ISSN 2167-0447
International Journal of Agricultural Sciences ISSN: 2167-0447 Vol. 5 (3), pp. 509-512, May, 2015. © International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Improved UV-B radiation alters basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) increase and kindles the fusion of volatile oils
*1Richard G. Austen, 1Daniel H. F, 1Elizabeth C. Emily and 2William T. George
1Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England.
2Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry, England.
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Abstract
Exposure of basil plants (Ocimum basilicum) in a controlled environmental room temperature to supplementary UV- B light for 3 h per day in the early morning over a period of two weeks resulted in shorter plants with higher dry matter, thicker leaves and more axillary shoots. Supplementary UV-B did not affect plant leaf area or number of leaf- pairs; however, specific leaf area was significantly increased due to increase in leaf thickness. Analysis of volatile oils by TD-GC/MS in fresh leaf samples harvested after one and two weeks of treatment showed that UV-B also stimulated the synthesis of the phenyl-propanoid, eugenol and the terpenoids 1, 8-cineole and linalool. There was no effect on volatile oil composition.
Key words: Ocimum basilicum, basil, growth, essential oil composition, 1, 8-cineole, linalool, eugenol, UV-B.