MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC CROPS (2+1)

Harvesting and yield

The crop starts flowering after 110 – 115 days of sowing, which will be around the 2nd or 3rd week of February. In order to obtain the maximum essential oil yield, the plants should be harvested when about 50% of them have come to the flowering stage. This is usually at the end of February or in the 1st week of March, about 120-125 days after sowing. Harvesting is done by cutting the plants from base. Although there are reports about the possibility of obtaining a ratoon crop in davana, it is not practical as the main crop is harvested only during the month of March and the ratoon starts sprouting by the end of March or the beginning of April which, due to the high temperatures prevailing during this period, results in poor growth of the plants and mutilated flower buds which may even fail to open. The crop, thus obtained, becomes uneconomical as the flower heads are the major contributors of oil.