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ABSTRACT

Geranium is the aromatic ornamental herb cultivated under diversified climatic condition. The scented geranium due to its rose like aroma is popularly used in various cosmetic and perfume industry. Beside it have medicinal property, which increases its importance leading to the wellness of the human being. The rhodinal extracted from the geranium is the major component of various fine perfume industry. The present study will discuss regarding the cultivation of geranium. The process of oil extraction and its use is also discussed here. Geranium cultivation can emerge out as a boon for the Indian farmers helping them to earn better market price.

Keywords: Geranium, Cultivation, Medicinal herb, aroma

 

Geranium is the herbaceous bushy perennial annual plant. It is aromatic and commercially grown for its essential oil. It is also grown as an ornamental plant. It is a highly adaptable, drought-tolerant herb, cultivated under diversified agro-climatic conditions in India. The botanical name of Geranium is Pelargona graveolens, belonging to the Geraniaceae family. The geranium genus has more than 420 species of flowering perennials, collectively named as cranesbills. The leaves and flowers of the plants are aromatic and have a strong rose-like odour that`s why the plants are also known as Poor man Rose or Rose geranium. Geranium is native of the Cape Province in South Africa. Geranium is commercially grown in different parts of the world.

Geranium oil contains Alpha pinene, beta pinene,  Alpha terpinene, myrcene, Alpha phellandrene, limonene, cis-ocimene, trans ocimene, p- cymene, terpinolene, cis- roseoxide, trans roseoxide, methone, trans - linalool, iso- menthone, caryophyllene, geranyl acetate, nerol, geranyl formate, geranyl butyrate and geraniol (Kumar, 2006). Pure geranium oil is almost a perfume itself and since it blends well with all other perfumes so it is used popularly in cosmetic and perfumery industries. The demand for the cosmetic products and essential oil is increasing day by day so it would be always profitable for the farmers to cultivate geranium. There is a huge gap between the demand and supply of the geranium. The demand of geranium is always more than the supply; hence to overcome it the cultivation of geranium can be profitable for the farmers.

 Health benefit and importance of geranium

Scented geranium is one of the important aromatic crops, yielding an essential oil which fetches high price for its very profound and strong rose-like odor. The chief constituent of the oil are geraniol and citronellal. Geranium oil forms the major floral component in fragrances, cosmetics and other items where fragrance is needed. It is widely used in isolation of rhodinal, which forms component of the fine fragrance industry. Along with scented products like cosmetics and perfumes the geranium oil has various medicinal properties due to which it is also used traditionally for the various health benefits. Through the various studies conducted in different parts of world, it had been found that the geranium oil has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties that help to treat skin disorders like excessive oil, eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. In aromatherapy, the geranium oil is known to reduce the feeling of stress, anxiety, sadness fatigue and tension, thereby helps to enhance general well-being and relaxation. It had also been found that geranium oil has antimicrobial, antifungal and antiviral properties due to which it is helpful in reducing the infections and diseases caused due to micro-organisms, fungus and virus and making skin healthy (Castelo et al., 2012).  Due to its antiseptic properties and beneficial influence on human wellbeing and psychological condition it is popularly used in various industries.  It had also been found that applying geranium oil enhances the blood circulation, pacify the symptoms of menstruation and menopause and reduces blood pressure as well as pain. Though Geranium oil has medicinal properties still it is not advised to swallow it, since it can be toxic and before using geranium for any medicinal purpose kindly takes advice of your doctor.

Soil and climate

The geranium can be grown in the wide range of climatic conditions. Temperate, subtropical and tropical climates are suitable for the cultivation of geranium. The temperature required for geranium ranges from 5 degree Celsius to 23 degree Celsius. The plant can grow well at an elevation ranging from 1000 to 2400 m with evenly distributed annual rainfall of 100 to 150 cm. It is important that the plantation should be done prior to the rainfall to avoid the decaying of the stems. Soil requirement the geranium seedlings requires raised bed with well-drained soil. Sandy soil having good percolation and even with less organic matter is good for its cultivation. The plant thrives well in calcium rich porus light soil with pH of 5.5 to 8.0.

