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| Source: http://plantsdatabase.com/t/249687 |
Last updated: 20th September 2002
| CATMINT |
Family: Labiatae
Genus: Nepeta
Species: racemosa
|
| Source: http://plantsdatabase.com/t/249687 |
Contents
General Background
Details of Quality Characteristics
Current Production and Yields
Constraints upon Production
Markets and Market Potential
Other Information
Research
Useful Websites
BioMat Net
Contacts
References
General Background
Catnip or catmint (Nepeta cataria L., Lamiaceae-Labiatae) is native to Europe, from Scandinavia to
Sicily, Portugal and Greece, and is naturalised
in North America. It is also found in west
and central Asia and Kashmir. It is found
in dry wayside places and in mountainous
regions up to altitudes of 1500m. It is found
predominantly on calcareous soil.
Catnip is a downy, aromatic perennial herb
growing to 0.5m in height and often spreading
up to 1 metre in width. Stems are erect and
branched. Leaves are grey-green, blades 3
- 7cm, ovate, with petioles, cordate at the
base and coarsely serrate. Bracts are similar
but much smaller. The flowers are in whorls,
upper whorls are crowded, lower ones much
more widely spaced. The corolla is approximately
12mm and white with small purple spots. Nutlets
are obovoid and smooth. The flowers are protandrous
and are pollinated by bees.
Catnip was once used as a medicinal for a
wide variety of complaints. Catnip tea became
popular as a mildly stimulating beverage
and continues to be sold in health food stores
in herbal tea mixtures. Catnip is also sold
to manufacturers of cat toys, who take advantage
of this herbs affect on the behaviour of
cats, making them at first extremely playful,
then quite docile. The compound that attracts
cats to catnip is the volatile compound,
nepetalactone.
Details of Quality Characteristics
The Nepeta family makes monoterpenes, some
that are similar to insect pheromones. Catnip
also contains iridoids, tannins and volatile
oil (mainly a- and b-nepetalactone, citronellol
and gerianol).
The most important component of all aromatic
herbs is product quality. When catnip was
collected from the wild there was often a
mixture of catnip plants of varying maturities
and of different ecotypes resulting in a
non-uniform product. Gathered material also
has many weeds and other extraneous debris.
Herb companies and catnip buyers often faced
with excess raw product will purchase only
the highest quality plants. Thus, increasing
catnip quality via cultivation is essential
for both maintaining current markets and
opening newer ones.
Current Production and Yields
Traditionally the plants have been collected
from the wild, but it is getting increasingly
difficult to find gatherers who are willing
to search the mountain regions to locate
and harvest the herb. Today catnip is cultivated
and grown under contract, which has resulted
in a more uniform and higher quality crop.
Yields of 4.4 to 6.7 tonnes/ha dry weight
can be expected in years when growing conditions
are good.
Constraints upon Production
There are no known constraints upon production.
Markets and Market Potential
The leaves and flowering tops, for which
there is a reasonably constant demand, are
collected when the plant is fully in flower.
The coarser stems and branches should be
rejected. Catnip oil, which may be obtained
from the herb by steam distillation, is used
in small quantities as a scent in trapping
bobcats and mountain lions in North America.
The damson hop aphid (Phorodon humuli) is a major pest of hops (Humulus lupulus) and has a complex life cycle infesting
two host plants. It overwinters in Prunus spp. and in spring migrates to the hop and unless
control measures are used will rapidly infect
the whole hop plant including its cones.
The sex pheromone of the species is a monoterpene,
nepetalactol. Similar monoterpenes are made
by plants of the Nepeta family. The biochemistry
and molecular biology of monoterpene production
in Nepeta has been studied in detail with
major progress in elucidating the biosynthetic
pathway and cloning of relevant genes.
If Nepeta plants can be manipulated to produce
the correct chemical form of the monoterpene,
it may be possible to use the plant for bulk
production of the pheromone for trapping
aphids, or to develop a viable monitoring
system.
