Production technology of Davana (Artemisia pallens)

Shivanand .M. R. UHS11PGM143 Dept. of PMA

1 KITTUR RANI CHANNAMMA COLLEGE OF HORTICULTURE, ARABHAVI -591 310

Plant Profile: Scientific name: Artemisia pallens Family : Asteraceae Indian name : Davanam (Sanskrit), Davana (Hindi), Davana (Kannada) & Davanam (Tamil). Active principle: Davanone & Davanafurans Davana is an important annual aromatic herb, much prized in India for its delicate fragrance.

Habitat and distribution

Davana is a native of South India. India holds key position in production of Davana oil. Annual production is about 2 tonnes. It is majorly grown in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. In the production of davana essential oil, India holds key position and production is about 2 tonnes/ annum. Essential oil of davana acquired considerable reputation in international trade. From Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh oil is exported to France, USA, Germany, Japan and Netherlands. Some of the essential oil bearing species in trade market are Artemisia absinthium Linn., A. annua L., and A. pallens Wall. The plant does not occur in wild. Therefore, only cultivated plants are found. Commercial plantation is done mainly in Karnataka and to lesser extent in T.N, Maharashtra, and Kerala.

Uses
Cosmetics, flavouring beverages, confectionery, tobacco and perfumery Davana sprigs are commonly used in garlands, bouquets and religious offering in most part of the year. The leaves and flowers contain essential oil valued for its exquisite and delicate aroma and is used in high grade perfumes and cosmetics. The oil of davana contains hydrocarbons (20%), ester (65%) and oxygenated compounds (15%). The esters are the major constituent responsible for the characteristic smell of davana.

 The other constituents isolated from the oil include a sesquiterpene ketone named artemone', novel sesquiterpenoids named `davanafurans' and another ketone named `isodavanone'. The essential oil of davana which is a brown viscous liquid with rich fruity odour has acquired considerable reputation in the International trade particularly in USA and Japan where it is being used for flavouring cakes, pastries, tobacco and beverages.

Botany
It is a delicate, erect and branched annual herb 45-60 cm tall and covered with greyish white tomentum.

Leaves are alternate, exstipulate, petiolate, lobed; inflorescence capitulum, axillary, peduncled to sessile, heterogeneous having bisexual disc florets in centre and pistillate ray florets on periphery which are yellow glabrous.
Involucre, 2 or more, seriate, ovate to elliptic-linear; inner florets 5-lobed, bisexual; stamens 5 with free epipetalous filaments; style bifid.

Climate
It requires moderately cool climate without frost, bright sunshine, moderate rainfall and a winter without fog and heavy morning dew, to produce a good crop. A temperature range 20 to 30C with least diurnal differences is suitable. High temperatures and heavy rains at the time of flowering have not only been found to affect the plant growth but also reduce the oil content and ultimately the oil yield. Season is an important aspect to be considered when davana is grown for extracting the essential oil. The oil content in plant was observed maximum when the crop was grown during winter season compared to other seasons.

When the crop is grown for the production of oil, it should be planted during the first week of November. A few light showers with moderate winter conditions and no frost helps in allowing the plant to put on good growth.

Soil
The crop is found growing on various types of soils from sandy loam to medium black. However, a rich sandy loam soil which is rich in organic matter and with a good drainage is ideal. Davana is mostly cultivated in the red soil regions in South India.

VARIETIES
There are no named commercial varieties available in this crop. In Tamil Nadu elite local types are popular among the farmers.

Nilokottai local,
Thevaram local, Thovalai local

INPUTS

Note: Prior to transplanting of the seedlings, full dose of FYM, phosphorous and potash is incorporated into the soil. Nitrogen is applied in three equal split doses, the first being 10 days after transplanting and the subsequent two doses being at 15 days interval.

Table: 1 Influence of nitrogen and phosphorus along with biofertilizers on growth parameters in ratoon crop of davana. - Kumar et al., 2009, T.N

Table2. Influence of irrigation regimes, organic manures and nitrogen levels on yield factors for davana crop. Chalapathi et al.(2004). GKVK, Bangaluru. Treatments Fresh herbage yield (t/ha) Air dried herbage yield(t/ha) Fresh flower head yield(kg/ha) Essential oil content(%) Essential oil yield(kg/ha)

Main effect Irrigation regimes(I) I 1-0.4 CPE I2-0.8 CPE S.E.M C.D at 5 % Organic manure(M) M0-no manure M1-FYM M2-VC S.E.M C.D at 5% 14.55 16.51 16.26 0.20 0.56 7.76 8.87 8.87 0.10 0.28 6565 7647 7487 104 299 0.659 0.630 0.617 0.008 0.024 23.74 26.11 25.87 0.38 1.09 13.86 17.90 0.22 1.32 7.51 9.49 0.09 0.53 6209 8256 116 709 0.660 0.612 0.002 0.014 22.87 27.60 0.20 1.22

CPE: Cumulative pan evaporative, VC: Vermicompost.

