The selection and breeding results of new cultivars of medicinal and aromatic plants in Yugoslavia are reviewed. Also, characteristics of new created and registered cultivars, promising lines, and improved cultivars of cultivated medicinal and aromatic species with conserved genetic identity are summarized.

Initial selection was aimed at yield and essential oil content improvement. The next step put the emphasis upon composition of certain dominant oil components while modern trends will require creation of cultivars serving special purposes, e.g. flowers/leaves/roots exclusively for tea, raw material for oil production, for extracts, and isolation of pure active substances.

A cultivation tradition in Yugoslavia, related to medicinal and aromatic plants, has fruited 53 cultivated species and 93 cultivars listed in the cultivar list. The most important are peppermint and chamomile species. Noteworthy of five peppermint cultivars is a new selected Yugoslav cultivar Danica with yield genetic potential exceeding 30 t/ha fresh herb and essential oil content over 5%. In addition, the three chamomile cultivars, Banatska, Tip-29, and Tetraploidna, were selected. Today, first steps in selection of spring chamomile types are evident. Of five registered coriander cultivars, Sava and Nikola with the genetic potential for fruit yield exceeding 2.500 kg/ha and essential oil content over 2% are emphasized. Promising lines of medicinal species Datura innoxia Mill. (scopolamine over 0.6%), Digitalis lanata Ehrh. (lanatoside C over 0.5%), and Glaucium flavum Crantz (over 4% glaucine in dry herb) showing significantly increased content of active substances were also selected. In addition, characteristics of cultivars of other aromatic species (Foeniculum vulgare Mill., Carum carvi L., Hyssopus officinalis L., Salvia officinalis L., Ocimum basilicum L., Satureja hortensis L., S. montana L., etc.) were improved.

Increasing demands for medicinal plant raw material have imposed the need for its controlled planting. Certainly, significant possibilities of increasing total production by both increasing planting area size and yield per unit area are present. Therefore, formulation of optimum agricultural measures and creation and introduction of new cultivars are needed. In last few decades, an intensive selection of new cultivars of medicinal and aromatic plants was carried out. As a result of permanent efforts of a great number of breeders a number of cultivars of numerous medicinal plant species has been created (Lutomski and Jaruzelski, 1978; Lužny, 1978; Franz, 1986, 1996; Zobenko and Arinshtein, 1989; Raev, 1994; Bikov et al., 1999).

This paper deals with a brief review of the most important results of selection, i.e. new created cultivars of medicinal and aromatic plants in Yugoslavia.

A cultivation tradition in Yugoslavia referring to medicinal and aromatic plants has fruited 53 cultivated species and 93 cultivars listed in the cultivar list (Tab. 1) (Adamović, 1991, 1993a; Kišgeci et al., 1997, 1999). The most important are chamomile, peppermint, and coriander species covering 70 % of total medicinal plant plantations. Selection of medicinal and aromatic plant species has been in most part carried out in the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad (founded in 1938), Institute for Pharmacognosy (1940), and Institute for Medicinal Plants Research, Beograd (1948) (Stojković, 1963; Tucakov, 1974).

Chamomile

The chamomile selection in the period 1940-1980 included the survey into the best Yugoslav and foreign genetic plant material, its propagation, and distribution into production. These years were the period when selection of domestic chamomile types took place (Tucakov, 1960, 1974; Janaćković-Milojević, 1968; Kišgeci et al., 1985). Later, this valuable plant material was lost. In 1980s, in the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Department of Medicinal Plants, Bački Petrovac, a modern program of selection of new chamomile cultivars was worked out. This program included the survey into the genetic variability and collecting of spontaneous chamomile samples (Adamović et al., 1982; Adamović, 1994a).

In the beginning, selection was focused at yield and essential oil content improvement. In the next phase of breeding, emphasis was put upon composition of the individual dominant components of the essential oil (chamazulene, a-bisabolol, etc.).

This work was adapted to a model of a cultivar (Adamović, 1982), Thus, for instance, attention was paid to the selection of 60 cm high chamomile type, its resistance to lodging, essential oil content of 0.8%, bisabolol content of 50%, chamazulene of 15%, yield of dry heads of two harvest exceeding 1.200 kg/ha, and harvest index of 0.4.

In the period behind us, we improved the main characteristics of domestic cultivars (Tab. 2). In the large-scale production, 0.5-0.8 % of essential oil, 10% of chamazulene, and 15-20% of a-bisabolol were obtained with cultivar Banatska, 0.6-0.8% of essential oil, 50-65% of a-bisabolol, and 10-15% of chamazulene with Tip-29, and 0.8-1.2% of essential oil, 15-20% of chamazulene, and 10% of a-bisabolol with the Tetraploidna cultivar (Adamović, 1996). Expansion of these cultivars in cultivation resulted in smaller yield variations and the increase of average yield of app. 20%.

In our selection programs including diploid and tetraploid chamomile types, promising plants with essential oil content in inflorescences between 1 and 1.4%, chamazulene 30%, and a-bisabolol even exceeding 70% in oil were obtained (Tab. 2).

