Lavender farming With All Important Details

Hello, welcome to the new blog of the website rabi crops, in this blog we are going to share our experience of Lavender farming. Whenever we hear about the word Lavender, we always remember the beautiful aroma and the eyes filled with beautiful lavender colour. Bees, butterflies and other beneficial insects all love lavender when it’s in bloom.

Imagine one day we are walking on our beautiful fragrance filled lavender farm. It is very easy to grow lavender in our home but we should know some climatic conditions.

Today we will discuss the climatic requirements, soil preparation, cultivation techniques of lavender, its varieties, benefits and its byproducts.

Lavender Farming In Short

Botanical Name Of Lavender:-	Lavandula
Lavender Family:-	Lamiaceae
Origin Place Of Lavender:-	Mediterranean, Middle East and India
Varieties:-	English lavender, Spike lavender, French lavender, Spanish lavender, True lavender, Lavandin.
Soil Requirement Of Lavender:-	PH 7.2- 8.3 well-drained sandy or sandy loamy soil with slope.
Temperature Requirement:-	Cool winters and cool summers
Rainfall Required:-	low rainfall regions
Seed requirement:-	20 kg per hectare
Fertilizer Requirements:-	Nitrogen: 80-100 kg/ha
Propagation:-	Seed, cuttings, layering, Tissue culture
Harvesting:-	August to September
By-products and Applications:-	Essential oils, Perfumes, Candles, Soaps, Bath salts, Medicines,

 

Lavender Farming With All Details:-

As we know, the beauty spot of the medicinal and herbaceous flora grown all over the world in humid climates, in cold places also Lavender grows very well.

Lavender is a beautiful purple-flowered bush plant that can reach up to the height of 1 to 3 feet (45 to 85 cm) Just because this small size makes this plant very adorable to grow in the pot, in our backyard or on the terrace wherever you want to grow lavender you can grow.

lavender is famous for its aromatic natural fragrance, and it also contains medicinal properties that are beneficial for human health just because of this medicinal property and fragrance lavender is used in cooking.

Lavender is an annual or short-lived herbaceous perennial plant with small shrubs, that loves to grow in cold climatic environmental conditions.

Let’s see some scientific details of the lavender, the botanical name of Lavender is Lavandula. And we all know that it belongs to the mint family, Lamiaceae. We can grow lavender around the Mediterranean Region, most of the parts in the Middle East countries have a favourable temperature for growing lavender and grown in different parts of Asia.

In, Asian countries and European countries farmers are growing Lavender at the commercial level because the environmental condition is very favourable for the growing lavender.

Important Points To Know About Lavender Growing?

We should know Lavender is a slow grower plant, but it is also important to know that lavender requires very low-maintenance and minimal water. When we grow lavender, from the original level, it takes around one to three months to reach transplanting size.

At the regular time interval, we need to do pruning when the stems become woody as the plant matures, we can prune it back by about half its height in the spring to promote fresh new growth and robust flowering.

We can grow lavenders in our homes, it is a home-friendly plant because of its size and slow growth ability we can grow in backyards, also in medium size pots or growers can also grow in hanging baskets depending on their choice.

Every lavender grower should know the commercial use of lavender oil:-

• The flavour of lavender is used to make different Flavoured beverages.
• Because of the mediational properties they use it in many Herbal medicines.
• The essential oil of lavender is in demand all over the world.
• They make different Perfumes from lavender oil because of their natural fragrance.
• They used lavender in different Hydrosols.
• We used flowers lavender for the Decoration purpose as well.
• Many Cosmetic companies use lavender in their beauty product.

Growers Should Know About the Health Benefits Of Lavender, It Is also Important to know:- 

• Lavender is used to treating skin related problems
• It is also helpful in controlling blood pressure and heart rate
• Lavender oil has anti-fungal properties.
• Oil of lavender is also good for hairs used commonly to control the hail fall.
• Very helpful in controlling the headache-related problems, also used to control migraine-related problems.