Conti

Nitrogen levels(N): N1- 50kg/ha N2- 100kg/ha 12.76 15.86 6.83 8.52 5630 7238 0.663 0.623 20.94 25.16

N3- 150kg/ha
S.E.M C. D. at 5%

18.70
0.20 0.56

10.25
0.10 0.28

8830
104 299

0.621
0.008 0.024

29.61
0.38 1.09

Table 3. Influence of irrigation regimes, organic manures and nitrogen levels on fresh weight/ plant, fresh weight of flower head/plant, and hundred flower head yield(g). Chalapathi et al.(2004). GKVK, Bangaluru. Treatments Fresh weight/plant (g) Fresh weight of flower head/plant(g) Hundred flower head yield (g)

Main effects
Irrigation regimes(I) I1-0.4 CPE I2-0.8 CPE S.E.M C.D at 5 % Organic manure(M) M0-no manure M1-FYM M2-VC S.E.M C.D at 5% 23.70 29.12 28.55 0.36 1.04 11.09 13.15 12.74 0.19 0.54 4.89 5.02 4.97 0.08 0.22 24.52 29.73 0.32 1.93 11.22 13.43 0.27 1.62 4.74 5.17 0.02 0.14

Conti. Nitrogen levels(N): N1- 50kg/ha N2- 100kg/ha N3- 150kg/ha S.E.M
21.68 27.48 32.51 0.36 9.47 12.77 14.74 0.19 4.61 4.83 5.20 0.08

C. D. at 5%

1.04

0.54

0.22

Table4. Interaction effect of irrigation regimes, organic manures and nitrogen levels on fresh and air-dried herbage yield, flower head yield, fresh weight/plant and fresh weight of flower head/plant. Chalapathi et al.(2004). GKVK, Bangaluru.

Treatments

Fresh herbage yield (t/ha) 10.35 13.22 15.27 10.95 15.00 18.49

Air dried herbage yield(t/ha) 5.36 7.11 8.29 5.79 8.13 10.12

Fresh flower head yield(kg/ha) 4481 5801 6884 4781 6663 8695

Fresh weight/plant (g) 15.42 22.55 24.81 24.81 28.18 33.00

Fresh weight of flower head/plant (g) 7.46 10.71 11.73 9.34 12.89 14.97

Interaction effects I x M x N I1M0N1 I1M0N2 I1M0N3 I1M1N1 I1M1N2 I1M1N3

I1M2N1
I1M2N2 I1M2N3 I2M0N1

10.53
15.10 15.82 14.16

5.72
8.34 8.71 7.42

4495
6837 7549 6199

18.44
27.19 30.69 21.90

7.56
12.57 13.61 10.43

Conti. I2M0N2 I2M0N3 I2M1N1 I2M1N2 I2M1N3 14.77 19.55 15.24 18.35 21.05 7.94 10.42 8.18 9.78 11.26 6790 9236 6892 8660 10290 26.24 31.26 25.33 29.57 38.27 12.15 13.89 10.77 13.55 17.37

I2M2N1
I2M2N2 I2M2N3

15.46
18.71 21.98

8.49
9.83 12.21

6931
8681 10630

26.76
31.17 37.03

11.10
14.74 16.86

S.E.M
C. D. at 5%

0.48
2.80

0.23
0.94

253
1124

0.87
3.51

0.48
3.28

Propagation
Nursery raising: Davana is propagated by seeds.

As the seeds lose the viability rapidly, seeds from the previous seasons crop should only be used for sowing.
About 1.5 kg of seed is required to produce enough seedlings to transplant in an area of one hectare. Usually nursery beds of 2 m long and 1 m wide are preferred. The surface of the beds should be clod free. It is then incorporated with the finely prepared farm yard manure at the rate of 10 kg per bed. Sowing of seeds at the rate of 1 g per sq.m. is desirable. The seeds may be sown either dry or after wetting them with sand for about 48 hrs.

 In the later case, the seed is thoroughly mixed with sand at the rate of 4-5 times its volume. To this mixture, water is added so that the sand is sufficiently wet.
It is then tied in a cloth bag and stored in a warm condition for 48 hrs. This will hasten the sprouting of seed and radicle will emerge at the end of 48 hrs. The nursery bed is then flooded with water to provide a pool and the sprouting seed and sand mixture is broadcasted all over the bed, homogeneously. This method helps in uniform distribution of seeds. When the seeds have settled down a thin layer of sand is spread over just to cover them.

Transplanting
The seedlings will be ready for transplanting in about 68 weeks from the date of sowing. At this stage the seedlings will be about 10 cm tall. Before transplanting, the field is thoroughly prepared by bringing the land to a fine tilth with repeated ploughings. It is then laid out into plots of convenient

size by laying out bunds and channels. The size of the

plot depends on the conditions prevailing locally.

