Author(s):

Dr. Ashwini Kumar Sinha and Dr. TP Singh

Abstract: Colchiploids of Ocimum basılicum var purpurascens Benth (Lamiaceae), a herb of high medicinal and commercial value, yielded significant results with regard to various morphophenological characters, such as root-stem ratio, branches, leaves, inflorescence, fresh and dry weights of different parts, biomass, height, seed, etc. Secondary branches bearing leaves increased from 2.5 per primary branch in the third generation autopolyploids (C₂). Total leaf area (total number of leaves x area of a leaf) produced by C₁ plants also considerably improved from 10884.60 cm² to 29308.70 cm². Various characters of the inflorescence and an important source of phytochemical constituents in addition to leaves, such as total number and length of inflorescence, the total number of floral whorls in an inflorescence, diameter of a floral whorl, and length between two whorls improved a lot in C₂ herbs. Also, biomass, height at different stages of growth and seed output, its weight, germination percentage, etc. showed a significant increase. After an initial decline in C₀ and C₁ plants, an overall improvement in the above characters was clearly noticed in C₂ colchiploids of the herb understudy. Commercial exploitation of the plant thus produced is therefore recommended.

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