Effect of Phenological Periods on Yield and Quality Characteristics of Artemisia absinthium

Artemisia absinthium is a known medicinal plant in Europe, Africa and also in West Asia and North America. The present research was carried out to determine the effects of phenological periods on yield and quality of A. absinthium products during 2023-2024 seasons. The study was conducted in the Lakes Region of Türkiye, an area characterized by diverse cropping systems and suitable climatic conditions for medicinal and aromatic plants, providing an appropriate environment for evaluating the phenological responses of A. absinthium. In 2022, seedlings were grown from seeds and planted as a randomized complete block design. Second- and third-years plants were harvested which was bolting, budding, flowering and maturation periods. The differences between the years and phenological period were significant for all parameters (except for essential oil yield). The highest fresh and dry herb yield were 12560.2 and 5520.8 kg ha-1 at flowering, respectively. The highest essential oil content was obtained at bolting (0.48 %), whereas the highest essential oil yield was obtained at flowering (17.9 kg ha-1). Z and E epoxy-ocimene was the main component in phenological periods, followed by β-myrcene and α-phellandrene. Chamazulene content varied between 6.48 to 8.84% at different phenological periods. The A. absinthium genotype may serve as an alternative source for Matricaria chamomilla L., which contains chamazulene levels between 2.3% to 10.9%. Very low thujone (α-Thujone between 0.24 and 1.07%, β-Thujone between 0.03 and 1.34%) was detected during the phenological periods. Even though A. absinthium had low essential oil content at the flowering period. In the study, harvesting at flowering time can be recommended as the most suitable time for agricultural production to achieve high plant, oil yields and high oil quality.