How to Propagate Jasmine Plant

How to Propagate Jasmine Plant

                                                                        
                                                                       

 Jasmine species of flowers have a special place among fragrant and decorative flowers. They are grown in both plain and hilly areas. In South India, its flowers are available for about 8 months in a year, whereas in North India they are available only for 4 months, some species keep flowering throughout the year. In India, Jasmine species of plants are cultivated in the largest area in Madurai, Thanilvalli, Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Belur and Madras districts of Tamil Nadu. Oil is extracted from flowers on a large scale there. Up to 150 quintals of flowers are found per hectare. The practice of cultivation of Jasmine species is gradually increasing in big cities and towns.

 If the improved variety of Jasminum grandiflorum is grown on a commercial scale for concrete (fragrance) production, it is not only in demand in the country but also in the international markets, a lot of foreign currency can be earned from it.

Jasmine has gained worldwide popularity due to its star-like flowers, pleasant fragrance, beautiful dark green leaves and ability to remain green even in difficult conditions.

Jasmine plant is a member of the Oleaceae family. Its plant is shrubby or climbing. Jasmine species of plants are cultivated especially for fragrant flowers. Leaves with many leaflets are arranged in opposite or alternate order on them. Sometimes only one leaflet is found in the leaves. Petals are yellow or white in colour. They are found in the form of dichotomous cymes at the ends of the flower-bearing branches. The buds are tubular. The petals have 4 to 9 or more lobes. The sepals are long. There are two stamens and they are found inside the tube of the petals. The ovary is bi-chambered.

How to Propagate Jasmine

Origin & History – The birthplace of Jasmine Plants is believed to be the southern hills of India. Its wild species are still found growing in these areas. From there it reached the Mediterranean countries. The history of jasmine cultivation in India is quite old. There is evidence of its cultivation in the Mughal period. At that time perfume was also made from Jasmine flowers.

 

Use of Flowers – Jasmine flowers are used in various ways, which are mentioned below-

 1. For worship in temples.

2. For decoration of wrist and head hair and for preparing garlands.

3. For various types of necklaces and garlands.

4. For preparing Sehra for marriage.

5. For extracting oil and perfume.

6. For decorating bouquets.

7. Use in soap industry.

 Climate  – It is a plant of hot and temperate climate. It can be grown at an altitude of up to 3048 meters. 24-32°C temperature is considered best for proper growth of these plants. Some of its species can be easily grown in temperate climate. Under normal conditions, subtropical climate is also considered best for its cultivation. It is cultivated only in plains and hilly areas. They are quite resistant to drought. Under some specific conditions, their plants tolerate minimum temperature up to 10°C.

 Soil – Jasmine species of plants can be cultivated in light and heavy soils, but loamy soil with proper drainage is considered best for their successful cultivation. They do not grow properly in acidic alkaline soils. Therefore, do not cultivate them in such soils.

 Preparation of land - Pits should be dug 15 days before planting jasmine plantin the field. The distance between the pits is kept from 1 to 3 meters according to the species. In less spreading species, the distance between them is kept 3 meters. Pits of 45 to 60 cubic cm size should be dug.

 Classification - Jasmine plants are classified on many bases such as growth pattern, color of flowers, time of flowering, fragrance or one or more rows of petals. There are about 200 species of jasmine in the world. In India, 40 species of jasmine are available. A brief description of the 10 major cultivable species is given below-

 1. Juhi (Jasminum acericulatum) – It is a shrub-like species. The plant grows from medium height to high height. This species is specially grown in Tamil Nadu. The leaves are green, the flowers are white and fragrant. Garlands, aromatic oil and perfume are made from its flowers.

 2. Jasminum calophyllum (J. callophyllum) – It is a climbing plant. This plant is considered best for climbing on arbors and trellises. Its leaves are yellowish green in colour. The flower is thin, white and fragrant. Its plant keeps flowering throughout the year. 3-4 kg of flowers are obtained from one plant every year.

