Productivity and essential oil quality assessment of promising accessions of Ocimum basilicum L. from north India

Published Date
Industrial Crops and Products
March 2017, Vol.97:79–86, doi:10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.12.008

• Author 

• R.C. Padalia ^,,
• R.S. Verma
• R.K. Upadhyay
• A. Chauhan
• V.R. Singh

• CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Research Centre, Pantnagar, Dairy Farm Nagla, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand 263149, India

Received 12 August 2016. Revised 25 November 2016. Accepted 7 December 2016. Available online 13 December 2016. 

Highlights

• •
  Ocimum basilicum L. is a popular culinary herb used in food-flavour and fragrance.
• •
  Productivity and essential oil quality of two accessions of basil were assessed.
• •
  Accessions possessed significantly higher methyl chavicol yield than check variety.
• •
  Higher essential oil and methyl chavicol yield noticed in rain-autumn cropping season.
• •
  Composition of studied accessions is similar to Reunion-basil (≥80% methyl chavicol).

Abstract

The essential oil of Ocimum basilicum L. finds an extensive use in food-flavour, fragrances and cosmetics. In order to explore promising genotypes of Ocimum basilicum for quality production of essential oils, a field experiment was conducted to assess the productivity and essential oil quality of two accessions of Ocimum basilicum (OB-1G and OB-5P) in comparison of an existing prevalent variety of Ocimum basilicum (CIM-Soumya) in the subtropical agroclimatic conditions of north India. Yield and quality attributed were assessed in different harvesting stages (half bloom, full bloom, and seed setting stages) of two cropping seasons (spring-summer and rain-autumn). Significant variations in respect of the essential oil content, fresh herb yield, essential oil yield, methyl chavicol content and methyl chavicol yield were noticed among the investigated O. basilicum taxa. Methyl chavicol (56.1–89.7%) and linalool (1.0–33.7%) were the major constituents of the essential oils. The essential oils of O. basilicum accessions possessed significantly higher content of methyl chavicol (OB-1G: 80.7–89.7%; OB-5P: 81.6–88.9%) as compared with check variety (CIM-Soumya: 56.1–67.6%). Consequently, Significantly higher methyl chavicol yield (96.8 kg ha⁻¹) was found in OB-1G, followed by 91.3 kg ha⁻¹ in OB-5P; with lowest (84.9 kg ha⁻¹) in check variety. All examined taxa produced significantly higher methyl chavicol at full bloom stage in rain-autumn cropping season as compared with spring-summer season. Moreover, the accessions, OB-1G and OB-5P produced 14.0% and 7.5% more methyl chavicol, respectively as compared with the check variety.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

• Ocimum basilicum L.
• Essential oil
• Methyl chavicol
• Improvement
• Growth stages
• Cropping season

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• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author.
  
  

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