Propagation and planting

In geranium vegetative propagation is followed since there is no seed setting. The cutting are first developed in raised bed in a nursery and then transplanted in the field. Fresh terminal cuttings, about 20 cm long, consisting of about 8 nodes, are taken from healthy and well-grown geranium plants. These are transferred to shade immediately and trimmed by removing all leaves except the first 3-4 leaves from the terminal end. A slant cut is made with a sharp knife just below the 6th or 7th node and the cuttings are dipped in 0.3% Dithane M-45 solution. The cuttings are planted with the help of a suitable dibbler at a spacing of about 5 cm. The beds are hand-watered immediately. Watering is carried out daily, twice during the first 3- 4 days and once in subsequent days. Geranium wilts under hot sun so it should be developed under proper shade (Shawl et al., 2006). Considering all these factors, November and December are the best suited months for raising geranium nursery. The cuttings will be ready for transplanting in about two months after planting.  The rooted cutting is properly dug out from the nursery without disturbance and damage to roots, which ensures high survival percentage in the field. Then dipped on 0.1% Bavistin solution and should be planted immediately in the field.

Land preparation

The land should be prepared by ploughing, disc, tilling it to the fine tilth. Then ridges and furrows should be laid down for planting the cuttings. The fertilizer should be applied a day prior to the plantation. Planting should be done on ridges so the excess water will drain off through the furrows and also it will help the plant to prevent from decaying due to excess moisture in rainy season.

Seed & planting

About 25,000 to 30,000 cuttings are required per hectare for the plantation of geranium. The cuttings can be planted at the spacing of 80 × 25 cm or 70 × 30 cm can be used. The latter spacing helps in rapid ground cover thus reducing weed growth. While planting the roadways should be left for the collection and carting of the harvested materials.

 Manures & fertilizers

Prior to transplanting, the recommended fertilizer dose is 150 kg N, 60 kg P and 60 kg K per hectare. Soil testing should be done prior to the sowing of cutting. Along with NPK 10 tons of FYM per hectare is advisable for the higher output. Foliar application of Nitrogen is found beneficial in increasing the herbage and oil yield. The application of micronutrients can also be helpful in improving herbage yield leading to higher output.

Water & weed management

Since the plant is herbaceous, it will survive well if irrigated once a day for first 3-4 days after transplanting. Then depending on the season the plants can be watered on alternate days or twice a week. Initially the growth of the crop is slow; therefore, it may require one weeding after about 45 days from planting and one hoeing after each harvest. Hoeing helps to put forth fresh shoots and helps the plant to be prepared for next harvesting stage in four months.

Diseases & pests

Geranium is susceptible to certain viral fungal and bacterial diseases. Various fungal diseases which infected the geranium are Armillaria root rot,  black  root rot, blackleg,  stem rot,  cottony stem  rot, damping-off , downy mildew, Fusarium cutting rot , Glomerella stem rot , leaf  spot, Phytophthora  root  rot, powdery mildew, Pythium root rot, Rhizoctonia root, crown  rot , rust and Verticillium wilt. Different kind of bacterial pathogens that attacked the geranium and causes different type bacterial diseases are bacterial blight, bacterial leaf spot.and Pseudomonas syringae, crown gall and southern wilt. Geranium may be infected by viral diseases such as leaf cupping & curling, mosaic, Cucumber mosaic virus, Tobacco mosaic virus, Impatiens necrotic spot virus, pelargonium flower break, pelargonium ring spot, pelargonium zonate spot and vein clearing.

Various nematodes which attack the geranium crops are foliar Nematode, Root knot nematodes and other nematodes. Other miscellaneous diseases and disorder which are caused due to  the adverse environmental conditions  are  edema (oedema)  due to moisture imbalance in plants when soil is warm and wet while the air is cool and wet and leaf bleaching (heat stress).

Integrated Disease and Pest Management

Throughout the life of the crop, diseased, wilting, or dead plants should be removed and destroyed, the soil.

Management of fungal and bacterial diseases

·   Practice good sanitation

·   Use well drained soil for plantation

·   Use disease free cutting while transplanting

·   Maintain good insect control, especially fungus, gnats and shore flies

·   Avoid overwatering

·   Fungicide metaraxyl, mefonoxam, fosetyal,eridiazole and etridiazole, thiophanate methyl.

·   Use of biocontrol agent Trichoderma harzianum T-22

·   For botrytis use of mancozeb, chlorothalonil, copper sulphate and pentahydrate can be effective.

·   For Alternaria use of Azoxystrobin, fludiononil, chlorothalonil, mancozeb, I Prodione can be useful.

·   For rust use of tridemefon, mancozeb, chlorothalonil, oxycarboxin, Azoxystrobin & Fenhexamid can be helpful.

·   For bacterial blight copper sulphate and pentahydrate can be useful.