 Generally a plot of 3-4 m x 1.5-2.5 m size is preferred as it helps in proper management of irrigation, weeding and other inter-cultural operations. After the preparation of plots, the soil is incorporated with 6 tonnes of well decomposed farm yard manure or compost. The plots are irrigated a day prior to transplanting. The seedlings are then transplanted at a spacing of 15 cm between rows and 7.5 cm between plants. Trails have shown that transplanting Davana at closer spacing results in higher herbage yield and subsequently higher oil yield compared to wider spacing which results in larger plants but lower herbage and oil yield per unit area.

Irrigation:

After transplanting, the plots are immediately provided with light

irrigation, later, the irrigation is given daily till the seedlings are well established (10-12 days) and subsequently once in 3-4 days depending on the weather conditions. Interculture: The field is kept weed free by regular weeding as and when required. In all about 2-3 hand weedings during early period of growth will help to keep the weeds down.

Application of GA3 at 200 ppm after five weeks of transplanting

has been found to increase the herb and essential oil yield per unit area.

PLANTPROTECTION: Major insects : Ants and aphids Major disease : Damping off Management: 1. Ants can be minimized by mixing about 10 kg or 6% Heptachlor per hectare into the soil.

2. To control aphids spray Rogor at the rate of 2ml per litre.

3. Damping off can be overcome by adjusting the sowing time, so that bright weather prevails during the first few days of the early seedlings stage or by seed treatment with Captan at the rate of 5 g per kg of seed.

Harvesting
The crop starts flowering after 110-115 days of sowing which will be around 2nd or 3rd week of February.

In order to obtain the maximum essential oil yield, the plants should be harvested when about 50 per cent of them have come to flowering. This stage will be reached by the end of February or 1st week of March at 120-125 days after sowing.
Harvesting is done by cutting the plants from the base at a height of 10 cm. Although there are reports about the possibility of obtaining a ratoon crop in Davana, no where it is being followed practically.

 The main crop is harvested only during the month of March

and the ratoon starts sprouting by the end of March or beginning of April which due to the high temperatures prevailing during these periods results in poor growth of plant and mutilated flower buds which fail to open. The crop thus obtained becomes uneconomical as flower heads are the major contributors of oil.

The harvested herb is dried in shade for 2-3 days. The dried
herb is steam distilled for extracting the essential oil.

Yield and oil content

The yield of fresh herbage including flower heads is around 12-13 tonnes per hectare. The flower heads contain 0.3 - 0.4% of oil and in general, the oil content in whole plant after drying it in shade for 2 days is 0.29 per cent, an average recovery of around 0.2 per cent under large scale distillation yielding 12-13 kg of oil per hectare. When oil is extracted from the whole plant, flower heads contribute the major portion of the oil. The contribution of leaf and stem towards percentage oil content in a whole plant is very less.

Distillation: The harvested material before distilled, is dried under shade for 2 days. The dried material is steam distilled for obtaining good quality oil. However, for estimation of essential oil under laboratory condition particularly of small samples, the shade dried material is hydro-distilled. The distilled oil is collected from the oil receiver. About 5-6 hours required to complete the charge. Sodium chloride is added to the mixture of oil to separate the oil.

Davana oil:
Davana oil has a deep mellow, persistent rich fruity odour . Freshly distilled oil has sharp herbal top which disappears on keeping, leaving a mellow and pleasant note. The main component of davana oil is Davanone which is a sesquiterpene ketone.

Chemical constituent of davana oil:

Sl no. 1. Aroma chemical Davanones Percentage 55.0

2.
3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Nerol
Geraniol Hydroxydavanone Dihydro-rosefurans Furano-norditerpenoid Hydroxy nerolidol Davana ethers Artemone

10.0
5.0 3.0 2.5 2.0 2.0 1.5 1.5

10.
11. 12.

Davanafurans
Davana esters Hydroxy dihydrorosefuran

1.0
1.0 0.5

Source: (Thakur and Misra, 1989)

Storage:
The oil should be free from sediments, suspended matter and moisture free before storing.

It is stored in Aluminium containers.

The containers should be filled to the brim to exclude all air to prevent deterioration during storage. Marketing and trade channels: The freshly harvested herbs of davana may fetch a price of Rs 8-10/kg. The rate of oil very from Rs 35000-40000/kg.

Products of Davana

REFERENCES
Shiva, M. P., Lehri, A. and Shiva, A., 2002, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, International Book Distributors, Uttaranchal, pp:143-146. Handa, S. S. and Kual, M.K., 1997, Supplement to Cultivation and Utilization of Aromatic plants, regional research laboratory, Jammu-

Tawi(India), pp:285-286.
Chalapathi, M. V., Vasundhara, M., Gangadhar Eswar Rao, G., Thimmegowda, S., Rao Prakash, E. V. S., and Deva Kumar, N.,2004,

Influence of integrated nutrient management on yield of davana,

Indian Perfume, 48(3): 311-316.