Different Varieties of lavender:

We all know lavender is a perennial plant that can survive for 15 years. There are different varieties of lavender plants with different colours like Lavender deep, blue, purple, light pink, and white based on their type environmental condition and location where we are growing lavender.

Hare we are going to enlist all different varieties of lavender 

• (i) English lavender.
• (ii) Spike lavender.
• (iii) French lavender.
• (iv) Spanish lavender.
• (v) Lavandin.

Basic Information about this English lavender Variety:

• The Origin place of English Lavender is the Mediterranean region.
• True lavender or garden lavender, common lavender, and narrow-leaved lavender are the common names of English lavender.
• The botanical name of English Lavender is Lavandula Angustifolia.
• The flowers are quite large and coloured in deep violet-blue which makes them very attractive.
• This variety mainly grows in the northern regions and loves to grow in the cold atmospheres.
• Growers mainly do English lavender farming in mild summers and winters.
• The English lavender grower should keep in mind that it has a long germination process that can take up to 14days to 28 days and complete matures within 100 days to 110 days.
• The height is of English Lavender plant grows up to 3 feet tall.

Basic Information About Spike lavender:

• The western Mediterranean region is the origin place of Spike lavender.
• The common name of spike lavender is broadleaved lavender or Portuguese lavender
• The botanical name of Spike Lavender is Lavandula latifolia.
• We also know spike lavender as Portuguese Lavender because of its flower colour.
• Portuguese lavender grows long, lilac-coloured flower spikes.
• If we compare Spike lavender on the basic of the essence with English lavender variety, you will find spike lavender has more essence but is pungent.
• The Spike Lavender plant has broad leaves because of this only we also know it as broadleaved lavender.
• We mainly use Spike lavender in our culinary dishes and drinks because of its fragrance and medicinal benefits.
• The height of the Spike lavender plant reaches up to 2 feet tall to 3 feet tall.

Basic Information About French lavender:

• The botanical name of Spike Lavender is Lavandula Dentata.
• It belongs to the Family Lamiaceae
• The origin place of French lavender is Europe, the Mediterranean region
• The soil requirement for French lavender is ordinary, well-drained soil
• We also know french lavender as Fringed lavender.
• This is not fragrant as other lavenders this makes it different from other varieties of lavender.
• French lavender mainly blooms from June to August

Basic Information About Spanish lavender:

• The botanical name of Spanish lavender is Lavandula Stoechas.
• We commonly know Spanish lavender as topped lavender
• Growers mainly grows Spanish lavender in warm to hot climates.
• This lavender has violet flower heads that have pale pink petals on top.
• Spanish lavender tolerates higher humidity than English lavender.
• Spanish lavender requires sandy and well-drained soil for proper growth and development.
• The Spanish lavender Colour of the flower is pink, purple, white it is very attractive 

Basic Information About Lavandin:

• We also know lavandin as Dutch lavender.
• Lavandin is a natural hybrid that is made from a cross between English and Portuguese lavender.
• Lavandin grows in mid to late summer.
• The colour of the Lavandin flower is dark violet to white depending on the environment and climatic conditions.
• These have long spikes and high fragrance as compared to the other variety of lavender.

Field Preparation for lavender farming:

We all know lavender is a perineal plant, so it needs a lot of patience from the grower, we will suggest grower do proper tillage of the field before sowing the plant.

A most common question from the lavender growers we get is how many ploughings are important before sowing lavender for this we will say it totally depends on the environmental, climatic condition and soil type for common we can say 2 to 3 ploughing is more than enough to make soil fine for proper growth and development.

The most important thing that lavender grower farmers should know is the field where they are going to grow lavender should be well-drained because stagnant water is not good for the growth and development of the plant it can damage the roots of the plant.

During the field preparation, we should notice these important things also proper aeration in the soil should be available for proper growth and development of plants.

 Growers can use green manure and farmyard manure in the field for making their soil more fertile and from this, they can get a good yield.

Soil requirement for lavender farming:

Lavender loves to grow in the well-drained soil as we have previously discussed stagnant water can become the cause of root rot in lavender farming and in critical conditions plants can die as well.

