Analysis of characters associated with high oil yield and menthol content in menthol mint (Mentha arvensis) genotypes.

摘要

Ten cultivars (8 released varieties and 2 advance lines) of Mentha arvensis were evaluated over four years to understand the inter-relationship among the various morphometric and quality traits. Significant positive associations were marked between plant height and oil yield, plant height and iso-menthone, twig weight and leaf width, L:S ratio and menthol content, oil yield and iso-menthone content, leaf length and leaf width and menthone and iso-menthone. The associations of plant height with L:S ratio, L:S ratio with iso-menthone, oil content with neo-menthol, leaf width, menthone and iso-menthone with menthol were negative. Among the morphometric traits oil content had the highest direct effect on oil yield and was followed by leaf length, twig weight and leaf width, while among the quality traits, all the studied oil constituents had either negative associations or non-significant positive association with menthol content. The non-significant positive association was marked in correlation between menthol and neo-menthol content. Thus, the study raised the possibility that the high mean values for the plant characters: oil content, leaf length, twig weight and leaf width may reliably be used as major attributes for prediction of high oil yield in the tested menthol mint germplasms and least mean values for the quality constituents: Menthone, iso-menthone and menthyl acetate may be used as markers for identifying high menthol content potential in menthol mint.