Relationship Between Essential Oil Content, Fruit Yield and Yield Component in Foeniculum vulgare Mill.

Abstract

Foeniculum vulgare Mill. naturally spread in Turkey flora, and it’s also cultivated. Its cultivation is widely carried out in Burdur and Denizli region. Especially, it is used as a milk enhancer when drunk as tea for breastfeeding mothers and as a carminative and relaxing for babies. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between yield and quality characteristics of F. vulgare L. is cultivated and used in Turkey. For this purpose, correlation analysis and path analysis were applied to essential oil content (EOC)and fruit yield. EOC was significantly and positively associated with the number of umbellet (0.684 **), number of fruit (0.589 *), Thousand Fruit Weight (TFW) (0.563 *) and plant height (0.530 *). The highest positive correlation was obtained among with fruit yield and biological yield (r= 0.929**). Fruit yield has a significant corelation also between fruit number (0.805**), TFW (0.726**), plant height (0.696**) and umbellet number (0.609**). Branch number has a negative and unsignificant corelation between all the characteristics, but also has a negative and significant correlation among plant height. According to the path analysis results, the highest direct influence on EOC were the biological yield (-33.02%), but negative and fruit yield (30.23%) parameters. The maximum positive effects on fruit yield in fennel belongs to biological yield (59.88%), TFW (29.41%) and plant height (20.16%). In addition, fruit number, plant height and TFW showed the maximal indirect effects on fruit yield through biological yield. The same traits also affected the essential oil content and indirectly and positively. Therefore, these traits can be evaluated as selection criterion to attain higher essential content and fruit yield in F. vulgare L.