MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC CROPS (2+1)

Flowering, Harvesting, yield and Distillation of flowers

Flowering
In northern India, the main season of flowering is 30-40 days during March-April. It reaches a peak in the middle of March and then starts declining. However, sporadic flowering does occur during September and October. Though the flowering stars in the second year after planting, it is always economical to harvest flowers from third year onwards. The flowers of the early crop are heavier than those received late in the season.

Harvesting and yield
The flowers are harvested by hand in the early mornings, preferably before sunrise, when they start opening. The collected flowers should be distilled immediately as they lose their whole aroma within 25 hours of their opening.

Distillation of flowers
A distillation apparatus made of stainless steel is the best for the production of quality rose oil. A weighed amount of fresh flowers along with six times its weight of cold water is fed into the churning tank, using a mechanical stirrer, till uniform slurry of rose flowers is formed. This slurry is distilled for about four hours for the recovery of first rose water. The rose water is then prepared in the cohabitation tower for the recovery of water and oil through a packed column. The second rose water is also distilled in the same process. In subtropical climates, an oil content ranging from 0.02 to 0.03 % on fresh-weight basis of flowers is obtained. The yield of flowers and oil is also more in temperate climates than in subtropical climates.
The average yield of fresh flowers in moderately fertile soil under the temperate climate of Kashmir is 4.0-5.0 t/ha, which corresponds to 1.31-1.6 kg/ha/annum of oil. Whereas, in the subtropics, the flower-yield reaches to about 1.2-2.0 t which corresponds to 0.3-0.4 kg/ha/annum of oil.