As medicine, the plant possesses antispasmodic, antichloristic and attenuate properties. Extract of chamomile is also useful in stomach disorders, cure of ulcer and healing of wounds. Flowers are extensively used as herbal tea and it is very common in china. The plant is native to Europe and has been used in folk and traditional system of medicine in Europe and Arab for thousands of years.In India, the plant was introduced by Arabs and has been grown on limited scale around Lucknow for more than three hundred years. The estimated world production of chamomile is about 20,000 tonnes of dried flowers and 7 tonnes of oil.
In India, the plant has been cultivated for the production of dried herb, known as “Babuna”, and the flowers, known as Gule Babuna in trade. The drug is prescribed by the practitioners of Unani system of medicine in the country.
Improved cultivation and distillation technologies of chamomile were developed by R&D institutions. In the beginning of nineteen, large-scale cultivation of German chamomile was taken up by private growers for the purpose of export of flowers and oils to European countries. In India, cultivation was started in about 40-50 ha. of land with annual production of 30-40 tonnes of flowers. Being a highly labour intensive crop, it is ideally suited for cultivation in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Soils and Climate Suitable for Growing a Chamomile Plant:
It can be cultivated in wide range of soils, except those which are light textured and have low water holding capacity. The cultivation of chamomile has been done successfully on medium and heavy (with high clay content) textured soil, including those of traditional rice growing soils. The plant has also been found to tolerate high degree of sodic soil and hence the soils with pH 8.50 or 9.0 can successfully be utilized for this cultivation.
Soils with high water table during winter season do not support good plant grows very well in moderately cool weather. It can be cultivated as winter crop in plains of north India and as summer crop in the hills of J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The best growing conditions for the plant are 30-32°C temperature and 40-50% atmospheric humidity. Growth and flower bud formation is severely affected when the temperature reaches 38° C and above.
Propagation of Chamomile:
Chamomile is propagated by seeds for commercial cultivation of crop, in some of the European countries root cuttings are also used. Although, direct sowing of seeds in lines can be done to raise the crop, planting for the commercial production is recommended through raising of seeding in nursery. Raised nursery beds of 4 x 1 or 5 x 1 m are prepared by mixing good amount of farmyard manure or compost in the soil. About half to one kg seed, depending upon the germination percentage, is considered sufficient for raising nursery for planting one ha. land.
Since, it has been observed that the germination percentage of the seed vary from year to year, it is always better to plant 10-20% more area under nursery than actually required quantity, so that the nursery does not fall short for planting the targeted area. Before sowing, seeds are mixed with 8-10 parts of sand the spread over to the beds uniformly. Seeds are properly mixed in the soil by hand or with some tool. While incorporating the seeds in the nursery, it should be ensured that they are not placed beyond 1 cm. deep in the soil. Sprinkler irrigation is applied immediately after sowing.
Thereafter, beds are surface irrigated with slow discharge of water. Sowing of nursery is done in the first 10-15 October in planes and in hilly areas it is recommended in the month of March. In nursery beds, seeds take 3-5 days for germination and seedlings become ready for planting in the final field after 4-5 week after sowing of nursery. After 3 weeks, nitrogen @ 20 kg/ha is recommended for top dressed in nursery beds for better results.
Planting of Chamomile Seeds:
After 3-4 weeks, full grown seedlings are uprooted and planted in the final field. The recommended distance of lines are made 25-30 cm. apart and 10-15 cm plant to plant. After planting, the field is flood irrigated with slow discharge of water, so that seedlings are not washed away or uprooted with irrigation water. Delay in the irrigation may cause wilting and death of seedlings in final field.
Manures and Fertilizers Application to Chamomile Plant:
The plant of chamomile has been found responsive to fertilizer application, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in the ratio of 35:30:20: kg/ha. is incorporated in the soil as a basal dose. Depending upon the fertility of the soil, 2-3 top dressings each with 25 kg nitrogen is done. The first top dressing is made after 35-40 days after planting and third after first picking of flowers.
