Write your abstract here.GROWTH AND YIELD OF JAPANESE MINT (Mentha arvensis L
The
field experiment was conducted at the instructional farm, College of
Agriculture, Vellayani, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala to select suitable
shade condition for mint oil production. The experiment was laid out
in a randomized block design with three replications. Suckers and
stem cuttings of Japanese mint (Mentha arvensis L.),
peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) and spearmint (Mentha
spicata L.) were rooted in the polythene bags filled with potting
mixture to get uniform planting materials. Ridges and furrows were
made at 45 cm apart. Rooted cuttings were planted at 10 cm spacing
along the ridges. High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) shade nets of
appropriate mesh size were used for providing the required shade
requirement of 25 per cent and 50 per cent. The three species were
also grown in the adjacent open area. Oil content was measured at the
time of harvesting (180 days after planting). The oil content was
estimated by Clevenger distillation method and expressed as
percentage (v/w) on dry weight basis. Japanese mint (0.31%),
peppermint (0.21%) and spearmint (0.20%) were recorded maximum oil
content under 25 per cent shade condition compare to open and 50
percent shade condition. Among the three shades, mild shade (25
percent) condition is suitable for mint oil production.