Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) cultivation studies under Ankara ecological conditions

• We evaluated lines form Coastal Mediterranean Region.
• The essential oil percentage was one of the main factors.
• The herba and leaf yield were evaluated as well.
• The promising lines were characterized.

The composition of 48 essential oil samples, obtained by steam distillation of rosemary (Rosmarinus oftiicinalis L.) originated from six different locations of southern Turkey (Izmir, Aydin, Antalya, Mersin, Adana and Hatay) has been analyzed by capillary GC/MS in combination with retention indices. The essential oil yield ranged from 0.35% to 2.08%. Wide variation was observed among the lines regarding their essential oil yield. The highest mean essential oil yield was determined from the Mersin lines with 0.94%. The maximum amount for plant height (16.2 cm), branch per plant (20.48), fresh herb yield (3.34 t/ha), fresh leaf yield and dry leaf yield (0.82 t/ha) was devoted to the lines provided from Antalya province. The essential oil composition of the lines changed from 14.3% to 17.5% camphor, 11.0–21.6% eucalyptol and 10.2–12.5% α-pinene.