| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4514756 | Industrial Crops and Products | 2010 | 6 Pages |
A field experiment was conducted during 2004 and 2005 at the research farm of Central Institute of Medicinal And Aromatic Plants, Lucknow located at 26.5° N 80.5° E and 120 m above the mean sea level to study the effect of harvesting stage and cutting height on growth, yield and quality of Indian basil. The objective of this study was to increase the essential oil yield of Indian basil without adverse effect on quality by taking two harvests through manipulating harvesting stage and cutting height and to increase the land and rain water utilization efficiency under rain fed condition. The treatments consisted of four stages of first harvest (40, 60, 80 and 100 days after transplanting (DAT)) and three cutting height (0, 7.5 and 15.0 cm above ground level). The Indian basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) crop harvested at 40 and 60 days after transplanting maintaining 7.5 and 15 cm height from ground level could produce second (ratoon) crop. The crop harvested at 40 DAT at a 15 cm height produced 20% higher essential oil (162.5 kg ha−1) compared to 132.0 kg ha−1 oil obtained from traditional practice of harvesting at 80 days after transplanting from ground level, without any adverse effect on the quality of essential oil. For maximizing oil production first harvest of Indian basil at 40 DAT from 7.5 or 15 cm above the ground level and ratoon crop at 50 days after first harvest is suggested.
Research highlights▶ The main highlights/objective of this study was to elucidate if the yield of Indian basil could be increased through multiple harvests by manipulating harvesting stage and cutting height without adversely effecting oil quality.
