• Scientific / botanical name of lavender is Lavandula spica.
• Lavender belongs to lamiaceae family.
• Lavandula is commonly known as lavender.
• Height of the plant is between 40 cm to 80 cm.
• It is a perennial flowering shrub.
• Leaf shape is diverse across the genus.
• In most species the leaves of the plant are covered by thin hairs.
• In these plants indumentum contains the essential oil.
• Flowers contain various colours like blue, violet, lilac, blackish, purple or yellowish.
• To grow this plant you must have a right climate similar to North East Africa, cape Verde and Mediterranean.
• Lavandula angustifolia is the most widely cultivated species and well known as lavender.
• Calyx and corolla are tubular lavender plants usually, with five lobes.
• It is a perennial plant and can survive up to 15 years.

Lavender farming in India

• In India lavender is cultivated in low rainfall regions and high altitude area like Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand it It is also successfully cultivated in some region of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.

Facts

• Lavender is the common name of Lavandula.
• The plant belongs to the lamiaceae family.
• It is found in Cape Verde, Canary Islands, from Europe to North Eastern Africa, Mediterranean, Southeast Asia to India.
• It is an aromatic plant that falls in the herb category.
• Herbs and aromatic plants are being used for ayurvedic medicines; they are also considered for personal care products.
• Lavender farming business is huge and sold by some big companies like Dabur, Himalayan, Patanjali, Natural Remedies etc.
• This flower is very popular among gardeners.
• Big companies are doing lavender farming due to medicinal properties.
• Lavender crop is also used in decorating cakes and making ice creams.
• Its oil has good global demand due to lots of medicinal properties.
• According to the US food and drug administration, lavender stands in GRAS category. GRAS full form is generally recognized as safe for human consumption.
• Price of lavender oil per kg is around Rs 10,000.

How to start lavender farm

lavender varieties

There are 4 types of lavender varieties which are mentioned below:

True lavender varieties

• This variety is native to Mediterranean and it is the longest-grown lavender species.
• This variety can be grown 1600 to 1700 meters above sea level.
• The plant has greyish green leaves about 30 mm to 50 mm long.
• True lavender plant contains 0.5 to 0.1 percent essential oil content

Lavandin varieties

• Lavandin varieties are the hybrid variety of true lavender and spike lavender varieties.
• This variety is grown at the height of 800 meter to 1000 meters above sea level.
• Lavandin varieties contains the essential oil content about 0.9 % to 3 %
• This variety has green thin leaves and the plant has a hemispherical shape.
• The height of lavandin shrub is between 0.8 m to 1 meter.

Sher E Kashmir variety

Sher E Kashmir variety is actually a superior clone with 100% essential oil yield. The credit of this variety goes to CIMAP Lucknow, UP.

Spike lavender variety

This variety can be grown 250 meters to 700 meters above sea level. This party bijali belongs to Mediterranean region.

Climate required

Cool winters and cool summers are ideal climate for growing lavender crop.

It produces best yield when cultivated at higher altitude regions, it can tolerate drought and frost conditions as well. Good sunlight is required for this flower crop cultivation.

Soil requirements

It can be cultivated in any soil, it can be grown in barren land as well but don’t allow standing water at your farm. It is advised to perform soil testing before starting commercial lavender farming.

Soil pH range should be between 7.03 to 8.3 for better results it is also helpful in higher essential oil yield. You should choose calcareous soil with slopes rich in organic matter for better results.

Propagation methods

Seed, tissue culture method, layering and vegetative method (rooted cuttings)

Seed propagation - Generally, seeds germinate in springs at 14 to 15 degree Celsius. The sowing depth of seeds should be about 1 cm to 2 cm. Cover the seeds with farmyard manure and leave in this stage during winters. You, can use broadcasting method for row method for sowing seeds

Cuttings - One need to take cuttings from a healthy mother plant, rooting hormones can be used for rooting growth. 10 cm to 15 cm cutting is recommended for propagating lavender. ½ to 2/3rd need to be inserted properly in seed beds. Seed beds are protected by by black polythene covers during cold weather in the Kashmir region

Layering method - For this process first select the healthy stem of a tree then remove foliage around 15 cm. Now, cover 9 bare sections with soil and the branch will root at the soil level. After rooting, cut the new plant from the mother plant. The plant needs to be replanted in the prepared field after the onset of fruits from 6 to 10 weeks. Provide organic feed on a weekly basis. Planting after the frost is good for the plant.

Tissue culture - This is the most expensive propagation method of plants. The advantage of tissue culture is to produce quick and disease free plants.

Land preparation

Bring the soil to the fine tilth stage by applying a ploughing process for at least two to three times. Unnecessary weed removal is important before any crop plantation. You should add (FYM) farmyard manure for rich land preparation. You can use decomposed cow dung as FYM it is counted as organic farming skill.

Irrigation system

Drip irrigation is suggested it also helps to save water. You should avoid sprinkler irrigation systems while lavender irrigation due to disease problems. While performing commercial cultivation irrigation should be done for at least the first two years so that lavender can be established properly.

Fertilizer requirements

• NPK - 100 kg, 40 kg (per hectare).
• 20 kg N full dose P205 and k2O.
• Divide remaining 80 kg N in 4 splits 2 doses during each year.

Harvesting lavender commercially

While harvesting, flowers should be cut from the stem with 10 cm length. Lavender crop usually gets ready for harvesting during August to September months in the Kashmir region. Lavender flowers are known for early flowering in low regions and late flowering in high slopes.

What is cimap abbreviation 

CSIR-CIMAP is an Government organization that is helping farmers to start aromatic plant cultivation. 

• This organization is working under Aroma mission. 
• The motive of Aroma mission is to promote the cultivation of aromatic plants and lavender is an aromatic plant.
• CIMAP is also promoting geranium plant farming. 
• CIMAP is providing free plants in lavender and geranium plant cultivation. 
• To get free plants from government India you should approach CIMAP or visit their website by clicking this link CSIR-CIMAP free plants.

CSIR-IIIM

Under Aroma mission IIIM is providing free hybrid plants of lavender to farmers. This organization is also providing lavender training to farmers. Dr. Ram Vishwakarma director, CSIR-IIIM, Jammu said around 115 acre plantation is already done 2 years ago in few regions of Jammu including doda, bhaderwah, kishtwar. 

Lavender farming facts

• Lavender crop can be used as inter crop in apple farming.
• Animals like monkey, goat etc does not harm this crop. 
• Flowering occurs during the month of June and July for 30-40 days.
• Its flowers are used for making lavender water, oil, dry flower and more valuable products.
• Lavender farming profit per acre per year is around Rs 2,50,000 to Rs3,50,000.
• CIMAP-CSIR is providing high quality free plants to farmers. 
• It is an aromatic plant hence falls under Aroma mission.
• CIMAP is working under Aroma mission run by the Central Government.
• 1 hectare produces 40 to 50 kg lavender oil.

Lavender health benefits and uses

1. Lavender oil helps in detoxifying the skin.
2. Its oil is majorly used body massage therapy.
3. Good for health of skin.
4. Helps in preventing infection.
5. It helps in nausea treatment.
6. Used to make high quality perfumes.
7. It is used for body relaxation hence used in most massage therapy parlous.
8. Its oil is good for digestion system.
9. The lavender flowers are used in home decoration.
10. It is used as an air freshener.
11. Lavender plants are often used in office decoration.

Read More 

• Geranium farming profit per acre 

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