Ten Italian cultivars of basil were studied to establish a possible relation between morphological characteristics and essential oil composition. The morphological parameters were recorded at the beginning of the flowering stage and the essential oils, obtained by hydrodistillation, were analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Among the cultivars, four phenotypes were distinguished on the basis of leaf size, shape, and color and plant height, weight, branching, and leafing. The composition of essential oils, all characterized by a high content of linalool, included three chemotypes:  “linalool,” “linalool and methylchavicol,” and “linalool and eugenol”. Two chemotypes each had their own suite of morphological characters, whereas two groups of cultivars, with different morphological parameters belonged to the same chemotype. Keywords: Basil cultivars; Ocimum basilicum L.; morphological characteristics; essential oil composition; chemotypes

Wild samples of Foeniculum vulgare Mill. (fennel) were collected from thirteen Italian localities at different latitudes and grown in field trials to evaluate their morphological and agronomic characteristics and essential oil compositions. All the parameters were recorded at full bloom stage, and the essential oils (obtained by steam distillation) were characterized by gas chromatography (GC) and GC/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The morphological characteristics showed positive relations among the number of umbels per plant, the plant weight, and the umbel weight percentage, and between these three parameters and the oil content. The essential oils evidenced five chemical groups characterized by (1) alpha-phellandrene, methyl chavicol, and trans-anethole; (2) alpha-pinene, limonene, and trans-anethole; (3) methyl chavicol and alpha-phellandrene; (4) methyl chavicol and alpha-pinene; and (5) alpha-phellandrene.

Twelve cultivars of different colored onions (white, golden, and red) were evaluated for fresh bulb yields and for flavonoid contents. The fresh bulb yields ranged from 3.1 to 6.7 kg m -2 as found in golden cultivars "Santana" and "Castillo" respectively. The flavonoids, extracted with methanol/water/acetic acid (50:42:8, v:v:v) from fresh bulbs and characterized by HPLC with a DAD detector, were mainly made up of quercetin and isorhamnetin in the form of aglycones and glycosides. The highest amount of free quercetin was detected in the fresh bulbs of "Tropea rossa tonda" (557.8 mg kg -1 ) whereas that of total flavonoids was found in "Dorata Density" (979.1 mg kg -1 ). The golden cultivar "Castillo" resulted in the highest bulb and flavonoid yields (6.7 kg m -2 and 5.2 g m -2 respectively)

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Considering both thiophene concentrations and biomass yields, T. minuta and T. lucida appeared to be the most promising Tagetes species, with high potential for use as biocidal crops for the implementation of pest control practices that are less harmful to human health and natural resources.

The introduction of extensive cultivations of seven aromatic plants, Lavandula angustifolia P. Miller x L. latifolia (L. Raush (chamomile), was evaluated on the basis of their essential oil yield and composition. Quali-quantitative analyses were performed by GC-MS. Different climatic conditions showed considerable effects on oil composition of winter savory and thyme, whereas mineral fertilizations did not have important influences on sage and peppermint oils. The oils from three lavandin and fennel varieties and from seven chamomile types were characterized and their qualitative parameters compared.