National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Hebbal, Bangalore-560 024, Karnataka.
High quality essential oil yielding herbs require specific agro-climatic conditions for their successful cultivation. Due to the availability of wide variety of such conditions, India offers great scope for producing and exporting such produces. Nearly 2000 such herbs are produced in India. Davana (Artemesia pallens) is one such crop, which offers bright agribusiness opportunities for both farmers and processing industries. Davana requires rich red loams and rain-free bright sunny days to produce high oil yield. Such conditions prevail in the Eastern dry zone represented by Bangalore. A field study conducted at farmers fields has proved that this crop can be successfully cultivated in the Banglore region and has potential to yield a net profit of Rs 40,000/- per ha for farmers in about 100 days. Crop is free from pests and non-degrading environment. The study has found that costs on labour and watering are the main components of production. The major constraint in the region is declining watertable, as crop also requires intensive irrigation. Crop requirements, scope for area expansion, export market, SWOT analysis, agencies involved in trade and government interventions have all been discussed in this paper.