Catnip has sedative properties and stimulates
sweating and therefore reduces fever, also
settles the stomach. It is also useful in
treating digestive disorders.
Catmint has a long history of use as a household
herbal remedy, being employed especially
in treating disorders of the digestive system
and, as it stimulates sweating, it is useful
in reducing fevers. The herbs pleasant taste
and gentle action makes it suitable for treating
colds, flu and fevers in children. It is
more effective when used in conjunction with
elderflower (Sambucs nigra).
It is also very useful in the treatment of
restlessness and nervousness, being very
useful as a mild nervine for children.
The extract, nepetalactone, from the leaves
has herbicidal and insect repellant properties.
The freshly harvested flowering tops contain
0.3 - 1% essential oil by distillation. It
is mainly used for medicinal purposes.
Other Information
Catnip seeds are extremely small (about 140
seeds per gram) and frequently seed vigour
is poor. Because of the difficulty in directly
field sowing such small seed and in the slowness
of the seedlings to develop and compete with
weeds, catnip should be transplanted into
the field.
Catnip seeds germinate rapidly and produce
healthy seedlings at temperatures between
20-30°C. Seeds are sown into warm plant beds
60-65 days prior to transplanting in a manner
similar to tobacco seeding (Tobacco Information,
1989).
Daily management of plant beds is necessary
to produce strong, healthy seedlings. Once
the seedlings start to grow they should be
thinned to a population of about 430 plants
per m 2 . Any plastic cover on the plant
bed should be removed if the air temperature
reaches 24°C or higher for two consecutive
days during seedling growth to avoid heat
damage. Coverings are desirable when the
temperatures go below 7°C. Seedlings are
ready for transplanting by hand or mechanically
when they reach a height of 150 to 200mm.
Fields should be fertilised based on soil
test recommendations for field crops, prior
to planting. Transplants are placed 23 to
30 cm apart at row widths of 76 to 97 cm.
Catnip has few insect or disease problems.
However, weeds, the major pest need to be
controlled by cultivation. There are no herbicides
labelled for use in catnip production nor
are any expected in the future.
Catnip is ready to harvest when the plants
are in full bloom. The aromatic properties
of the volatile oils in catnip decrease after
this stage making timing of the harvest critical.
Plants are harvested by clipping the stems
about 10 to 12 cm above the crown. This allows
re-growth from the adventitious buds located
on the lower stem nodes. The thicker stems
of the harvested plants may also be removed
to allow for a leafier, finer stemmed and
aromatic product. At lower elevations two
harvests can generally be made in a single
growing season. At higher elevations cutting
a second time could result in significant
plant injury over the winter.
In general a stand of catnip will last for
three years, after which time the weeds generally
become a serious problem and the stand, yield
and quality of the crop decreases.
Catnip is usually ready to harvest in August,
a time when the weather is too humid in North
Carolina for proper curing. Artificial dryers
can be used to reduce the moisture content
to the required level for marketing. The
temperature used to cure catnip will affect
the aromatic properties and excessively high
temperatures can volatilise and decrease
the essential oil content of the dried herb.
Research
More information is required on the field
scale cultivation and production of Catmint
to allow successful production to improve
and continue. Research is likely to be carried
out in the future on general agronomy, varietal
selections and breeding improvements of this
crop.
Useful Websites
BioMat Net
LINK Collaborative Research: Competitive
Industrial Materials from Non-Food Crops
Contacts
Ray Marriott
Botanix Ltd
Hop Pocket Lane, Paddock Wood
Tonbridge, Kent
TN12 6BY
IACR (Institute of Arable Crops Research)
Rothamsted, Harpenden
Hertfordshire,
AL5 2JQ, UK.
Tel: 01582 763133
Fax: 01582 760981
Research Programme: Biological and Ecological
Chemistry.
Programme Manager: Dr Lester Wadhams
References
