Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus) of the Two Main Strands East Indian Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) or West Indian Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus): Which one yields the greatest amount of essential oil

Project Overview

FS19-316
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2019: $8,609.00
Projected End Date: 02/28/2021
Grant Recipient: Farmer
Region: Southern
State: U.S. Virgin Islands
Principal Investigator:
Benita Martin
Email
Meder Mogzit family farm and educational center

Information Products

Commodities

  • Additional Plants: lemongrass

Practices

  • Farm Business Management: value added

    Summary:

    Our project was to determine which of the two strands of lemongrass produced the greatest amount of lemongrass oil.

    We decided to grow the two different strands of lemongrass from cuttings instead of from seed.

    Lemongrass is known to have different growth rates based on soil. It was decided to grow in both St. Thomas and St. Croix. This also allowed us to look at the opportunity for developing an agriculture collective between the two islands.

    Through the research for the project more information was gained regarding the usage of lemongrass itself. This information may give farmers and others more opportunity to find a market for selling lemongrass as well using it on their farms.

    The current leaders in the production of lemongrass and lemongrass oil are Guatemala and India.

    In all research conducted for this project the best method of extraction of oil is steam distillation. Fresh not dried lemongrass is the main one used for distilling.

    In many countries lemongrass is being grown cooperatively with great economic success within small villages. This project has allowed us to educate farmers regarding the potential of just growing lemongrass for more than one industry. These were some of the most important questions asked at the end of our presentation:

    1. How do we go about developing a grower’s cooperative for lemongrass?

    2. What other crops could be distilled?

    3. Where would we get funding for such a project?

    A few home gardeners have requested that we have another workshop after they have brought the items to assist with building their home-made distiller. Though this project was designed to look at the quantity of lemongrass oil, the information gained from the research has caused our group to explore other avenues for byproducts of distilling lemongrass. We came up with a collective statement on how we felt at the end of the project, “Exploring the extraction of lemongrass essential oil as a value-added product for generational economic growth and wellness.” Lemongrass Brochure17.2.2021AAF

    Project objectives:

    To determine which of the two strands produce the most oil, West or East lemongrass 

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.