Lemon grass requires year-round rainfall of between 700mm and 3 000mm annually. The most popular production areas are in the lowveld of Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Essential oil crops have aromatic oils in certain parts of the plant. The oil is extracted by various methods.
Cymbopogon citratus is a fast-growing, lemon-scented perennial aromatic grass that can grow up to 1,5m tall. The oil is used in deodorants, waxes, polishes, detergents and insecticides.
Lemon grass is grown mainly in the lowveld areas of Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo, but there are limited plantings in Gauteng, North West and the Eastern Cape and Western Cape where conditions are suitable.
Lemon grass grows well at a temperature between 10°C and 33°C. It performs well in well-drained sandy to clay loam soils with a pH range of 5 to 8,4.
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