Bladkryddor på friland: en inledande studie om odling av basilika och rosmarin

Field cultivation of herbs often lead to good development of aromatic compounds, but today knowledge is lacking of production methods and choice of cultivars suitable for Swedish conditions, leading to good aroma, quality and shelf-life. The aims of this project were to contribute to development of functional and cost effective production methods, and to increase knowledge of which cultivars that are suitable for Swedish climate and cultivation conditions to give a high quality as well as a sufficient shelf-life. Basil was sown at Torslunda field trial station and at Björnhovda farm, on Öland, Sweden. The cultivars were of the Geneoveser-type ‘Genoveser’, Stam 6’, Stam 7’, and lemon basil, red basil ‘Rubin’ and ‘Ararat’, cinnamon basil, lime basil, and the cultivars ‘Piccolino’, ‘Fino Verde’, ‘Emily’ and ‘Greek bush’. The selection of cultivars was not exactly the same on the two cultivation sites. Further, rosemary was planted on Torslunda field station to investigate the influence of shade netting on the winter hardiness of the plants. Also the timing of the cover with the shade nettings was investigated. Both the trials with the basil and the rosemary were organized in randomized block design with three replicates. After the harvest, the different cultivars of basil were packed in plastic trays, and stored in 10°C for 10 days. Yield, dry weight at harvest, content of vitamin C at harvest and after storage, and quality grading concerning sellable product at harvest and after storage was investigated in all cultivars of basil, though vitamin C content was only analyzed in the basil from Torslunda. The vitality of the rosemary plants was monitored during the winter, the following spring and summer. The results from the investigations show that all types of basil used in the trials had good germination, growth and development. The difference between the cultivars was primarily found in the growth and development, where for example in the lime basil the induction of flowering was early, and it was flowering at harvest. In this first year pilot study, basil showed a large variability in the yield, content of vitamin C and quality during shelf life. The cultivation site also affected the quality and shelf life, and to some extent also the yield. The quality after storage in 10°C for 10 days gave a predominantly good result. The Genovesertypes, ‘Piccolino’ and ‘Ararat’ gave a higher proportion of sellable product after storage in comparison with the other cultivars. The rosemary plants showed good vitality during autumn and winter, and the cover with shade nettings had a positive influence on the plants. However, the conditions during the spring months of March and April lead to damage on the plants, which led to that only a few plants managed the overwintering. In this trial, the critical stage for the overwintering thus was the passage from winter to spring, and the cover with the shade nettings did not give sufficient protection.