MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC CROPS (2+1)

Cultivation

Soil

Light, well-aerated, dry and calcareous soils with enough nutrients are best suited for lavender cultivation. Poor carbonate and sandy soils are also suitable, but water-logged soils are unsuitable. The crop is reported to give high herb- and oil-yields in neutral and alkaline soils (pH 7.0 to 8.4).

Climate
Lavender is a temperate, photophilous plant. It does well only in those areas which have cold winters and cool summers. Due to its very deep root-system, lavender grows very well on sloping lands, thereby checking soil erosion to a great extent. It is resistant to drought and frost. Lavender can be grown successfully on arable lands at very high altitudes.

Propagation
Lavender may reproduce itself in two ways: by seeds and vegetatively. Seed reproduction is cheap and quick. However, due to cross-pollination, a great variety of generation forms are observed, which complicates lavender cultivation and harvesting at the most suitable time.

Nursery raising
i) Seed propagation
The seeds are sown in nursery-beds in autumn (November-December). For 1 sq m area, 0.2-2.5 g seeds are required. The seed-sowing depth is 1-2 cm. The seeds germinate in spring (April) at 14-15⁰C. The seedlings should be pruned periodically to avoid follicle formation and to achieve regular growth of the young plants.
ii) Vegetative propagation
Vegetatively, lavender is propagated by cuttings. These are obtained from the annual and biennial branches of the mother plantation during October-November in the plains and in February-March on the hills. The cuttings should by 8-10 cm long with intact vegetative tops. The cuttings are treated with 500 ppm IBA to obtain 95% rooting. Beds are made and covered by a 5cm thick layer of organic manure and sand (1:1), topped by 3-4 cm of clean river sand. The cuttings are struck at 5 x 5 cm or 4 x 5 cm from each other, and in depth: 2/3 of the length of the cutting. The soil around the cuttings should be pressed down and immediately watered. A glass of polythene cover should be used over the beds, as well as mats in places that have severe winters.

Transplanting
The seedlings or rooted cuttings or slips or suckers are planted at a distance of 1.20-1.40 m between the rows and 3.5-4 cm within the row. About 20,000 plants/ha give the highest yields.
Application of fertilizers
Generally, a basal does of 20 kg N, 40 kg P2O5 and 40 kg K2O is applied before planting. While 80 kg of N/ha is applied in four split doses during each year. The CIMAP centre at Srinagar has obtained the highest spike-yield (100 kg/ha) by 150 kg N/ha in limed plots.

Irrigation
During the dry periods, the crop must be irrigated frequently to obtain a good spike-yield.

Interculture
During the first two years of planting, 2-3 cultivations along the rows and 5-6 cultivations between the rows to a depth of 8-10 cm are required. This keeps the soil loose and free of weeds and helps in the proper development of the plants. Regular weeding and hoeing are also done to keep the field free from weeds.

Lavender plantations which are over three years should be machine hoed, 3-4 times between the rows. One digging is done before the blossoming in the spring.

Training and pruning
No training is required and the plants are allowed to grow until harvest.