Biomass and essential oil yields of cornmint ( Mentha arvensis L. f. piperascens Malinvaud ex Holmes) planted in different months in semi-arid tropical climate

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted in the farm of Mr Jayanthilal Sachdev, a progressive farmer on a red clay loam soil in the semi-arid tropical climate of South India, to study the influence of planting cornmint ( Mentha arvensis L. f. piperascens Malinvaud ex Holmes, family: Lamiaceae) in different months on its biomass and essential oil yields. In this climate, cornmint was harvested six–seven times in a period of 17–18 months. August (rainy), November (autumn), and December (winter) planted crop produced significantly superior total biomass and essential oil yields compared to September and January planted cornmint. The results indicated the feasibility of intercropping cornmint with tomato (6.3 t/ha) during the first harvest period. The quality of the essential oil with 73.0% menthol, 9.6% menthone, 4.0% isomenthone, and 4.0% menthyl acetate was found to be good and readily accepted in the market. This investigation in a farmer’s field with 42.5–63.5 t/ha total biomass yield and 196.3–271.5 kg/ha total essential oil yield, clearly demonstrated the economic feasibility of cultivating cornmint in semi-arid tropical climate. It has also shown the possibility of planting the crop during different seasons and growing it as a biennial.