Irrigation and Nitrogen Requirement of Lemongrass [Cymbopogon flexuosus(Steud) Wats] on a Red Sandy Loam Soil under Semiarid Tropical Conditions

A field experiment was conducted with lemongrass [Cymbopogon flexuosus (Steud) Wats] cv. Cauvery at Bangalore, India, during 1993-94 to study the effect of three soil moisture regimes (0.80, 0.53 and 0.40) irrigation water: cumulative panevaporation (IW:CPE) ratio and four levels of nitrogen (0, 50, 100 and 150 kg/ha). Soil moisture regimes maintained at 0.80 IW:CPE ratio significantly increased crop growth, herbage and essential oil yields as compared with those having 0.40 or 0.53 IW:CPE ratio. Application of 100 kg N/ha was found to be the best with respect to the yield of the crop. Quality of the essential oil in terms of its two major constituents, citral and geraniol were not affected by soil moisture regimes or nitrogen application. Oil content was not affected by soil moisture regime or nitrogen application. It was concluded that lemongrass should be irrigated at 0.80 IW:CPE ratio with an application of 100 kg N/ha in the semiarid tropical region of India.