Irrigation Requirement for Chamomile Plant:
For better plant growth, soil moisture should be maintained at optimum level throughout the growth span. After flowering starts, the crop is irrigated as fortnightly interval to keep the soil moist. Prior to flowering, irrigation at 3-4 weeks interval may be sufficient. Thus, for successful crop production 5-6 irrigation is required.
Picking of Flowers:
Picking of flowers is most important and laborious operation in chamomile cultivation. Therefore, the plant is cultivated in areas where sufficient labour force is available at cheaper rate. In sub-tropical climate of north-India, plant starts flowering in the 20th Feb. and continues up to 20th April. During this period 5-6 pickings are done at 10-12 days interval. In most of the chamomile growing countries picking of flowers is done by the family members, especially the women and children.
A person can pick 8-12 kg of fresh flowers in a day (8hrs) which on drying may weigh about 2 kg. In large scale plantation the picking is done on contract basis of the quantity of flowers gathered by them. Only the fully developed flowers are picked (buds and fully matured flowers contains less of essential oil). In India, laborers are paid at the rate of Rs.3.00 – Rs.4.00 per kg of fresh flowers picked by them.
Drying of Flowers:
The fresh flowers of chamomile contain 70-80% water. The picked flowers are immediately transferred to the drying shed and spread over to ground in very thin layers of 1-2 cm, and allowed to dry till flowers loose 45-65% moisture. At this stage flowers can be dried in thick layers to make available the space for drying of fresh collected flowers. Artificial dryers may also be employed where such facilities exist.In India, the drying is done in thatched huts, having several racks made of bamboo or other locally available material. The flowers are spread on the racks over cloth or thin gunny bag, to allow proper aeration and quick drying. By applying these methods, a farmer can be able to retain the original colour of flowers. In absence of proper drying, the colour of flowers turn to brownish or black, such flowers give very poor oil yield in distillation.
Distillation for Extraction of Oil from Chamomile:
Steam distillation method is appropriate for extraction of oil from dried flowers of chamomile, because the flowers require high pressure which can be managed only with the steam distillation. The Cohobation process is applied for improvement of the recovery of oil as certain constituents of oil are soluble in water.Chamomile oil forms crystals and has a tendency to form a deposit and revolves inside the condenser. Therefore, it is advisable to stop the flow of cool water (distillate) into the condenser from time to time, so as to raise the temperature of condenser and to reliquary the oil deposits on the wall of condenser as well as separator.
Oil Content and Yield:
The average crop may yield 35-45 quintals fresh flowers/ha within the period of 3.5 months, which on drying gives 9-10 quintals dry flowers. The yield of flower may vary depending upon the fertility of soil, management practices and numbers of picking of flowers. A good managed crop may yield as high as 18-20 quintals dry flowers. The essential oil (blue oil) content in flowers varies from 0.15-1.1%, and largely depends upon the variety grown and the conditions of drying of flowers applied.
Uses of Chamomile Oil:
The oil has warm herbaceous hay like odor with fresh-fruity undertone. In fresh distilled oil sometimes odor is animalic sweet while in aged oil the odor is pleasant with sweet tobacco warm like.It is used in fragrance for imparting mellow tone. It is also used in men’s fragrances (though in low dosages) particularly colognes. It imparts a warm rich undertone which lasts throughout the stage of evaporation.It is also used in flavour for mellowing the effect of synthetic ingredients, particularly in tobacco. The use level is upto 1%. It is also used in baked goods and candy flavours.It does have very vast application in aromatherapy as well. It is analgesic anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, bactericidal, fungicidal. It is used in skin care for acne, burns, earache/eczema & dermatitis. Also used in hair care. Effective in Arthritis, muscular pain, joint pain & rheumatism. Also used for headache, nervous tension, migraine and stress related conditions.
Reference