 3. Jasminum communis (J. communis) – It is a shrub-like plant that grows to medium height. The flower is quite long, pointed and has a deep purple colour at the tip. The flowers look very beautiful, but the fragrance is less.

 4. Jasminum flexible - This is a climbing species. It is mostly grown in gardens for its fragrant flowers. It has white flowers. 2-3 kg of flowers are obtained per plant every year.

 5. Jasminum grandiflorum - Spanish jasminum and French jasminum are its popular names. Generally called jasmine or royal jasmine, it is a straight growing, bushy or climbing plant, which needs support. The flowers are white, fragrant and attractive. This species is grown to enhance the beauty of the garden. It is grown in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The flowers keep blooming throughout the year. This species is grown to climb on pergola, trellis. The branches are angular and vine-like. The leaves are arranged in opposite order and have 5 to 7 leaflets. Flowers appear in summer. The teeth of the sepals are 0.75 cm long. The tube of the petals is 1.25 cm long and their front parts are star-like. Names of some of its varieties are Bangalore, Coimbatore, Thimmarpuram, Diploid etc.

 6. Jasminum Japonica (J. japonica) – It is a shrub-like plant that grows to medium height. The flowers of this species are smaller in size than the flowers of Jasminum Communis (J. communis). The flowers are long, pointed and dark purple at the tips. The flowers are fragrant and very attractive to look at. The flowers bloom from January to November. Its average yield is 1-2 kg per plant per year.

 7. Jasminum pubescens – This species has dense green leaves due to which this species is used as an ornamental hedge. The plant does not require any kind of support. The flowers are white and fragrant and grow in bunches at the ends of the branches. The plant keeps flowering almost throughout the year. 0.5 to 1.0 kg of flowers are obtained per plant every year. This species is grown in large areas in West Bengal and is famous there by the name of 'Kund'.

 8. Jasminum rubescens – This is a climbing plant. Flowers are found almost throughout the year. The flowers are white and fragrant. On an average 2 kg of flowers are obtained per plant every year.

 9. Jasminum rigidm – This is also a climbing plant. The flowers are medium sized, fragrant and are available throughout the year. The flower tips are light pink in colour. Its leaves are very attractive. It does not require support. 1.0 to 1.5 kg of flowers are available per plant every year. It is also called "Arabian Jasmine" and "Tuscan Jasmine".

10. Jasminum sambac (J. sambac) - It is known as 'Bella'. Some people also call it Arabic Jasmine. It is also called 'Van Mallika' and 'Mogra'. It is basically an Arab plant. Its plant is of climbing nature. The leaves are arranged in opposite order and feel like leather when touched. The leaves are shiny. The petiole is curved. Generally 3 to 12 white, fragrant flowers grow in bunches on it. The flower has many rows of petals, which turn purple before drying. Many species of this are found.

How do You Grow Jasmine

(I) A species on which single flowers are formed.

(II) A species on which semi-double flowers are formed.

(iii) A species on which large flowers are formed.

(iv) A species on which small flowers are formed.

Its flowers are used in some places to make hair oil and perfume.

 Varieties - Many varieties of Bela are grown, which are mainly of two types, namely single and double petaled. Single-flowered varieties are not particularly popular and neither have they been named. Among the double-petaled flowered varieties, some varieties are particularly popular, which are grown commercially in different parts of the country. Double-petaled flowered varieties are grown in Kannauj, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Ballia, Lucknow of Uttar Pradesh. A brief description of the varieties of Bela which are specially grown is given below-

 1. Motiya - This is a very famous and popular variety. Some of its sub-varieties are also found. The leaves of the plant of this variety are about 8 cm long and 6.5 cm wide. The buds are round, the flowers are circular with double petals. The flowers are up to 3 cm wide. The petals are found in about 4 rows. The flowers of this species are used to make garlands which are very popular for their fragrance. The flowers are thick double with 8 to 21 petals.

