Growth, Yield and Essential Oil of Lovage Grown in Finland

Abstract

Lovage (Levisticum officinale Koch) was cultivated in Puumala, South Finland (61°40′N, 28°15′E) during the years 1984–1989. The plants over wintered well and produced fertile seeds each year with an average germination capacity of 68%. The plants reached a maximum height of 2–2.5 m in the second year. The root weight continued to increase as the plants grew older, until it reached a maximum of 1.1 kg/plant in the fifth year. In the second year 0.2–0.3 kg/m² dry leaf and in the third year 0.5–0.6 kg/m² dry root yield can be expected from the cultivations. The quantity of the essential oil obtained from the dry leaves varied between 0.16–0.31%, and its main components were α-terpinyl acetate (60%) and β-phellandrene (16–25%). The essential oil in the one-year-old roots was 0.17% and in the two-year-old roots 0.83–1.30%. The main component of the root oil was (Z)-ligustilide (37–62%). Leaf harvest during the vegetation period gave a lower oil content and also caused remarkable changes in the root oil composition. On the basis of six years of experiments it seems possible to produce high quality lovage in Finland.