The best soil to grow lavender is well drainer coil both sandy and sandy loam soil is best for the growth and development of the lavender.

We will suggest farmers control the moisture in the lavender farm because it can lead to many diseases on the farm like root rot, and fungal infection.

PH of soil should be between 7.3 to 8 for the proper growth and development of the plant, we will suggest lavender growers be careful while choosing soil.

The best thing that all lavender growers should know is that we can grow lavender in all different soil as we have observed it can easily grow in the poor soil as well.

We will suggest lavender farmers before sowing do soil testing by this we will know what type of nutrients lack in the soil.

Climatic Conditions Requirement for lavender farming:

We all know it is a temperate plant, so it easily grows in winter conditions, lavender can easily tolerate frost conditions, and it can also tolerate drought conditions.

Bright sunlight will increase the production of lavender when the lavender plant will not get bright sunlight the production of the crop will decrease.

Farmers should keep in mind that lavender hates shade or poor lighting will affect the production and yield of lavender this is one main and important thing that everyone should keep in the notice.

 The Lavender plant needs 7 to 8 hours of bright sunlight for proper growth and development and good production.

For good yield and proper growth and development, lavender needs a temperature between 25 to 30 degrees Celsius (68 to 80 Fahrenheit)

We should control moisture percentage in the field because high moisture will damage the vegetative growth and development in the extended condition it also leads to fungal growth all over the field which is a dangerous situation for the crop.

As we have seen and studied lavender farming all over the world, it is a high altitude plant and grows up to 500 to 600 feet in height (1500 to 1600 metres)

Different Propagation Methods Followed in Lavender Farming

We can propagate lavender through four different methods

1. We propagate it through seeds
2. We propagate lavender by cutting
3. In Many countries, it is propagated by layering
4. The modern way to propagate lavender is through tissue culture

 

Now one by one we will know all the different methods of lavender propagation:-

Propagation of Lavender by seeds:

Lavender seeds can take approx 6 to 13 weeks to germinate so we will suggest lavender growers be very patience-full, it requires a warm temperature to germinate.

We will suggest grower maintain the germination temperature between 13 degrees Celsius to 15 degrees Celsius (55 degrees Fahrenheit to 59 Fahrenheit)

Grow the nursery from the seeds and germinate it which can take 5 to 6 weeks then after that let the plant grow to 5 to 6 cm in height then you can transplant the plant in the field. Some growers can advise you to let the plant grow till it gains proper strength, no problem it this also you can follow according to the environmental conditions and soil strength.

Propagation Of lavender by cutting:

Growers of lavender mainly follow the root cutting method for the propagation because it is an easy method and takes less time to propagate. 

Now let us know the procedure how to do proper root cutting propagation.

Correct all the instrument that is required for doing the propagation like the shear cutter, rooting hormones, small pot, soil, organic manure, fertilizer, water, and one plastic sheet

Many people will think about what to do with the plastic sheet we will suggest using it as a floor mat mud and other things will not spoil the floor, it is required when you are doing this field or home both.

First, take the softwood cuttings of the lavender plant 5 to 8 cm long we are saying softwood cutting because rooting in softwood will fast as compared to hardwood so take a softwood cutting from the healthy plant and that should not contain any flowers keep this thing in mind.

Before doing the cutting make sure that the cutting instrument is properly sanitized because it can spread viruses among new and old plants.

After cutting apply a small amount of rooting hormones at the one end of the softwood cutting and we suggest you apply a small amount of fungicide also, it will protect the root from rotting.

The next step is to plant the cutting in the seed tray or pot, if the number of cutting is more than the seed tray is recommended or if the number of cutting is less in that condition we suggest you use the pot.

⅓ rd of the cutting should be depth into the soil, it will provide a proper environment to germinate roots.

Proper soil mixture is very important for germination, and also in the growth and development of plants, so we will suggest providing one-third amount of farmyard manure and organic fertilizer in the soil.

