BOTANICAL NAME: Cymbopogon citratus
COMMON NAMES: Lemongrass syn. Takrai (Thailand) syn. Serai (Malaysia) syn. Sereh (Indonesia) syn. Tanglad (Philippines)
FAMILY: Poaceae previously Graminae
ORIGIN: Ceylon
PLANT DESCRIPTION
It grows in grass-like clumps to 1 m tall. Lemongrass is adapted to hot wet summers and dry warm winters, is drought tolerant and will grow on a wide range of soils but prefers rich, moist loams. It dislikes wet feet. If it is damaged by frost in cooler areas, the tops should not be cut until all danger of frost has passed. This helps to protect the centre of the plant from further cold damage.
USES
Food: a good source of vitamin A, the leaves can be used for tea, the stem bases are used in curries and Thai cooking.
Mulch: it can be cut continuously for mulch during the warmer months. As an added advantage it will have some pest repellent properties.
Erosion control: it can be planted on the contour on steep banks to control erosion.
Edging: useful also as a barrier to running grasses around vegetable gardens.
PLANTING DETAILS
It rarely flowers and is usually propagated by division.
Recommended planting time: plant spring in cooler areas; in tropical areas plant during the wet season.
Plant spacing: plant rhizomes at a spacing of 1 m, with .5 m between rows.
HARVEST
Harvesting for oil distillation begins when the clumps are 4-8 months old, it is subsequently harvested every 3-4 months, and this continues for about 4 years. The fresh grass yields 0.2-0.4% oil, giving 40-112 kg of oil/ha/yr.
