CITRONELLA

The oil of citronella is obtained form the distillation of green herbs. There are distinctly
two types of oil the Ceylon type and the Java type. The Ceylon type oil is obtained
form the species Cymbopogon nardus Rendle, (Family-Gramineae), where as the Java
type oil is distilled form the plant Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt. The first record to
Ceylon citronells was made by Nicholas Grimm, who practiced medicine in Colombo
at the end of 17th century. Grimm named the plant Arundo indica odorata. The Java
citronella, which is called Mahapengiri in Ceylon is a selection fron Ceylon type and
is known as C. Winterianus. The species is named after Mr. Winter who was the first to
cultivate and distill the plant on large scale. Of the two species, oil of Java type is
considered superior over Ceylon type as the Java oil contains about 85% total alcohol
as against 50-65% from in the oil of Ceylon type. Because of the superior quality of
oil-produced from Java type, it is cultivated in several citronella oil producing countries
in the world. At present the cultivation of Ceylon type is confined to Ceylon on limited
scale. Java type citronella, as it was called Mahapengiriin Ceylon, was introduced in
Java from Ceylon in 1899. In 1902, there were two citronella distilleries in Java, the
one" Odorata" located in Tjitjoeroeg and owned by A.P.J. Kaffer, the other
"Tjikantagana in Tjandjoer. After it was realized by industries in Europe that Java type
oil is better than Ceylon type and could be used as better material, citronella industry in
Java a expanded greatly and by 1919 its production surpased to that of Ceylon. The
acreage and production of citronella oil in Java continued to increase, and by 1934 the
production reached to 900 tonnes annually.

National Botanical Research Institute in Lucknow ( formerly National Botanical

Garden) made first attempt to introduce Citronella Java in India in 1959,when few slips
were imported from java. The plant grew well in small plantation at Luknow.
However, further expansion could not take place as the plantation perished due to
floods, Simultaneously, cinchona Department Ootacamund also introduced few slips
form Java through the courtesy of Essential Oil research Committee, CSIR. Systematic
efforts to start citronella Java cultivation was made by the CIMAP Regional Centre at
Bangalore in 1961, when slops were procured form Cinchona Department Ootacamund.
The results of the experimental cultivation were quite encouraging. Later on the crop
was introduced in the north-easterm part of the country by Regional Research
Laboratory, Jorhat (Assam). Agro-technologies for cultivation and processing were
developed by CIMAP, Lucknow RRL, Jorhat. These institutes were instrumental in
popularizing the cultivation in their respective areas. Asa result, citronella cultivation
could spread to several states in the country. Today citronella Java cultivations is done
on large scale in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra,
Utar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The present world production of citronella
Java oil is estimated to be around 5000 tonnes annually. Indonesia, China, Srilanka,
Argentina, India, Taiwan and Brazil are the important growers of Citronella Java.
Citronella java cultivation in India is spread over to 5000 ha of land with annual
production of about 800-1000 tonnes of oil.

Soil and climate: For optimum growth, satisfactory oil recovery and longevity of
plantation, it is essential to select a land, which can support the plant growth for a longer
period of time. Therefore, deep well-drained fertile soil suits the purpose. Areas with
a little fear of water stagnation during rainy season should be avoided for cultivation.
Although, pH around 6.0 is considered to be optimum, successful cultivation of
citronella is being done in soils with pH less than 6, in north-eastern region and more
than8.0 in U.P. and Karnataka. Although, 150-200m altitude is considered ideal, the
plant has been found grow satisfactorily up to a height of 700 m. Humid climate with
regular rainfall offes most favourable condition for plant growth and oil production.
Temperatures beyond 38°C and below 20° C do not support good growth of plant.
Because of climatic difference oil yield in north-eastern and southern part of India is
higher than those from north India (subtropical climate).
Harvesting: Citronella Java plantation may give economic yield for 4-5 years if
maintained properly. Depending upon the climatic conditions and management
practices, thefirst harvest from newly established plantation is taken 4- 6months after
planting. Thereafter, the crop is harvested at 3-4 months interval. Thus, a minimum 3
and maximum 4 harvest/year are taken. Some growers try to take even 5 or more
harvests. Frequent cuttings minimize the longevity of plantation and deteriorate the
quality of oil. Harvesting is done with sharp sickle
Distillation: Freshly harvested leaves are taken for distillation. During mild weather
conditions the harvested material can be left intothe field or spread in a shade for 12
24 hrs to make it semidry. This allows better packing of material in distillation stills
and economizes fuel consumption. In case, the crop is over grown or there is a very
luxuriant growth of crop. leaves should be chopped into pieces for better oil recovery.
The distillation process is completed wihin 2-3.5 hrs with boiler-operated plant and in
4-5 hrs with directly fired plant.
OilContent and Yield: Citronella leaves contain about 0.8% oil. It varies greatly
depending upon erop growth, seasonof harvest, atmospheric humidity and soil moisture
content. Oil content and recovery of oil is lowest (0.7%) during rainy season and the
highest (1.201.5°%) during dry months of February-March when the leaf growth is
normally less and the portion of leaf blade is maximum in the herb. The production of
herb is intluenced greatly with the soil. management practices and the climatic
conditions. On an average 20-25 a tonne of herb ha/year is obtained which on
distillation yiclds 150-200 kg oil. Under very favourable growing condition, it is
possible to produce 250-300 kg oil per halyear. Herb and oil production in the planting
year is only about 50% of those obtained in second and third year. In fourth year herb
and oil yield start to decline.
perfumery industry world over,
Uses: The oil of citronella Java finds wide application in
directly and indirectly. It is used extensively in soap, detergents, house hold
both technical preparations. C. Java oil also
and other
cleaners, mosquito repellent, creams isolates such as geraniol, citronellal.
for certain important
serves as starting materials widely used aromatics,
converted into some of the most
These isolates can be
synthetic menthol and esters ofgeranioland citronellal.
citronellal,
citronellal, hydroxyl