Growers should sprinkle regular water to keep the soil moist, don’t over-watering it will damage the cutting. 

Now we will say the answer to one of the most common questions that we get from the farmers doing lavender farming question is how much time cutting will take to get ready for transplanting? The common answer is it totally depends on the environmental condition and soil type as we find after growing it takes approx 30 days to 40 days plant will get ready to transplant.

Propagation of lavender by layering method:

Propagation by layering technique of asexual plant propagation where the child plant forms roots naturally from the stem of the parent plant this propagation method is followed from the ancient time.

For this purpose:- 

• First, we need to choose a long healthy stem of the parent plant.
• Remove some amount of foliage and insert that into the soil at 6 – 7cm depth.
• And cover that area with sand on the top layer and spray water thoroughly.
• After 7- 11 weeks the child plants start rooting. Then cut the plant from the parent plant. 
• For developing healthy roots, mix the soil with some organic fertilizers.

We consider this a long procedure because we need to reach every plant to do the layering technique.

Propagation of lavender by Tissue culture technique:-

Propagation by Tissue culture means creating an artificial environment under sterile conditions where fragments of a healthy plant are transferred to an artificial environment in which they can continue to survive and function.

We also know this technique as micropropagation.

Fertilizer Requirements for lavender farming:

Lavender farmers should know that it doesn’t require an overdose of fertilizer so we will suggest farmers use a limited amount of fertilizer.

As we know that lavender is a medicinal plant we use lavender oil directly so we will suggest using organic fertilizer, green manure, and farmyard manures in lavender farming because it is beneficial for human health and the environment. For other medicinal plant cultivation like ashwagandha farming etc, we will suggest the following same.

Those farmers who are already doing lavender farming know that lavender is a very good observer of fertilizer, if lavender growing farmers have access to soil testing labs must do it from they can know the requirement of soil according to that they can fertilize.

Common lavender needs NPK In which is 40 kg of nitrogen per hectare, 20 kg of phosphorus and 20 kg of potassium in the first dose.

Every year farmers can repeat this fertilizer dose according to the requirement.

Irrigation Practices for Lavender:

Lavenders actually don’t require fertilizer or a lot of water we will suggest farmers use the drip irrigation method or sprinkle irrigation method to save water.

The major benefit of less irrigation is weed growth is very slow and plants use all the energy for proper growth and development.

In the first one to two years lavender farms require proper irrigation because the plant is getting established with this vegetative growth the plant will improve.

Those farmers who are doing lavender farming have a common query in their mind how much time irrigation is required for the proper growth and development of lavender and they will get a good yield for this we will say it totally depends on the environmental condition of the place, if the raining is between 400mm to 450mm that is good in the area then the requirement of irrigation will be less.

If rain is less than 350mm every year, then in this case we will suggest farmers irrigate your field regularly after two years also, the first two-year irrigation is important to establish roots in the soil.

Every farmer who is doing lavender farming should keep in mind that excess irrigation is not extra love for your farm it is dangerous for the lavender plant so before providing irrigation check the moisture in the soil if it is already moist then no need to irrigate it, over-watering can damage the roots of the plant cause root rot or fungal infection so be careful.

Harvesting after doing Lavender farming:

Lavender crop usually gets ready for harvesting during spring harvested in June-July in European countries and the August to September month in the Asian countries.

We harvest lavender flowers at 10-15 cm in length from the stem.

We know lavender flowers for early flowering in low altitude regions and late flowering in high slopes.

The yield of Lavender:

The yield of Lavender varieties between different country types of lavender and climatic conditions.

We observed the best yield in higher altitude regions.

There are various by-products got from Lavender.

Lavender oil is obtained by distillation of the flowers and is used in making perfumes and cosmetics.

We use spike oil in painting on porcelain, in soap manufacture, and to scent other products.

thanks for all your patience and for reading this complete blog share it with your friends on social media if you feel any point is missing comment below we will add it.

special thanks to some research websites like online library for providing extra advanced knowledge on lavender oil used in different disease