LAND SELECTION

Lavender fields are warm in the south-southwest direction, inclined between 10-15 degrees to avoid strong winds, permeable soil structure, high lime content, filtered dry (without high ground water) and calcareous, alkaline in PH acidity range of 6-8.5 Better yield is obtained in dry, barren, mountainous land soils, which are characterized by

Since it is resistant to all weather conditions, it is very suitable for farmers to evaluate barren lands. Since it is perennial, it should not be forgotten that the land to be treated should be reserved for this work for a minimum of 15 years. In regions with cold winters, the plant can withstand up to -25C when it is dormant, and the young shoots formed after waking up to -5C. However, yield loss may occur in regions where frost is experienced. Regions where summers are humid are not desired in lavender cultivation, 1000 mt. Flower and oil yield/quality increases at altitude.

SELECTION AND PRODUCTION OF SUITABLE SEEDLING

When the seedlings for oil extraction are evaluated in terms of oil components and oil yield;

Hemus and Raja, subspecies of Angustifolia, in terms of oil quality.

Sevtapolis and drujba Sevtopolis”, “Drujba”, “Yubileina” are recommended for high flower and oil yield per acre

On the other hand, Intermedia has low oil quality but high flower and oil yield per acre.

If the decided seedlings will be planted mixed, it is very important to divide and classify them, since their flowering starts at different times. It should be certified and its degree of purity should be checked, and its guarantee should be requested.

Lavender production can be done in 2 ways. The first and most preferred method is the production made from cuttings and rooted shoots. Cuttings need to be planted in rooting medium before the plants wake up in spring. February-March-April months are preferred. The second production method is production with seeds. The problem in seed production is that most of them are obtained from their hybrids. For this reason, in the production desired to be made with seeds, other varieties may emerge that will change their qualities and attract them to their originals. In the production made with steel, the properties of that plant continue without deterioration.

SOIL PREPARATION AND PLANTING

Before planting lavender cuttings or seedlings, deep ploughing is required in the field. Seedlings are placed on the land leveled with a disc harrow and rake. In the field prepared in this way, an arc is opened at a distance of 140 cm between rows and the seedlings are planted at 35 cm intervals. These distances were calculated in this way due to the distance between the wheels of the tractor while the automation was harvesting. If manual harvesting is to be done in small lands, planting can be done by leaving 35-40 cm rows and spacing.

Seedling planting can be done twice a year in May and November. The yield in the plantings made in May is lower than the plantings in November.

It is very important to give life water to the plants after planting the seedlings. In lavender cultivation, 140x35 cm spacing and in-row spacing is suitable for cultivation. 2200 lavender seedlings are planted per acre (1000m²).

Before the lavender seedlings are planted, the field should not be weedless, especially covered with weeds that reproduce by rhizome.

 

IRRIGATION, FERTILIZATION AND MAINTENANCE

After the seedling is planted, irrigation should be done 3-4 times at regular intervals in order to strengthen the relationship of the plant with the soil. Although the lavender plant can be grown under waterless conditions in the following years, irrigation increases the flower yield per decare.

Fertilizing with barn manure every 2-3 years in lavender fields is extremely important as it will help improve soil conditions. Apart from this, it is sufficient to give 8-10 kg of N and 3-5 kg ​​of P2O5 per decare per year. However, fertilization should be done according to the results of soil analysis.

Growth in lavender is very slow in the first year, short stems occur. The main growth and yield starts from the second year. After planting, hoeing is required to aerate the soil to a certain extent and to destroy weeds. In the first year, mechanical hoeing between rows (10-15 cm deep) 4-5 times and hoeing around the plants 2-3 times.

After hoeing 3 times in the first year, this process can be done with a hoeing machine in the second and third years. In the first two years, there is no important maintenance work other than hoeing for weed control. In order to achieve positive results in plant development, it is of great importance to meticulously clean wild plants in the first 2 years. Since the lavender seedlings grown in the following years will become dominant, they will not harbor weeds in the field, so our farmers will not have to clean the weeds.

There are no important diseases and pests that will prevent the production of lavender. Only in some years, capped fungus and white root rot can be harmful to the root parts of the plant, and disease agents such as Septoria lavandulae and Ophiobulus brachyascus to the above-ground parts of the plant.

 

HARVEST AND DRYING

Lavender, depending on the species and varieties, climate and soil conditions, altitude and direction, reaches the full flowering period in July and is harvested during this period. In the harvest of the plant, it is also harvested with saw blades and gasoline hedge trimmers. Machine harvesting saves labor and time.

Harvested flowers are either processed directly to obtain essential oil, or they are laid in a shaded environment in a thickness that will not cause escalation and left to dry. Dried stemmed lavender flowers are separated from their stems manually or by automation methods. Essential oil yield is somewhat lost in lavender bunches dried in open field. Essential oil is usually obtained from lavender by water or steam distillation. The essential oil yield varies between 3 and 9% in stemless dried flowers, depending on the varieties.

The yield of stemless dried flowers per decare varies between 100 kg and 500 kg, depending on the species and cultivars, climate and soil conditions.