Mint yield per acre | Mint farming profit per acre

Mint is a herb and perennial plant. Perennial plants are such plants that live more than 2 years. It falls in the category of aromatic plants; aromatic plants contain aromatic properties that are appreciated by the perfume industry hence, they have great demand worldwide. 

Mint is found in various varieties and most of them grow best in wet environments and soils that contain moisture properties. It usually grow 10–120 cm (4–48 inches) tall and this crop can spread over a wide area. Scientific name of mint is mentha and it is well known as pudina in India. Mint enhances the beauty of Indian cuisine and is specially used in making chutneys.

Mint cultivation in India

Mint farming is majorly practiced in various states such as Barabanki, Lucknow, Punjab (Ludhiana, Jalandhar) and Northwest India.

Local name for mint in India 

• Pudina Patta - Hindi.
• Puthina -  Tamil.
• Pudhinaa - Tamil.
• Pudyanu - Kashmiri.
• Putiyina - Malayalam.
• Pudhinaa - Malayalam.
• Fudino - Gujarati.
• Phodina - Gujarati.
• Hara Pudina - Punjabi. 
• Pudina - Marthi. 
• Pudina - Kannada. 
• Pudina - Telugu. 

Types

• Japanese mint or menthol mint 
• Peppermint
• Spearmint 
• Bergamot

Japanese mint is widely grown in India and apart from India it is grown in the world including Thailand, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Angola and Japan. 

Hybrid varieties of Japanese mint

• MAS-1. 
• Shivalik.
• EC - 41911.
• Gomti.
• Himalaya.
• Kosi.
• Kushal. 
• Saksham.
• Hybrid - 77.

For garden lovers a special medicinal garden kit is given below try it once to overcome all the garden problems. 

How to start mint farming

To start mint farming you need to practice the basic steps that are given below in detail. You must have information about climate, temperature, land preparation, water requirement, irrigation, harvesting, storage, proper knowledge about mentha oil storage containers or drums all these info are given below.

Climate required 

Good thing about Japanese mint is it can be cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, however normal mint has limited criteria and is not cultivated in tropical regions. It needs 4-6 hours of proper sunlight per day which helps to thrive the higher yield. Good sunlight is required during harvesting the plant it can result in better mint yield. 

Water requirements

Rainfall between 100 cm to 110 cm is good for this aromatic plant's cultivation.

Irrigation method

Pudina is the crop that likes to grow near the water and appreciate a good amount of moisture content. Immediately providing water to your suckers after planting is a necessary step and needs to be done without wasting any time otherwise you may lose some of them. 

Irrigation classification

1. Summers - 10 to 12 irrigation is required in 10 to 12 days of interval.  
2. Rainy season - No irrigation required in fact be prepared for water congestion.
3. Winter season - 5-6 irrigation required. 

Drip irrigation is the most successful method of irrigation in any farming. In drip irrigation each drop is utilized and every plant gets equal amounts of water. Hence, it is recommended to install drip irrigation to save the water and it will also reduce the irrigation burden from your shoulders although one time good investment (Rs 50k-70k) for drip irrigation is good.

Soil requirements

Mint or pudina can be cultivated in various types of soil; sandy and loamy soil are the most preferable soil for growing mint in pots or in farms. It can also be grown in black and red soils but please avoid clay soil. 

Best soil pH 

Soil with a pH range of 6.5 to 8.0 is the best soil for mint farming. This herb likes fertile soil to thrive best.

Land preparation 

Couple of ploughing and cross harrowing is necessary to bring the bottom soil upwards. Weed removal is done along with cleaning the land, throw tiny stones out of the farm. Add farmyard manure 50 to 60 cartloads per hectare. Hoeing needs to be done in regular intervals of 15 days and during the hoeing process weed removing can be done easily.  

Propagation

Mint is being propagated by vegetative methods through stolon's and runners.

Vegetative propagation in mint done by sucker. Sucker is an underground stem developing from the base of a perpendicular shoot or crown. 

Pick 10 to 14 cm long suckers for the sowing process. 450 to 500 kg suckers are required in one hectare land and 150 to 200 kg suckers can be planted in one acre land. Spacing of 40 cm is good enough for planting them in rows. 

Planting season

From January to 15 February is the most suitable time in plain areas.

March to April are the ideal time for planting mentha in hill regions. 

Spacing between plants

• Plant to plant distance - 20 cm.
• Row to row distance - 60 cm.

How many suckers required in one acre 

50 kg suckers are enough in one acre.

How deep suckers need to plant

Suckers are 10-15 cm tall they need to insert 5 cm inside the land this is done according to the row to row and plant to plant distance. 

