Production technology of Rosemary
Presented by
Dr. Uttam Tripura (Ph.D)
Assistant Professor (Hort.), LPU
Rosemary
BN: Rosmarinus officinalis
Family: Lamiaceae
Orgin: Mediterranean regions of Europe
Economic part: Leaves and flowering
tops
Major constituents: 1, 8-cineole(20-
50%), borneol (20 %)
Uses: Cosmetics, perfumery, culinary
purposes
Economic importance
• Oil is valued for its use in culinary, medicine, perfumery and
cosmetic industries.
• It is an excellent fixative material and oil also contributes a
strong fresh odour, which blends well with various other oil
odours.
• Rosemary oil is known to have anti-microbial activity against
certain gram-positive and gram-negative organisms.
• The leaves are used in cooking.
Distribution and production
• Rosemary is grown in Spain, Italy, France, Algeria, Morocco
and Portagal for its essential oil.
• Spain is largest supplier of the oil.
• annual world production is 200-300 tonnes of oil
• In India, it is cultivated in Nilgiris and part of Bangalore South
India.
Description of the plant
• The plant is a hardy dense every green shrub, growing upto 1
m in height
• Stem are erect with slender branches bearing many sessile
opposite leaves,
• Leaves are 2 to 4 cm long and cylendrical, leathery and are
green on top, white, hairy below and sticky to tough.
• Flowers are situated in little clusters towards the end of the
branches
• Fruit is an oval four sectioned cremocarp
Variety
Rosemary-OOTY (RM)-1
• Developed from Horticultural research station maintained, utakai
• The leaves are dark green, thick and green and dry leaves is ideal
for cooking for its good flavor.
• It gives the green leaf yield of 13 tons/ha/year
• Harvested 215 days after planting seedlings
CIM-Hariyali
• Developed through selection
• Light green needle like leaves, essential oil is rich in camphor
and 1—cineol.
• Herb yield : 350 q/ha
• Oil content : 1.03%
• Oil yield : 350 kg/ ha
Soil and climate
• Rosemary requires a well-drained loamy soil with a pH of 5.5
to 7.0
• When the pH is below 5.0, dolomite @ 2.5t/ha should be
applied and mixed well in the soil.
• It requires cool winter and mild summer below 30° C.
• The temperate climatic zones ranging from 900 to 2500 m
above MSL are suitable
Cultivation Practices
Propagation
• Select 10 - 15 cm length semi hardwood cuttings
• cuttings are then planted in the nursery beds of sandy soil
under the partial shade.
• After about 6-8 weeks the cuttings are ready for transplanting
in the main field.
Planting material
• 50, 000 plants/ha
Season
• Rosemary rooted cuttings can be planted during the months
of June-July and September - October under rainfed
conditions.
Seed propagation
• The crop can be propagated by seeds also
• season for raising nursery is September-November.
• Seed rate: 0.2 to 2.5 g seeds per 1 sq.m. area
• Temperature of 14-15⁰C is ideal for germination.
• When the seedlings are about 8 to 10 weeks old, they are
ready for transplanting in the main field.
Land preparation
• The land is prepared well by reported ploughing and
harrowing.
• About 20 tonnes of well rotten FYM is incorporated into the
soil at the time of final ploughing.
Planting
• The rooted cuttings of rosemary should be planted at a
spacing of 45 x 45 cm.
• The central shoot should be removed 6 months after planting
to promote lateral shoots
Manures and Fertilizers
• FYM @20t /ha and 100:40:40 kg/ha NPK
• First 20 kg/ha -N as basal dose. After each harvest, 80 kg of
nitrogen per hectare is applied in 4 equal split doses as side
dressing
Irrigation
• The crop can be grown under rainfed conditions as a dry
farming crop.
• Irrigating the crop during the drought period will increase
herbage yield.
Inter cultivation
• About 5-6 cultivations between the rows and equal number of
weeding within the row are required to keep the weed under
control.
Pruning
• After 2 to 3 year the bushes are cut frequently to promotes
the numerous shoots which can be harvested for obtaining
the oil.
Pests and Diseases
• No major pest and disease noticed.
• Minor diseases of late blight and Phytocoris rosmarini have
been reported.
• Maneb (1.0%) can be sprayed on the crop and drenching may
be done at 8-10 days intervals to keep the diseases under
control.
Harvesting
• First year, the crop is ready for harvest 8 months after planting
and only 2 harvests are obtained.
• subsequent years, 3 to 4 harvests at 100 to 120 days intervals
can be taken.
• Harvesting should begin at 50 per cent blossoming, to
continue till 75-90 per cent inflorescence emergence
• The shoots are cut for distillation when they have reached
their maximum size
• The hardwood should not be distilled as it imparts an odour
of turpentine.
Processing of leaves
• The leaves should be washed thrice for removing various dirt
and soil particles.
• The leaves should be dried under shade.
• For uniform drying it is better to take the leaves to plains and
can be dried under shade with electric fan in a clean cement
floor.
• Within 3 days up to 10% moisture level can be achieved and
then it can be packed in food grade poly bags.
Distillation of rosemary oil
• Essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of freshly
harvested twigs or leaves.
• The leaves can also be shade dried, stored and distilled at
convenience without any loss of oil.
• It is always advisable to do continuous distillation for 120
minutes for maximum recovery of rosemary oil.
Oil content and yield
• Fresh leaves oil content: 1 per cent
• Shade dired leaves oil content: 3 per cent.
• Herbage yield: 12 to 15 t/ha/yr
• Oil yield: 85 to 100 kg/ha/yr
