Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
SOUTH AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY, cilt.166, sa.1, ss.191-207, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Marigold is a plant native to the Mediterranean region, belonging to the Asteraceae family, and has been cultivated as a medicinal and ornamental plant all over the world for centuries. Due to its long flowering period, it is important to determine the appropriate harvest interval and date. This study was performed in the Research Area of Çukurova University in the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 growing seasons, with an aim to investigate the influence of different harvest intervals (4-, 8-, and 12-day harvest intervals for the flowers) and harvest dates (8-day interval for the seeds) on the flower and seed yield and quality traits of marigold. The highest total flower yield (7519.8 kg/ha; harvest at 4-day intervals) and seed yield (595.6 kg/ha; 1st harvest) were obtained in the 1st growing season. The highest seed fixed oil ratio (12.86%) was obtained in June, and the highest flower essential oil ratio (0.18%) was obtained in May. Of the 38 components in the essential oil, α-Cadinol (22.59%–30.10%), δ-Cadinene (9.88%–13.79%), τ-Muurolol (6.58%–8.20%), γ-Cadinene (4.80%–7.15%), and γ-Muurolene (4.15%–4.82%) were determined as the main components. Six fatty acids were detected in the fixed oil and the main components were determined as α-calendic acid (22.07%–49.41%), linoleic acid (28.31%–37.85%), and oleic acid (7.18%–30.06%). The highest α-calendic acid ratios were detected in June and decreased as the harvests were delayed. Consequently, the application of harvesting at 4-day intervals for increased flower number and harvesting seeds early due to the high α-calendic acid rate can be considered as a feasible approach.