Himachal biggest producer of marigold essential oil

Shimla: With recent reports showing more than one lakh hectares of cultivated area affected by monkeys and other animals in Himachal Pradesh resulting in crop losses of up to 55% and monetary losses of more than Rs 324 crores to agriculture and horticulture crops collectively, the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur (HP), has intensified efforts to minimise such losses.

In this regard, IHBT supports farmers by introducing high value aromatic crops such as wild marigold, damask rose, lavender, rosemary, lemongrass and mushkbala under CSIR aroma mission. This will help farmers revive their economy and double their income. Moreover, such crops are good for cultivation in marginal and wasteland and they do not get affected by wild and stray animals.

Sanjay Kumar, director, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur, said farmers of remote areas in hills were taking up cultivation of aromatic crops to revive agriculture as they face crop loss due to wild animals, monkeys and stray animals.

With the efforts of CSIR-IHBT, Himachal Pradesh has become largest producer of high quality wild marigold essential oil (4 tonnes per annum) in India to meet the demands of perfume, flavouring and condiment industries.

The main wild marigold growing regions are Bhatiyat and Salooni in district Chamba, Seraj and Gogardhar in district Mandi, Banjar in district Kullu and Rampur in district Shimla. Other prominent regions of wild marigold are Batote and Kishtwar in J&K and Bageshwar and Nainital in Uttarakhand.

Kumar said during the last two years, CSIR-IHBT had brought more than 500 hectare of area under these crops.

Cultivation of wild marigold has resulted in production of 7.6 tonnes of essential oil in Himachal Pradesh alone with revenue generation amounting to Rs 5.56 crores, benefiting 861 farmers.

Kumar said to promote cultivation of these aromatic crops, a complete package of agro and processing technologies had been developed and executed in the farmers’ fields. This would help them realize the profits. Depending upon the quality and quantity of essential oil, farmers of hills could earn net profit between Rs 80,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh per hectare annually, he added.

He said essential oil extracted from aromatic crops had huge demand in perfumery, flavour and fragrance industry in India and abroad.

The essential oils also have insect repellent properties, anti-inflammatory, antifungal and antibacterial characteristics, which make them useful in numerous applications like control of store grain insect pests, healing wound and treatment of eczema, diaper rash, psoriasis and for skin ointment.

He said to uplift the cultivation of aromatic crops different small societies of progressive farmers had been formed in different states by CSIR-IHBT. Nineteen processing units have been set up for these societies.


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