THE INTEGRATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND CULINARY HERBS IN AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS FOR THE CARIBBEAN: A STUDY IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS

M.C. Palada, J.M. Mitchell, B.N. Becker, P.K.R. Nair
Medicinal plants and culinary herbs are horticultural crops with socio-economic significance in the Caribbean. People of the Caribbean maintain the tradition of making ‘bush (herb) tea’ as part of their daily activity. ‘Bush tea’ is made with a variety of herbs that are combined for their culinary and medicinal properties. A project was initiated to study the role of medicinal herbs and plants in enhancing productivity of small farms in the Virgin Islands. On-farm experiments were established to evaluate agronomic and economic potentials of medicinal and culinary herbs grown with medicinal trees in an agroforestry system. Indigenous medicinal herbs included in the evaluation trial were ‘inflammation bush’ (Verbersina alata), ‘japana’ (Eupatorium triplinerve), and ‘worrywine’ (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis). Culinary herbs evaluated were basil (Ocimum basilicum), chamomile (Marticaria recutita), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis), sage (Salvia officinalis), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris). The medicinal plants and culinary herbs were grown in alleys formed by hedgerows of medicinal trees (Moringa spp.). Initial tree hedgerow establishment was excellent for Moringa spp. Biomass production after first pruning indicated that M. oleifera was more productive than M. stenopetala. Growth and yield of medicinal plants and culinary herbs varied according to species in both hedgerow and no hedgerow treatments. Lemongrass and blue verbena were the most productive traditional species in both treatments while culinary herbs basil and sweet marjoram were more productive than other species. In general, yield of medicinal plants and herbs was reduced under hedgerow intercropping although competition for light and soil moisture was minimal.
Palada, M.C., Mitchell, J.M., Becker, B.N. and Nair, P.K.R. (2005). THE INTEGRATION OF MEDICINAL PLANTS AND CULINARY HERBS IN AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS FOR THE CARIBBEAN: A STUDY IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. Acta Hortic. 676, 147-153
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.676.18
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.676.18
agroforestry, medicinal herbs and trees, culinary herbs
English

Acta Horticulturae