Effect of Harvest Time on Yield and Quality Characteristics of Artemisia vulgaris L. and Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt

In this study, agronomic changes depending on physiological maturity time and changes in essential oil profiles depending on harvest time of 3-year-old Artemisia vulgaris L. (W6 32805) and Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt. (W6 47379) plants obtained from the USDA were determined. While a total of 56 components were detected in the scent components of the essential oil of Artemisia vulgaris L. genotype at all harvest times, 49 components were detected in the Artemisia ludoviciana Nutt. genotype. The main chemical group of A. vulgaris L. genotype during the bolting period was sesquiterpene alcohols (38.18%), while during the budding period it was composed of oxygenated monoterpenes (31.95%) and during the flowering and maturation periods it was composed of monoterpene ketone group compounds (39.04% and 37.58%, respectively). In the A. ludoviciana Nutt. genotype, monoterpene ketone compounds (33.94% and 29.76%, respectively) during the bolting and budding periods, oxygenated monoterpene compounds (26.46%) during the flowering period, and monoterpene alcohol compounds (29.58%) during the maturation period. The main essential oil components of the A. vulgaris L. genotype during the developmental period were as follows: nerolidol (38.18%) during the bolting period; 1.8-cineole (31.95%) during the budding period; β-thujone (33.91%) during the flowering period; and β-thujone (35.5%) during the maturation period. In A. ludoviciana Nutt. genotype, artemisia ketone (27.14%) during the bolting period; camphor (14.70%) during the budding period; 1.8-cineole (26.46%) during the flowering period; artemisia alcohol (21.47%) during the maturation period were recorded as components. Under Isparta conditions, flowering is the optimal harvest stage for maximising fresh herb (876.50 and 662.33 kg/da) and essential oil yield (23.10 and 24.73 kg/da) of both A. vulgaris and A. ludoviciana, whereas A. vulgaris harvested at budding/flowering (0.26%) and A. ludoviciana harvested at flowering/seed (0.38 and 0.40%) maturation provide higher essential oil contents and distinct chemical profiles for specific industrial uses. The A. vulgaris (W6 32805) genotype may be an alternative source of chamazulene.