Influence of planting date on growth, artemisinin yield, seed and oil yield of Artemisia annua L. under temperate climatic conditions

► Artemisia annua is a very important source of artemisinin worldwide. ► Research on cultivation, breeding and chemical extraction processes for obtaining higher yield and artemisinin content are currently under way in many countries. ► This plant is easily cultivated; however the biologically active compounds in the plant are affected by temperature, ecological factors, cultivation methods and plant ontogeny. ► This study has shown that it is possible to grow Artemisia annua L. and that it has potential to be a profitable crop in the temperate western Himalayan region. ► The spring transplanted crops performed better than the autumn/winter transplanted crops in terms of both growth and yield parameters.