 

Management of viral diseases

·   Use of disease free virus indexed cutting

·   Rogue and destroy symptomatic plants

·   Avoid unnecessary handling of plant material

·   Proper weed management

·   Attention to insect management, when necessary proper monitoring and management of thrip. 

 

Management of Pests

·   If the infestation of termite is above economic threshold level then flood irrigation at the time of planting can be effective as excess moisture helps to stops its attack. 

·   Gap filling in the field helps to compensate the plant population

·   Physically locating the termite and destroying their colony can also be helpful in the pest management.

·   Application of imidacloprid 70WS 0.1% or Chlopyriphos 20 EC 0.04% is found effective.

 

Harvesting

First harvesting of geranium can be started 4 months after transplanting, when the leaves starts turning light green and the leaves odor changes from lemon smell to that of rose. The harvesting of the leafy shoots should be done using sharp sickle to avoid damage to crop and the harvested produce should be taken for distillation as early as possible. In the year of plantation only one harvest can be done at about 7- 8 month depending on the growth of plants. Thereafter 3 to 4 harvest can be done from the same crop in a year. The terminal branches with 10-12 leaves are best suited for oil extraction whereas the woody parts have negligible oil. Harvesting can be done manually in early morning hour to avoid wilting of the harvested leaves. The crop is perennial but it is suitable to replant after every two years to avoid wilt disease. 

Yield

Geranium can be grown throughout India under the diversified climatic condition. The yield mainly depends on many factors like soil, weather, variety of plant and time of harvesting etc. The yield and quality of oil is enhanced if the crop is harvested at crop is harvested at appropriate maturity stage. The expected annual yield of fresh herbage per hectare from all three harvests may vary from 20 to 30 tonnes. The yield of oil is about 0.08% to 0.1 % depending on the distillation process. The oil yield may be about 20 to 25 kg per hectare (Kaul et al., 1997).

Distillation of oil

The extraction of essential oil from geranium is done through steam distillation. The distillation unit mainly consists of boiler, distillation still, condensers and receivers. Through the boiler the appropriate temperature is provided. The herbage is evenly packed inside the distillation still to extract oil (Singh et al., 1998). The condenser cools the hot vapors received from the distillation still. The condensate flows out of the condenser drops into the receiver. Then the oil being insoluble and lighter than water flows on the top in the receiver and the water gets drained out. Distillation is generally completed in 3 to 4 hours.

 Marketing

If the production of geranium is done under proper condition like proper planning, land selection, use of cost effective technologies, incentives to farmer, better distillation facilities and proper creation of market linkages, India can become the major producer of geranium oil. The marketing of geranium can be done in perfume and aromatic industries. The medicinal property of geranium increases its scope in the pharmaceutical industry. Also there is huge demand of geranium oil in aromatherapy. Indian farmers by cultivating geranium can earn huge profit by minimizing the demand and supply gap.

 Conclusion

Geranium is easily grown perennial, aromatic herb widely cultivated for its oil content. Geranium cultivation is extremely profitable in India to the farmers because of its demand for oil. Its cultivation is very easy can grow with the less availability of water. Geranium plant has huge medicinal value and its essential oil works as an anti-inflammatory and anti-septic agent. The production of Geranium has got boost under the Aroma mission. Cultivation on field and production of its oil is a low cost method, it gives avenue to the farmers to boost their economy.

 

References

Castelo, A.V.M., Menezzi, C.H.S.D., & Resck, I.S. (2012). Seasonal variation in the yield and the chemical composition of essential oils from two Brazilian native arbustive species. Journal of Applied Science, 12(8), 753-760.

Kaul, P. N., Bhaskarunl, R. R. R., Aran, K. B., Gopal, R. M., & Srinivas, I. R. (1997). Changes in Chemical Composition of Rose-Scented Geranium (Pelargonium sp.) Oil during Storage. Journal of Essential Oil Research, 9(1), 115-117, DOI: 10.1080/10412905.1997.9700729

Kumar, N. (2006). Introduction to spices, plantation crops, medicinal and aromatic plants. Oxford and IBH Publishing.

Shawl, A.S., Kumar, T., Chishti, N., & Shabir, S. (2006). Cultivation of Rose Scented Geranium (Pelargonium sp.) as a Cash Crop in Kashmir Valley. Asian Journal of Plant Sciences, 5(4), 673-675.

Singh, K., Rajeswara, R., Singh, C.P., Bhattacharya, A.K., Kaul, P.N. (1998). Potential of aromatic crops in the alleys of Eucalyptus citriodora Hook in semi-arid tropics of South India. Journal of Applied Research on Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, 20 (3), 749-752.

 

 

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