In addition, selection of spring chamomile types with yield and quality resembling winter types was initiated. Such potential characteristics were indicated by the results of the experiments using 17 cultivars in both autumn and spring sowing (Gašić et al., 1991). These results are important taking into consideration some data telling us that autumn sowing may considerably reduce crop density or it may be completely destroyed.

Today and in near future, chamomile selection will be focused at creating of cultivars with specific purposes like flower heads for tea, raw material for essential oil and extract production, isolation of pure active substances, etc.

Peppermint

In late 1970s, problems of great variations of yield and its quality in widespread peppermint cultivar Mitcham concurrent with rust attack were evident. Therefore, the creation of a peppermint cultivar with a higher leaf yield, higher essential oil content, and resistance to rust was postulated.

The work on peppermint breeding was carried out according to adopted principles and a defined model of cultivar (Adamović, 1982). A great attention was devoted to the creation of genotypes characterized by 80 cm high stem in the first while more than 50 cm in the second harvest, rust resistance (only infection traces), lodging resistance, content of essential oil exceeding 2%, and content of free menthol over 40 %, yield of dry herb of two harvests exceeding 6.000 kg/ha, and more than 50% leaves in herb.

The outcome of many years of selection efforts was the registration of a new Yugoslav peppermint cultivar Danica. This cultivar is characterized by large dark leaves resembling the Mitcham cultivar. The botanical cultivar is Mentha piperita L. emend Huds. var. officinalis Sole f. rubescens Camus. Stem of this new cultivar is solid and during the examination it showed lodging resistance. Unlike the Mitcham cultivar, the cultivar Danica is rust resistant. During the three years of investigation, its color and odor after drying were given the highest grades. Content of essential oil in large-scale production ranges from 2.5 to 4.5%.

The genetic potential of the cultivar Danica for raw mass yield of both harvests is 30 t/ha while that of essential oil exceeds 80 kg/ha (Adamović, 1994b). These values are more expressed under irrigation. In dry cultivation it gives a relatively high yield when compared with the standard cultivar. Its genetic potential for content of leaf essential oil exceeds 5%.

In the past years, improvement of traits of cultivars BPK-7960 and BPP-7965 was done. In other words, these cultivars are characterized by a high genetic potential for herb, while essential oil content amount 4.5%.

Coriander

A cultivated coriander cultivar "Domaći sitnozrni" was shown to give a relatively good fruit yield in production. In this cultivar, however, a low yield of essential oil per hectare was recorded, in most part due to its relatively low content of 0.5-1%. Consequently, the aim was to select cultivars with higher content and yield of essential oil concurrent with expected high yield of fruit and lower mass of 1.000 fruits.

Of five registered coriander cultivars, new cultivars Sava and Nikola should be distinguished. In these cultivars the genetic potential for fruit yield is above 2.500 kg/ha and content of essential oil above 2%. These coriander cultivars were selected in the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad. They belong to the species Coriandrum sativum L. f. microcarpum. Their stem height is app. 85 cm while that of standard amount 90 cm. The new cultivars are relatively lodging resistant while according to the early maturation trait resemble that of standard cultivar. When natural infection is discussed, no significant infestation was observed (Adamović, 1994b).

Promising lines and improved cultivars

New lines of Salvia officinalis, Satureja montana, and Satureja hortensis characterized by high yield of dry herb and content of essential oil and its most frequent components were selected (Tab. 2) (Adamović, 1995, 1998). Promising lines of medicinal species Datura innoxia Mill. (scopolamine over 0.6%), Digitalis lanata Ehrh. (lanatoside C over 0.5%), and Glaucium flavum Crantz (over 4% glaucine in dry herb) showing significantly increased content of active substances were also selected (Gorunović et al., 1985; Adamović et al., 1992, 1994).

In addition, characteristics of cultivars of other aromatic species were improved (Tab. 2). In the cultivar Vojvođanski (Foeniculum vulgare) for instance, the genetic potential for the content of essential oil of 6.5% and anethol of 71% was obtained. The biennial cultivar Domaći rani (Carum carvi) shows the genetic potential for the content of essential oil of 6% while annual cultivar Annualis of 3.5% with carvone content in both cultivars amounting 60% (Adamović, 1990, 1993b). In Hyssopus officinalis a high genetic potential for yield of dry herb of 7 t/ha and in Ocimum basilicum 3 t/ha is recorded. All the results cited above have contributed to a considerable increase of average yield and also of plant total production (Adamović, 1994c).

As a result of many years of selection, 93 cultivars of 53 cultivated species of medicinal and aromatic plants have been selected and improved in FR Yugoslavia. Among them, the peppermint cultivar Danica and coriander Sava and Nikola should be emphasized. In addition, new lines of Chamomillarecutita, Satureja montana, Datura innoxia, Digitalis lanata and Glaucium flavum were selected. Cultivation of new selected cultivars has enabled the achievement of higher and more stable yield and improved raw material quality.

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