 2. Madanman - The leaves of plants of this species are long, somewhat light green in colour. The leaves are 10 cm long and 5 cm wide, the leaves are thin towards the bottom, pointed towards the top. The leaves are smooth. The buds are long and pointed. The bloomed flowers are about 3 cm wide, which have four rows of petals. The flowers of this species have the best fragrance.

 3. Palampur - The leaves of this species are green, which are about 10 cm long and 7 cm wide. The leaves are pointed towards the front and rounded towards the bottom. Three buds emerge on one flower branch. The buds are about 3 cm and 1.5 to 2.0 cm wide. The flowers are white and look very attractive. Four rows of petals are found in the flowers.

4. Mongra – The leaves are round, 3 or 4 are present at one place on the branch. The petals of this species have many circles. The petals are intertwined, dense and circular. The diameter of the buds is about 6 cm. The flowers look very beautiful. A sweet fragrance emanates from its flowers continuously. There are some of its species in which a little variation is found. 

 5. Bela – The leaves are like round pearls but the flowers are single and small.

 6. Latest varieties –

(I) HS 18

(ii) HS 85

(iii) HS 82

 Preparation of the land – Pits should be dug 15 days before planting the plants in the field. The distance between the pits is kept from 1 meter to 3.0 meters according to the species. Pits of 45 to (66) cubic cm size should be dug. To protect the plants from termites and other underground insects, 3-5 grams of 5% BHC should also be added.

 Propagation – Jasmine plants are propagated by vegetative method, in which cutting and layering method is used. However, grafting method is also used, apart from this, budding method is also tried in it.

 Cuttings – Bella is propagated by cuttings method. 15 cm long cuttings of old branches are made and planted in the rainy season, due to which plants are ready in 3 to 31 months. By treating soft wood cuttings with 1000 ppm solution of IAA, 90% more roots are formed.

 Layering - Juhi and Jasmine are propagated by layering method. From June to October, the branches of the plant are buried in the soil, due to which plants are ready in 90 to 120 days.

How do You Plant Jasmine

 Grafting - Beluswami and colleagues (1980) studied the method of grafting. Grafting of scion and root stock of J. grandiflorum on J. auriculatum, J. communis and J. sembach resulted in excellent union of scion and root stock. The scions grew in 6 months and flowers bloomed on them, but the flowers did not show any change.

 On commercial scale, Jasmine plants are prepared by top cuttings with the help of mist chamber. This method is quite expensive, because the construction, operation and maintenance of “mist chamber” involves a lot of cost.

 Latest method of preparing plants - A new technology has been developed by the Department of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Indian Horticultural Research Institute, Hesaraghatta, Bangalore, which has been termed as 'Intensive Medium Conscious Technique'. Detailed information of this technology is given below.

 Required materials - Shady place, 250 gauge polythene bags of about 18x40 cm and 30x45 cm size, ordinary sand, loamy soil, cow dung manure, ordinary pin, root-borne powder (400 ppm), indole - 3 butyric acid or ceradix or keradix and blade.

 Technique

In a climate like Bangalore, the best time to adopt this technique is from April to June. Fill a 250 gauge polythene bag measuring approximately 18x40 cm up to a height of 15 cm with a medium i.e. a mixture of sand, loamy soil and cow dung manure (3:1:1). Fill sand up to a height of 5 cm above it. Carefully cut healthy cuttings (with approximately 6 leaves) of the desired varieties with a secateur or blade. Fill 50 of these cuttings in a 30x45 cm polythene bag. Do not fill more cuttings than this, otherwise they will not be able to breathe due to lack of air, due to which there is a possibility of heavy damage. Do not let these cuttings come in sunlight, otherwise they will wither. Close the mouth of this bag, so that the water vapor released by transpiration from the top cuttings remains inside the bag. By this method, the top cuttings can be kept safe for 4 days. Secondly, they can be easily taken to distant places also.

