Selection of Dwarf and Compact Morphotypes of Sweet Basil for High Density Plantation

Selection of Dwarf and Compact Morphotypes of Sweet Basil for High Density Plantation

The experiment was conducted on five accessions of Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) at the ICAR- Directorate of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research (ICAR-DMAPR), Boriavi, Anand, Gujarat (India) for two successive years. Distinct germplasm with variability especially for plant growth characters and essential oil composition in basil are playing important role. Sweet basil is important aromatic plant in India and used as an ingredient of many international traditional aromatic systems. Accessions were identified from germplasm collected from different agro ecological zones of India. The identified accessions were characterized for uniqueness with desirable characters contributing in herbage yield. Among accessions sufficient variations for growth and yield characters were recorded. Rudra-2 was the most dwarf and DOB-4 as semidwarf accessions with early flowering. The accession Sant-1 had closed canopy architecture and DOB-8W was most vigorous type with high biological yield (664 q ha-1). The maximum anethole was in DOB-4 (89.17%) and methyl eugenol in DOB-8W (23.03%). Overall, Rudra-2 and Sant-1 were found unique and superior accessions therefore, can be used further in crop improvement programme and also suggested for commercial cultivation as a new selection for high density plantation.