Saksham

Saksham is a high-menthol variety of Japanese mint (Mentha arvensis) from CSIR-CIMAP. It was developed by screening tissue-culture-derived plants (somaclones) of the older variety Himalaya on a medium laced with toxic levels of menthol, picking the plant that tolerated it and accumulated more menthol per unit of leaf; the US plant patent was filed on 27 November 2000. The oil carries about 82–87% menthol at 0.8–1.0% oil content, and in the breeder's trials it gave about 22.6% more menthol per unit area than the best existing variety, and more oil than Kosi, Himalaya and Kalka. It matures early — about 110 days in the patent trials, and recent CIMAP guidance recommends harvest at about 90 days. In field studies oil content ran from about 0.4% to 1.1% depending on the crop's age at cutting, so cut at full leaf on a sunny day rather than too early.

Plant typeSucker (improved variety)
MaturityAbout 90–110 days to the first cut
Yield potentialAbout 22.6% more menthol per unit area than the best variety in the breeder's trials
Disease resistanceNo specific disease resistance claimed
SoilWell-drained, organic-matter-rich loam or sandy loam
SeasonZaid / summer

• Sowing timeMain February window; the early maturity also allows later planting
• Seed rateAbout 400–450 kg of fresh suckers per hectare (roughly 160–180 kg per acre)
• SpacingRows 45–60 cm apart, suckers laid end to end (about 10 cm apart) in furrows 5–6 cm deep
• Sowing methodLay fresh, healthy suckers in moist furrows, cover lightly with soil and irrigate at once
• IrrigationA light irrigation at planting and a week later, then about every 10–12 days through the summer (roughly ten irrigations); stop about a week before each cut
• FertilizerAbout 120 kg N, 60 kg P₂O₅ and 40 kg K₂O per hectare with about 20 t FYM, the nitrogen split over three to four doses including one right after the first cut (NHB mint package)
• HarvestingFirst cut at about 90–110 days (about 110 in the patent trials; recent CIMAP guidance is about 90 days); oil content ran about 0.4–1.1% depending on crop age, so do not cut too early

Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.

• Uttar Pradesh
• Uttarakhand
• Punjab
• Haryana

• CIM-Unnati

  CSIR-CIMAP menthol mint developed from the genotype MASP-19 and introduced around 2020 — reported to give about 20% more oil than the existing checks, with menthol near 74%.

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• CIM-Kranti

  CSIR-CIMAP cold- and frost-tolerant menthol mint (half-sib selection, released 2013) with about 80% menthol; stays green and grows through winter when other varieties die back, and gives 10–12% more oil than the best checks in the main summer crop.

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• Kosi

  CSIR-CIMAP menthol mint released in 1999 (about 80% menthol), a half-sib selection from HY-77 (Kalka); early-maturing, suited to later planting, and among the varieties with the most stable oil yield across years and sites.

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• Kushal

  CSIR-CIMAP menthol mint for late (April) transplanting, a tissue-culture somaclone of Himalaya (patent priority March 2003); about 77–78% menthol; tolerates waterlogging during sucker production; among the most stable oil yielders in multi-year trials.

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• Himalaya

  CSIR-CIMAP menthol mint bred from a cross of Gomti and Kalka (HY-77) (US plant patent filed April 1997), with about 80% menthol; the parent of the somaclonal varieties Saksham, Kushal and Sambhav.

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• Desi Pudina (spearmint)

  The everyday local spearmint (Mentha spicata) multiplied from suckers or cuttings for the fresh-leaf pudina market — not a released variety. CIMAP spearmint cultivars (Arka, Neera, MSS-5) exist for oil.

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