 Planting method - Take the bag containing collected top cuttings to the place where many bags filled with medium are kept ready for planting. Wet the medium by adding about 500 ml of water in each bag. Open the bag containing top cuttings and take out the top cuttings one by one as per requirement. Soak the lower end of the top cutting in water and make it come in contact with root producing hormone powder so that the powder sticks to the lower end of the cutting. Immediately plant it in a bag containing moist medium, twist the mouth of the bag a little and close it with a simple pin.

How to Cultivate Jasmine

Points to be noted - The best time to take top cuttings from the plant is when the shoots are coming out before flowering. Because the cuttings taken at this time give good roots. If the top cutting is taken at the time of flowering, then most of the nutrients are spent in flower formation, due to which the growth slows down.

• After planting the cuttings, they should be kept in a shady place.

• Keep the mouth of the polythene bag closed for 2.5 to 3 months. Open it for 2 minutes only to remove weeds and then close it.1

• After 2.5-3.0 months, remove the pin and open the mouth of the bag.

• Make 5 drainage holes at the base of the bag with a sharp object like a pencil.

• Lightly irrigate the plant every alternate day for about a month.

Planting - The prepared plants should be picked up along with the soil and planted in the prepared pits. It is best to do the planting work from June to September.

 

Distance - Distance has a special effect on the production of jasmine. Therefore, jasmine growers should be aware of this. In its commercial cultivation, this distance varies according to the places. Apart from this, there is also variation according to the varieties grown and the conditions of the land. The famous "Spanish Jasmine" is planted closely at 80 cm x 10 cm. By doing this, 1-1.5 lakh plants can be planted per hectare. Tests conducted at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University have shown that by planting J. Grandiflorum species at a distance of 2 m x 1.5 m, 3,333 plants were planted per hectare and they gave the highest yield of 10.71 tons of flowers. J. Ariculatum should be planted at 1.8 × 1.8 m. Whereas J. Sembach should be planted at 1.2 × 1.2 m.

 Manuring - While planting the plants, two kilograms of basket manure or compost should be given. When flowers start blooming on the plants, the same amount of manure should be given to the plants after 3-4 months in the month of December or January. Just before flowering, use 125 kilograms of ammonium sulphate fertilizer per hectare. By doing this, the yield of flowers increases.

 Trials conducted on J. auriculatum for 4 years showed that 120 g nitrogen gave maximum yield, while the use of phosphorus and potash fertilizers was not encouraging, but 120 g nitrogen per plant gave good results. If the recommended quantity of 120 g is to be reduced to half, then it should be sprayed on the leaves on a monthly basis.

In J. grandiflorum, maximum increase in diameter and weight of 100 buds was achieved by applying a mixture of FYM and NFPO fertilizers 6 times. In another trial, 60 g nitrogen and 120 g phosphoric acid significantly increased the percentage of flowers and their oil, however the best results were obtained by applying 240 g phosphoric acid and 30 kg FYM per plant. The best yield was obtained by applying NFPO 60 : 120 : 120 and 10 kg FYM per plant twice.

To get maximum yield of jasmine, the time of applying fertilizer and the method of applying it are of special importance. To get more growth of plants, more number of flowers and more quantity of oil, applying fertilizers multiple times has been found to be very necessary and beneficial. By applying different quantities of NFP multiple times, it has been found that by applying them twice, i.e. once in January and second time in July, 10.32 tons of flowers were obtained per hectare.

How to Grow a Jasmine Plant

 Irrigation - Jasmine plants should be watered regularly. Irrigate at least twice a week. Bella does not require much water, irrigate it only once a week. The time of irrigation also varies according to the weather and soil.

Pruning - Pruning has a significant effect on plant growth and flower development such as bud initiation, premature flowering and variegation. Generally, irrigation is stopped before pruning. Last season's shoots, dead and diseased branches are pruned. All leaves of the shrub are removed. Bordeaux paste is applied on the cut areas to prevent any damage to the plant from fungal diseases. The height at which the plants should be pruned in a particular climate depends on the species of jasmine.

