Essential Oil Production: Mint and Lavender Variety Trials in Upstate New York

Presenter's Name(s)

Aine Hardaker, UVMFollow

Conference Year

January 2019

Abstract

With the ever changing climate, farmers are constantly looking for ways to strengthen the economic and environmental sustainability of their farms. One way to do this is through diversification. In Upstate New York, high value crops such as mint and lavender essential herbs thrive in opposite conditions, insuring at least one of them will thrive should extreme weather (flood/drought) occur. This project explores winter hardiness, plant yield, oil yield, oil quality, and pests of different varieties of lavender, spearmint, and peppermint. Using this information, farmers can make better informed decisions about which varieties to plant, depending on what they want to use the plant for (cut flower, oil, etc.).

Primary Faculty Mentor Name

Dr. Don Ross

Faculty/Staff Collaborators

Dr. Lily Calderwood (Collaborating Mentor)

Status

Undergraduate

Student College

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Program/Major

Environmental Sciences

Primary Research Category

Food & Environment Studies

Abstract only.

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Essential Oil Production: Mint and Lavender Variety Trials in Upstate New York

With the ever changing climate, farmers are constantly looking for ways to strengthen the economic and environmental sustainability of their farms. One way to do this is through diversification. In Upstate New York, high value crops such as mint and lavender essential herbs thrive in opposite conditions, insuring at least one of them will thrive should extreme weather (flood/drought) occur. This project explores winter hardiness, plant yield, oil yield, oil quality, and pests of different varieties of lavender, spearmint, and peppermint. Using this information, farmers can make better informed decisions about which varieties to plant, depending on what they want to use the plant for (cut flower, oil, etc.).