Dill belongs to the celery family Apiaceae. It is an annual and a medicinal herb that
is also used in cuisine. In our graduation thesis we wanted to observe the growth
and development of large number of plants of the same population of dill. The
study aimed at obtaining the seed (fruit) and at determination of essential oil
contents by mean of water distillation. On the laboratory field of the Biotechnical
Faculty of University of Ljubljana seedlings were planted and seeds (fruits) seeded
of one population of common dill (Anethum graveolens L.) on three billets
(assigned as A, B and C) in 2019. We put wood chips on all three billets. We
observed phenological phases of the herb from the beginning to the end of growth
period. The herbs were evaluated at full flowering time as a whole, its leaves and
umbels. We made notes of all observed and measured results and then we compared
them. Dill plants that were seeded had better growth than those planted as
seedlings. Plants’ growth was completed after three months - when the seeds in the
umbels turned brown. In this stage the harvest has been done. In the laboratory,
seeds (fruits) were separated from umbels and dried in the dryer. We ground the
fruits and made essential oil in twelve replications. The average content (volume) of
essential oil in samples A was 26,5 ml/kg drug, in samples B the average content of
essential oil was 54,0 ml/kg drug (maximum) and in samples C the average content
of essential oil was 28,8 ml/kg drug. The main ingredient in dill essential oil is
carvone. It is present in an average of 50,3 %. The second ingredient is limonene,
which is present in the essential oil of 47,8 %.
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