In the USA, peppermint acreage varies between 60,000 and 100,000 acres depending on market conditions. Along with spearmint and arvensis mint, it is used to flavor chewing gum, toothpaste, confections, and health care products with a retail value exceeding $40B. Peppermint is affected by several challenges to its commercial sustainability including plant diseases, pests, water, and fertilizer usage resulting in cost increases that make U.S. peppermint oil less globally competitive. The long-term sustainability of peppermint is an important objective at ADM. A.M. Todd, the mint brand at ADM, has an ongoing agricultural program to increase peppermint oil’s economic and environmental sustainability including the development of non-GMO novel varieties that are higher yielding, resistant to key pests and diseases, and use less water and fertilizer. An important achievement has been the identification of peppermint varieties that are highly resistant to aggressive strains of Verticillium wilt (Verticillium dahlaie) and mint rust (Puccinia menthae). This important milestone has made peppermint more competitive by increasing oil yields and allowing for a longer peppermint plantation life span. In addition to the significant cost reduction advantages these varieties and complementary agricultural practices have had, they have also provided beneficial environmental benefits. Over the past five years, ADM peppermint varieties have saved 33,623 million gallons of water, 6,332 tons of fertilizer, and 597,558 gallons of fuel. This reduction in fuel usage has allowed us to prevent the emission of 6,156 metric tons of CO2, which is the equivalent of 466 homes’ electricity use for a year or 667 cars driven for a year. The ADM Plant Science program has improved the economic sustainability of peppermint oil production and achieved significant environmental benefits while reducing the overall cost of producing a pound of peppermint oil.

How the commercialization of novel peppermint varieties is contributing to sustainable production of peppermint oil

255th National Meeting (2018)

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