Cymbopogon martinii facts for kids

Cymbopogon martinii Image

Cymbopogon martinii is a species of grass in the genus Cymbopogon (lemongrasses) native to India and Indochina, but widely cultivated in many places for its aromatic oil. It is best known by the common name palmarosa (palm rose) as it smells sweet and rose-like. Other common names include Indian geranium, gingergrass, rosha, and rosha grass.

Palmarosa oil

The essential oil of this plant, which contains the chemical compound geraniol, is valued for its scent and for a number of traditional medicinal and household uses. Palmarosa oil has been shown to be an effective insect repellent when applied to stored grain and beans, an antihelmintic against nematodes, and an antifungal and mosquito repellent.

Palmarosa oil, which has a scent similar to roses, is added to soaps and cosmetics.

Cultivation

This grass grows fairly tall, ranging from 1.3 to 3 m (4 ft 3 in to 9 ft 10 in) in height with a pale green color and a strong thin stem. This crop grows slowly, taking three months to flower; once it has flowered, it can be harvested. It received the name palmarosa from the sweet-smelling floral rose aroma it gives off. It is widely used for rose-smelling perfumes and cosmetics around the world. It is also known to help repel mosquitoes and flavor tobacco products. It has been used in medicinal solutions and for aromatherapy.

Where/how the product is grown, raised, processed

Palmarosa is wildly grown in wetlands in provinces of India and Nepal. The Palmarosa oil is extracted from the stem of the grass by distillation of dried leaves. Once the stems and leaves have been distilled for two to three hours, to separate the oil from the palmarose, then the leftover distilled grass is turned into organic matter and becomes manure or is composted.

Growing conditions

The most efficient way to grow palmarosa is in a nursery with much irrigation and soil pH of 7-8. Two or three days before planting, it is best to overwhelm the soil with water to increase soil moisture above 60% when planting the seeds. This moisture increases the germination of the seed and increases weed control in the nursery beds as well. It is also recommended to flood the soil once a month to maintain a high moisture level in the soil. Irrigation in a nursery is most important for the first 40 days. Palmarosa grass grows well in sandy texture soil with low nitrogen, sufficient phosphorus and potassium. Weeds are a problem and keeping them out of the nursery beds will increase the yield. Manual weeding must be done often and involves a well-trained eye to uncover the weeds. Also, palmarosa is often intercropped to help suppress the weeds, thus increasing yields and the land efficiency. Mostly farmers intercrop with pigeon pea, also millet and sorghum work well with row or strip intercropping because palmarosa can be harvested three to four times a year.

Inputs required

A nursery is needed or there will be poor growth yields, that may not bring any profit to the farmer and potentially the farmer could have an economical loss. This requirement increases the startup cost for farmers which some farmers are unable to pay. If not grown in a nursery this will increase the weeding labour inputs by over 70% and decrease the yield. Farmers will be spending more time weeding the plots and will receive a smaller return than if they had a nursery.

Antifungal activity

Palmarosa oil is an antifungal that fights against Aspergillus niger (commonly known as black mold), Chaetomium globosum (also known as moldy soil), and Penicillium funiculosum, which is a plant pathogen.

insect repellent

Palmarosa is used in a repellent manner.

See also

In Spanish: Palmarosa para niños