The botanical name of Citronella is Cymbopogon winterianus; it belongs to the Graminae and it's an aromatic plant
Varieties: Java-2, Jerlab-2, Java citronella, Java II and Ceylon citronella, Bio-13, Mandakini and Manjusha are the high yielding varieties.
Soil and climate: Sandy loam with abundant organic matter and pH of 6.0. It comes up well under tropical and sub-tropical conditions with a high rainfall (200 - 250 cm) and humidity.
Season: June - July. 28,000 slips/ha at a spacing of 60 x 45 cm in ridges.
Manuring
Basal: FYM 30 t/ha and NPK at 25:40:40 kg/ha.
Top dressing: 75 kg N/ha in 3 equal splits of 25 kg each at 3, 6 and 9 months after planting.
Irrigation: Life irrigation on third day and again at 10 – 15 days interval.
Aftercultivation: 1 - 2 weedings at the initial stages and earthing up after each harvest.
Plant protection against Diseases
Leaf blight: Spray any one of the Dithiocarbamates namely Mancozeb or Zineb at an interval of 15 - 20 days.
Harvest: The first harvest at 6 months after planting. Second and subsequent harvest at two and a half months intervals.
Yield
Herbage : 20 - 30 t/ha/year.
Oil is extracted by water distillation. Oil content 0.2% to 0.3%.
OIL
First year : 50 - 100 kg/ha.
Second year : 100 - 150 kg/ha.
Fifth year : 250 - 300 kg/ha.