According to Mudhewswamy and colleagues (1973), pruning J. auriculatum in the last week of January gives maximum flower production, while pruning after this time has an adverse effect on its flower production. One specific reason for getting more flowers in January is that pruning at this time produces more vegetative shoots, which bear more flowers. Pal and colleagues studied the effect of pruning on flower production and flower yield on the timing and height of pruning of plants of the same species. Pruning of single variety plants in December and January was found to be very effective, while pruning of double variety in February and at a height of 30 cm was found to be the best. Subramaniam (1977) found that early pruning in December could extend the flowering period to eight months, while late pruning could only maintain flowers for a period of 5 months. The plants pruned on December 28 produced the maximum number of flowers, while those pruned on March 28 produced the least number of flowers.

How to Grow Jasmine

Weed Control - Weeds cause a lot of damage to the jasmine crop and also increase the cost of cultivation. Weeding with the help of a hoe is less expensive, easier and more effective than chemical weed control, because weeds are destroyed by weeding once or twice. Weeds are controlled for up to 10 weeks by using a chemical called 'Oryzalin' in loamy soil. Spraying of this chemical leads to good vegetative growth and more flowers. Weeds can also be controlled by mulching.

 Picking of flowers - Flowers should be picked regularly from the second year of planting. Flowers bloom from March to October. Some species keep flowering throughout the year.

Plant Protection Measures

 

 Diseases - Jasmine plants are affected by various types of diseases which adversely affect the growth of the plants and the yield of flowers. The diseases that affect jasmine and their prevention measures are mentioned below—

 Leaf blight - It is caused by two types of fungi. namely 1. Cercospora mesminei cola and 2. Alternaria jasminei. This disease is most prevalent in the species called J. grandiflorum. Reddish brown round spots, which are 2 to 8 mm in diameter, appear on the upper surface of the leaves. This disease spreads rapidly in the rainy season. The edges of the infected leaves turn inwards and become hard and brittle. Due to the severity of the disease, vegetative buds and new branches dry up. The plant appears dead when seen from a distance. The outbreak of this disease begins in May-June and its maximum outbreak occurs from August to September. It has a greater impact on flower production. Sometimes, there is a reduction of up to 50 percent in flower production.

 

 

 Prevention

(I) Some varieties of J. arborescens, J. paniculatum and J. sambac are resistant to this disease, hence only those should be grown.

(II) This disease can be prevented by spraying any one of 0.4% Benlate, 0.2% Dithane M-45, 0.1% Bavistin and 0.1% Bordeaux mixture. Spraying should be done once a month which should be started from the month of May and should be continued till the time of pruning.

(III) This disease can also be prevented by spraying a solution of copper oxychloride.

 Wilt disease - This disease is caused by fungi called Fusarium solani or Scleratium rolfici. Due to this disease, the lower leaves turn yellow and later affect the upper leaves as well. Ultimately the plant dies.

Prevention – This disease can be prevented by sprinkling 0.1 percent Bordeaux mixture around the plants.

Viral diseases - Mainly two viruses cause great damage to jasmine plants. 1. Mosaic and 2. Phyllody. The symptoms of these diseases and their prevention are mentioned below.

Mosaic - The affected plants remain dwarf. The leaves are small and their colour is yellowish green. The spots are 1-2 mm in diameter, which later form rings. The symptoms are more evident on older leaves.

Prevention - The disease can be prevented by spraying medicines for pests.

Phyllody - This disease is spread by "Mycoplasma". The infected plants become deformed. Instead of white flowers, green flowers appear on the pencils which become tight and green in colour. The parts of the flowers get transformed into structures resembling leaves.

Prevention - Cuttings of diseased plants should never be sown. A solution of tetracycline hydrochloride (250 ppm) should be sprayed.

