[citation needed] During the reign of Harshavardhan, Kannauj became the biggest centre for aromatic trade and for the first time, a vetiver tax was introduced.

[3] Starting in 1990, the World Bank promoted use of vetiver grass by farmers for soil and water management in countries like India, Nepal, Thailand, and Nigeria.

Shoots growing from the underground crown make the plant frost and wildfire resistant, and allow it to survive heavy grazing pressure.

Because of all these characteristics, the vetiver plant is highly drought-tolerant and can help to protect soil against sheet erosion.

[8] The major vetiver producers include Haiti, India, Indonesia, and Réunion (part of the Mascarene Islands, east of Madagascar).

[10] Almost all vetiver grown worldwide is vegetatively propagated; bioengineering has shown them as essentially the same nonfertile cultigen by DNA profiling.

[6] This makes vetiver an excellent stabilizing hedge for stream banks, terraces and rice paddies, and protects soil from sheet erosion.

[6] Vetiver mulch increases water infiltration and reduces evaporation, thus protecting soil moisture under hot and dry conditions.

[6] In West African regions, such as Mali and Senegal, vetiver roots were traditionally used to reduce bacteria proliferation in water jugs and jars.

It attracts the stem borer (Chilo partellus), which lays its eggs preferentially on vetiver but whose larvae cannot thrive there, as the plant's hairiness prevents their moving onto the leaves, so that they instead fall to the ground and die.

The syrup is used to flavor milkshakes and yogurt drinks like lassi, but can also be used in ice creams, in mixed beverages such as Shirley Temples, and as a dessert topping.

In Cuddalore, farmers grow 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of vetiver for oil extraction with help of marudhamalai groups.

Total production increased in ten years from 20 to 60 tonnes annually, making it the largest producer in the world.

The oil's characteristics can vary significantly depending on where the grass is grown and the climate and soil conditions.

In the Indian Subcontinent, khus (vetiver roots) is often used to replace the straw or wood shaving pads in evaporative coolers.

[7] When cool water runs for months over wood shavings in evaporative cooler padding, they tend to accumulate algae, bacteria and other microorganisms.

A cheaper alternative is to add vetiver cooler perfume or even pure khus attar to the tank.

Mats made by weaving vetiver roots and binding them with ropes or cords are used in India to cool rooms in a house during summer.

The mats are typically hung in a doorway and kept moist by spraying with water periodically; they cool the passing air, as well as emitting a fresh aroma.

[29] In the hot summer months in India, sometimes a muslin sachet of vetiver roots is tossed into the earthen pot that keeps a household's drinking water cool.

[citation needed] A recent study found the plant is capable of growing in fuel-contaminated soil.

[30] Vetiver grass is used as roof thatch (it lasts longer than other materials) and in mud brick-making for housing construction (such bricks have lower thermal conductivity).

[6] Garlands made of vetiver grass are used to adorn the murti of Lord Nataraja (Shiva) in Hindu temples.

Vetiver oil has been used in an effort to track where mosquitoes live during dry seasons in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Dogs trained to track the scent, not native to Africa, found the marked mosquitoes in such places as holes in trees and in old termite mounds.

[32] A modified seedling planter or mechanical transplanter can plant large numbers of vetiver slips in the nursery.

Sandy loam nursery beds ensure easy harvest and minimal damage to plant crowns and roots.

[7] To control termites that attack dead material, hexachlorobenzene, also known as benzene hexachloride-BCH, can be applied to the vetiver hedge.