FORMER'S NOTEBOOK
Disease-resistant rosemary variety
The new variety does exceedingly well under biodynamic organic farming conditions.
By Our Agriculture Correspondent
ROSEMARY (Rosmarinus officinalis) belonging to the family Lamiaceae is an aromatic plant and its essential oil is used in high-grade perfumery, cosmetic and soaps. Known for several medicinal properties, rosemary is mostly cultivated as an irrigated and rainfed crop in higher elevations. In Tamil Nadu, rosemary cultivation is mostly confined to the high and middle elevations of Nilgiris district.
Disease resistant
Though there were some local varieties of rosemary in the Nilgiris, growers aspired for an improved variety with promising traits. Their aspirations were met with the development of a high-yielding disease-resistant rosemary variety by scientists at the Horticultural Research Station of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), Vijayanagaram, Uthagamandalam. The new variety was named `Rosemary-Ooty (RM) 1', and it was released for commercial cultivation by TNAU recently.
Vigorous growth
The plants of this variety have vigorous growth with a mean plant height of 62 cm with long cylindrical and inwardly folded leaves. They have yield potential of 12.40 tonnes of green leaf per hectare in a year, which is 46 per cent higher than the local types, according to the scientists.
The leaves of the new variety are dark green, thick and leathery. Both the green and the dried leaves possess excellent aroma and cooking quality.
Harvesting season
The first harvest of leaves begins from 215 days after planting, and subsequent harvests can be done at an interval of 3 to 4 months. Annually three to four harvests can be had, and this perennial crop can be retained for up to twelve years.
It is resistant to leaf blight disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani and it is also resistant to pests such as whiteflies and aphids. Its leaves contained high rosemary oil (0.9 per cent). The leaves are also rich in carbohydrates (60.66 mg/g) and protein (24.90 mg/g).
Drought resistant
This variety is suited for dry farming and it can be planted in June-July and September-October under rainfed conditions. It is particularly suited for both high and middle elevations of the Nilgiris and similar areas above 900 metres from sea level. It is resistant to drought and frost conditions. It responds well to organic manures and biofertilizers. A nutrient dose of 50 tonnes of farmyard manure per hectare, and one tonne of neem cake and 5 tonnes of biodynamic compost and 2 tonnes of vermi compost is recommended per hectare.
It responds particularly well to the application of biofertilizers such as Azospirillum and Phosphobacterium and to the foliar spraying of Panchakavya, according to the scientists. A spacing of 45 cm by 45 cm is recommended and about 50,000 rooted-cuttings are needed to cover a hectare.
More oil content
Under the conventional system of cultivation, the oil content of leaves will be 0.9 per cent. But when grown under biodynamic organic system, the oil content of the leaves goes up to 1.0 per cent, point out the scientists.
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