Odakkali, located at 10.09 North and 76.54 Eastis a village in the Perumbavoor Ernakulam district of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

State, in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Odakkali is 26.8 km away from Aluva in

Aluva Aluva () is a Municipalities of Kerala, municipality and a northern suburb of the city of Kochi in Kerala. It is located about north of the city centre. Aluva is known for the Aluva Sivarathri festival, Sivarathri festival, which is celebra ...

Munnar Munnar () is a town located in the Idukki district of the southwestern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. Munnar is situated at around above mean sea level, in the Western Ghats mountain range. This ancient plantat ...

Road.

Temple

The

Kallil Temple Kallil Temple is a Hindu– Jain temple located at Kerala, South India. It is 8 km away from Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district of Kerala. The name in Malayalam means 'in stone'. It is one of the most ancient Hindu temples in Kerala. It ...

is 2 km away from Odakkali.

Research station

The Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Research Station of

Kerala Agricultural University Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is a State university (India), state university for agricultural education, recognised as a State Agricultural University by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It is situated in Vellanikkara ...

is located at Odakkali. This research station has attracted international attention in the field of aromatic technology. It has identified sources of rose aroma, which are less expensive and are of great demand in the perfume industry. The Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Research Station was established in 1951 as 'Lemon Grass Breeding Station' under the Department of Agriculture of the erstwhile

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

government. Later, it was brought under the direct administrative control of the Associate Director of Research (Central Region) of the

in 1982 and was renamed the Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Research Station (AMPRS). The

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

directs entrepreneurs to this centre for advice regarding their research and development needs on

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, oily heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

Herbs

The Research Station has been recognized at the national level as one of the leading centres for research on aromatic plants. Scientists here have identified two herbs rich in

geranyl acetate Geranyl acetate is a terpenoid. It is a colorless liquid with a pleasant floral or fruity rose aroma. It is a colorless liquid but commercial samples can appear yellowish. Geranyl acetate is insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. Sev ...

, giving off the smell of rope. They are found in the hills of Munnar and Thathamangalam near

Palakkad Palakkad (), Renaming of cities in India, also known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery, is a city and a municipality in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of P ...

. OD 468 is the technical name of the plant identified at Munnar and OD 455 of the one at Thathamangalam. 'OD' stands for Odakkali, the place where the Institute is located. Studies have revealed that the average yield of the variety was nearly 10 tonnes of herbage per harvest. Hydro-distillation of the leaf produced 0.4 percent of essential oils and 79.8 percent of geranyl acetate.

Lemongrass

The most significant contribution of AMPRS is the 'Sugandhi' (OD19), a variety of lemongrass of high yield and quality. It has been nationally accepted as the most significant variety of East Indian lemongrass. Diverse soil and climatic conditions ranging from hot, humid tropics of Kerala to sub-tropical conditions of sub-Himalayan regions have not been unfavourable to its growth. A prized collection of 450 varieties of this species of India and abroad can be found in this Institute. A great deal has been done by the institute for the conservation of aromatic plants. A phytochemical laboratory upgraded to regional Analytical Laboratory for medicinal and aromatic plants has been established. It is sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.

Herbal garden

The station has a herbal garden comprising 350 species of medicinal herbs. The garden serves the purpose of providing genuine plant species used in indigenous systems of medicine, conserving and propagating endangered species, educating and demonstrating as well as functioning as a reference centre. The farm also has provision for cultivating around 15 species of medicinal herbs. A nursery centre contains planting parts like seeds of medicinal herbs, which are distributed among cultivators. Demands for these come in from all over the country from Jammu to Kanyakumari to the Bay of Bengal to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is a matter of pride for the Kerala Agricultural University that the station has found a place in the world seeds catalogue of the F.A.O.

References

{{Ernakulam district Villages in Ernakulam district