Cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants in saline environments.

Abstract

Abstract In the last few decades there has been probably more interest in drugs obtained from plant sources than at any time in history because of success with antibiotics, and other plant drugs showing encouraging results in controlling serious diseases such as cancerous tumours and acting as stimulants and contraceptives, controlling cardiac arrests, and in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and several other ailments. With an increase in population and decrease in per capita available arable land (particularly in developing countries), it has become very difficult to find fertile land for cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). The results reported in this review clearly indicate that cultivation of MAPs on degraded lands through biosaline agriculture is feasible and profitable. Experiments have been conducted in arid regions of the Indian subcontinent growing various MAPs on salt-affected lands and irrigating them judiciously with saline water. Several medicinal species (such as Plantago ovata , Aloe vera , Catharanthus roseus , Cassia angustifolia , Withania somnifera , Asparagus racemosus , Emblica officinalis , Terminalia arjuna , Azadirachta indica , Lepidium latifolium , etc.) and aromatic species (such as Cymbopogon flexuosus , Cymbopogon martinii , Vetiveria zizanioides , Matricaria chamomilla , Mentha arvensis , Pandanus odoratissimus , etc.) can successfully be cultivated on moderate alkaline/saline soils using saline irrigation, showing their potential. There are plenty of salt-tolerant species found in nature that can easily be domesticated to improve economic gains. Attempts should be made to educate the farming community about the practicalities of growing these plants and to create market avenues for procurement of these products. Scientists must develop more salt-tolerant and productive cultivars. These will not only provide better economic returns but also help in ameliorating the saline environment.