Determination of yield and quality characters of clone and cultivars of spearmint grown in Isparta ecological conditions

This study was carried out in 2016 and 2017 in Isparta ecological conditions in order to determine the yield and quality characteristics of the Spermint group mint clone and varieties. Five varieties (Applemint, Crispa, Maracco, Pinedo, Yakima), one clone (Tokat Spicata) selected as a result of characterization studies of previous studies were used in the study. Two of the studied species were M. suaveolens, while 4 of them were M. spicata species. Seedlings were grown in a greenhouse and field studiy was conducted to randomized block design with 3 replications. Plant height, green herba yield, dry herba yield, dry leaf yield were investigated in this study. The essential oil content were distillated with the Clavenger apparatus and the essential oil compositions were identified with GC MS and GC FID. Plots were harvested twice during one vegetative periods both years. Yields of first cutting were higher than that of second cutting in both years. Plant height was between 63.6 and 47.7 cm, and the highest plant height was obtained from Applemint. As a result of the two-year study, green herb yields were between 1818.8 and 2148.8 kg / da, while dry herba yields were varied from 493.1 to 616.2 kg/da. The highest values of essential oil yield was obtained from Yakima variety with 8.81 L/da. In the study, the main constituents of Aplemint and Pinedo in M. suaveolens were D-Carvone and Piperitone oxide (40.81% and 67.04%) respectivelly. Main components of Crispa, Maracco, and Tokat Spicata genotypes in M. spicata were D-Carvone with (28.01%, 41.83%, 51.00%), Yakima contained Menthol as one of major components 38.42%. At the end of the study, it was determined that the highest oil yield were obtained from Yakima and the Tokat Spicata clone as spice variety and it is were suitable for the region.