Mint farming best management practices

Weed control is one of the basic and crucial tasks in mint farming. Therefore the hoeing process needs to be practiced on a regular basis specially from 1st to 3rd month of the planting. Apart from removing weed from your hands you should use some cheap equipment to remove weed. This will increase your weed removal speed as well as put little burden to your pocket. 

Mulching is one of the most popular techniques to control the weeding problem during any cultivation. If you are going for organic farming then I recommend you start your organic weedicide making process before 35 days of planting pudina because to prepare a good organic weedicide or pesticide 40 to 45 days are required. If you are growing mint commercially or on a large scale then you might need some chemicals to reduce the growth of weed. Moreover, controlling monocot weed is another tough task in mint farming therefore you need a mix of chemical, mechanical, manual and organic methods. Herbicide for weed control in mint is required to reduce the growth of unnecessary weeds. Some of the herbicides for weed control in mint farming are given below 

• Atrazine and Simazine 1 kg a.i. Per hectare. 
• Pendimethalin 0.75 a.i. Per hectare. 
• Oxyfluorfen 0.5 kg  a.i. Per hectare.  

Manures and fertilizers

Rotten FYM needs to apply into the farm during planting time. 

During the land preparation once you have made rows at that time you need to add fertilizers and manure.

Classification of FYM per acre is given below:

• 50 kg Nitrogen.
• 75 kg Phosphate.
• 37 kg Potash.

Now these need to be divided into 3 steps:  

• 25 kg – after planting.
• 25 kg – after 40 days.
• 25 kg – after 1st harvesting.

Harvesting

When peppermint is planted 

1st harvesting - Harvesting needs to be performed in May-June. Leaves of mentha will start turning yellow, which means they are ready to harvest. When leaves turn yellow the weight decreases and moisture level also decreases so it is necessary to dry them out and put the mentha in the distillation process to extract oil. 

2nd harvesting - After rainy season i.e Sep - october. 

3rd harvesting - November - December. 

Crop rotation

Crop rotation is one of the effective ways to reduce weeds. Some of the options for crop rotation in mint farming are given below.

Crop rotation mint

• Mint : Rice.
• Mint : Vegetables. 
• Mint : Potatoes.

Mint oil container guidelines 

• 150 kg per hectare mentha oil can be produced.
• 200-250 kg per hectare mentha oil can be produced if everything is done extremely well. 
• Mentha or mint oil need to be put in Glass, Zinc, Aluminum drums.
• Air tight containers are required.
• Place these drums or containers in a cold and dark place.   
• Place mint oil drums away from sunlight. 
• If sunlight falls on mint oil, yellow colour changes to green, which reduces its quality and gives less value.

Health benefits

Some of the health benefits of pudina are given below:

• Rich in nutrients.
• Mint is good for the stomach and improves the digestion system.
• Good for treating respiratory disorders.
• Helpful in headaches
• Helpful for asthma patients. 
• Mentha is helpful in weight loss. 
• It helps in controlling nausea.
• It could improve brain function.
• It may decrease pain during breastfeeding.
• Improves irritable ball syndrome.

FAQ

Where pudina grown in India?

Pudina is basically grown in the lowlands (tarai) such as Nainital, badaun Bilaspur, Rampur, Moradabad, Bareilly. Pudina is widely cultivated in Barabanki, Lucknow, Punjab (Ludhiana, Jalandhar) and Northwest India.

Where does mint grow naturally? 

It is believed that mentha first originated in the Mediterranean sea basin and then it was spread all over the world in natural and other ways. Mint naturally grows near water regions. 

Where is mint used?

Pudina is well known to work as a flavoring agent. Mentha oil is used for making mouth freshener, tooth paste, aromatic products etc. Mint is used for fragrance in coffee, beverages, ice-creams, medicines, cosmetics, cigarettes, pan masala etc.

Where does mint grow in the world?

Mint is found all over the world and it is cultivated widely throughout the world.  There are various varieties of mint and Japani mint is found in these countries that are given below.

• Thailand 
• Angola 
• Japan 
• Brazil  
• Argentina 
• Paraguay
• India

How long does mint take to germinate?

Mint takes 8 to 15 days to germinate. 

How long it take to reach first harvesting?

After 40 days mint gets ready for harvesting. 

Where to sell Mentha?

Big companies like Patanjali, Dabur, Vaidyanath, cosmetic industry, pharma industry etc are big buyers of mentha or mint. Contact the farmers who have distilled oil plants at their farm. They will buy your mentha from your farm. sambhal, barabanki, rampur, chandausi, badau, bareli are those places where big mentha businessmen lives and they usually purchase mentha. 

What is the mint yield per acre?

Farmers are earning Rs 77,000 per acre.

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