UN SDG
Horticultural Studies (HortiS)
2016, Vol 33, Num, 2 (Pages: 159-174)
Studies on the yield and quality characteristics of Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) grown in two different ecologies
2 Ege Üniversitesi Ziraat Fakültesi Bahçe Bitkileri Bölümü, İzmir
3 Batı Akdeniz Tarımsal Araştırma Enstitüsü, Antalya
4 Gıda Kontrol Laboratuvar Müdürlüğü, Antalya DOI : 10.16882/derim.2016.267376 Viewed : 2075 - Downloaded : 1231 Myrtle is a typical Mediterranean plant. Myrtles plants with white colored and large fruit sized are cultivated in southern coasts of Turkey and named as Hambeles. Black myrtles are naturally grown in the forests and they have smaller fruit size when compared to Hambeles. Main objective of this study was to investigate the yield and quality parameters of some newly selected 3 black myrtle ecotypes (Yakup, Yumaklar, Islangıc) and one white myrtle cultivar (Hambeles) in upland and lowland ecological conditions in Antalya. Yields, physical and chemical characters of fruits and essential oil composition of leaves were recorded for all plants. Two experimental orchards were established in coastal and highland conditions in Antalya. Highest fruit weight of black myrtles was measured as 0.76 g fruit-1 in Yakup ecotypes in highland and as 0.92 g fruit-1 in Yumaklar ecotypes in lowland. There were no differences among ecotypes in terms of fruit removal force. Fruit yield per tree increased up to 9.2 kg in black myrtle in lowland. Highest perfect seed numbers in myrtle plants were measured in Hambeles ecotype as 19.83 seeds fruit-1. Fruit juice yield ranged from 29.6 to 35.0%. Amount of malic acid in fruit was higher than that of other organic acids. α-pinene and 1,8-cineole were main essential oil components of myrtle leaves. Keywords : Fruit, Leaf, Essential oil, Organic acid