Insects - Many types of insects damage the jasmine plant at various stages. The damage caused by its major insects is mentioned below.

Bud Worm - This is a green coloured larva which makes holes in the immature buds of Jasmine and enters them and keeps eating them.

Gallary Worm – This insect damages the top leaves, shoots and flowers.

Packing - There is no standard grading system for jasmine flowers, however, it is essential to grade them according to their size, type and freshness before packing them in boxes and baskets. Corrugated cardboard boxes are good for sending jasmine flowers to distant places. Before packaging the plucked flowers, they must be "cold treated". The packaging should be efficient, economical and attractive so that they can be sold easily in the market.

Yield - The yield of flowers depends on the Jasmine variety, fertility of the soil and care of the crop. The flowers are plucked in the morning. There are about 10,000 to 14,000 flowers in one kilogram weight. Every year 2-3 kilograms are obtained from each plant, which gives 1.5-5 kilograms of Jasmine Concrete.

Method of extraction of oil from jasminum flowers

 Jasmine flowers are soaked in benzene or petroleum ether for 12 to 24 hours.

Filtering and Evaporation

Jasmine flowers contain 0.28 to 0.34 percent essential oil, from which an average of 25 kg oil is extracted from 100 kg of flowers.

Wash with 9.5% hot alcohol. After cleaning with alcohol 5-6 times, it is filtered. The substances which are insoluble in alcohol will float to the top. The filtered liquid at the bottom has to be kept at 20°C for 12 hours. The wax-like substance remains on top. The filtered liquid has to be cooled and then filtered again.

75-80% alcohol soluble wax + 20-25% fast growing oil.

How to Propagate Jasmine Plant

Evaporation at low pressure

Fragrant oil comes out which should be stored in bottles and kept in a safe place or sent directly to the market for sale.

 Production of Jasmine Fragrance Material (Concrete)

There are many methods of extracting fragrance from flowers, but the solvent extraction method is the best and modern one. Food grade hexane with a boiling point of 65-70°C is used as the solvent. The solvent of the flowers is taken out and separated inside the extractor. New solvent is added and then the extractor is rotated for 15 minutes to take out the solvent. After this, new solvent is added and the extractor is rotated for 10 minutes to take out the solvent. The solvent extracted for the first time is drained, but the solvent of the second and third time is collected and used for the first time to extract fragrance from new flowers. The fragrance dissolved solvent obtained in this way is evaporated. Then after thickening it, the remaining solvent is also removed by a suction pump. The material made in this way is called concrete. It is a yellowish brown semi-solid substance which smells like fresh jasmine flowers. 250-300 grams of 'concrete' is obtained from 100 kg of flowers. About 25-30 kg of concrete is obtained from flowers (about 10 tonnes) obtained from one hectare of land. Its international market price is more than Rs 15000 per kg. The cost per kg is about 8-9 thousand rupees. Based on these facts, if you have your own concrete factory, you can earn more than one lakh rupees net from the concrete obtained from Jasmine garden per hectare. You can earn a good income if you have your own factory.

Absolute is made by purifying concrete for use in the perfume industry. One kilogram of concrete yields about 490 grams of Absolute. Freshly made Absolute is a thick, transparent, yellowish brown liquid with a strong fragrance of fresh jasmine flowers.

Jasmine hair oil production

Jasmine hair oil production from jasmine flowers is a famous industry of Uttar Pradesh. For this, sesame seeds are soaked in water, peeled and dried in the sun. After that, a layer of these sesame seeds is made and a layer of jasmine flowers is applied on it, on top of this several layers of sesame seeds and jasmine flowers are deposited one above the other. The layers of stale flowers are removed and layers of fresh flowers are applied. By doing this for 5-7 days, sesame seeds absorb the fragrance of jasmine well. Oil is extracted by grinding these sesame seeds in water. This is jasmine hair oil, which has the captivating fragrance of jasmine flowers.