Cultivating for the Industry: Cropping Experiences with Hypericum perforatum L. in a Mediterranean Environment

Silvia Lazzara, Alessandra Carrubba and Edoardo Napoli
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Silvia Lazzara: Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’analisi dell’Economia Agraria—Difesa e Certificazione (CREA-DC), S.S. 113 km 245.500, 90011 Bagheria, Italy
Alessandra Carrubba: Dip. di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali—Università di Palermo (SAAF), Viale delle Scienze Ed.4 Ingr, L, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Edoardo Napoli: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche—Istituto di Chimica Biomolecolare (CNR-ICB), Via Paolo Gaifami 18, 95126 Catania, Italy

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: Hypericum perforatum is an intensively studied medicinal plant, and much experimental activity has been addressed to evaluate its bio-agronomical and phytochemical features as far. In most cases, plant material used for experimental purposes is obtained from wild populations or, alternatively, from individuals grown in vases and/or pots. When Hypericum is addressed to industrial purposes, the most convenient option for achieving satisfactory amounts of plant biomass is field cultivation. Pot cultivation and open field condition, however, are likely to induce different responses on plant’s metabolism, and the obtained yield and composition are not necessarily the same. To compare these management techniques, a 4-year cultivation trial (2013–2016) was performed, using three Hypericum biotypes obtained from different areas in Italy: PFR-TN, from Trento province, Trentino; PFR-SI, from Siena, Tuscany; PFR-AG, from Agrigento province, Sicily. Both managements gave scarce biomass and flower yields at the first year, whereas higher yields were measured at the second year (in open field), and at the third year (in pots). Plant ageing induced significant differences in phytochemical composition, and the total amount of phenolic substances was much higher in 2015 than in 2014. A different performance of genotypes was observed; the local genotype was generally more suitable for field cultivation, whereas the two non-native biotypes performed better in pots. Phytochemical profile of in-pots plants was not always reflecting the actual situation of open field. Consequently, when cultivation is intended for industrial purposes, accurate quality checks of the harvested material are advised.

Keywords: St. John’s wort; Hypericum perforatum; secondary metabolites; cropping technique (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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