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Irrigation dose and plant density affect the volatile composition and sensory quality of dill ( Anethum graveolens L.)
Author(s) -
ElZaeddi Hussein,
MartínezTomé Juan,
CalínSánchez Ángel,
Burló Francisco,
CarbonellBarrachina Ángel A
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.7890
Subject(s) - anethum graveolens , composition (language) , horticulture , irrigation , chemistry , limonene , plant density , essential oil , food science , biology , agronomy , sowing , linguistics , philosophy
BACKGROUND Two independent field experiments were carried out to investigate the influence of (i) three irrigation treatments ( ID0 = 1585 m 3 ha −1 , considered as a control; ID1 = 1015 m 3 ha −1 ; and ID2 = 2180 m 3 ha −1 ) and (ii) three plant density treatments ( PD0 = 5.56 plants m −2 , considered as a control; PD1 = 4.44 plants m −2 ; and PD2 = 7.41 plants m −2 ) on the production, volatile composition of essential oil, and sensory quality of dill. RESULTS The highest plant yield was obtained with intermediate conditions of both irrigation dose ( ID0 ) and plant density ( PD0 ). The main compounds of the essential oil were α ‐phellandrene, dill ether and β ‐phellandrene. The highest irrigation dose ( ID2 ) produced the highest concentrations of most of the main compounds: α ‐phellandrene (49.5 mg per 100 g), β ‐phellandrene (6.89 mg per 100 g) and limonene (2.49 mg per 100 g). A similar pattern was found for the highest plant density ( PD2 ): α ‐phellandrene (71.0 mg per 100 g), dill ether (16.7 mg per 100 g) and β ‐phellandrene (9.70 mg per 100 g). The use of descriptive sensory analysis helped in reaching a final decision, and the dill plants with the highest sensory quality were those of the ID2 and PD0 treatments. CONCLUSION The final recommendation is to use the irrigation dose ID2 and the plant density PD2 if the objective is to produce dill samples with the highest aromatic and sensory quality; however, if the only objective is to produce high amounts of dill, the best options are ID0 and PD0 . © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry