516 Handbook of herbs and spices
spicata as a management tool in mitigating insect pest problems of cabbage was
investigated by Timbilla and Nyako (2001) in the field at Kwadaso, Kumasi during
a three-season period in the forest region of Ghana. The results showed that Plutella
xylostella could be effectively controlled when cabbage is intercropped with spearmint,
onion and tomato.
31.8 Quality issues..................................................................................
Like other mint oil, spearmint oil is a complex mixture of terpenic hydrocarbons and
aromatic compounds with carvone and limonene as major oil constituents. Because
the latter two major components have many industrial applications in a variety of
food and cosmetic products, their separation in pure forms through fractional distillation
under a specific temperature and pressure from the raw oil is imperative prior to
their industrial uses. In accordance with the traded international oil quality standard
an ideal spearmint variety should contain the oil of the composition shown in
Table 31.2.
The quality of essential oil nevertheless depends on the genetic makeup, geographical
and ecological conditions and stages of plant growth. In this particular regard, working
on four popular Indian cultivars of M. spicata, Bahl et al. (2000) have reported that
to obtain carvone and limonene rich herbage, the spearmint crop should be harvested
after 100 days of planting (DAP), and according to them early harvesting (i.e., 70
DAP) causes enhancement in carvone content in exchange for a decrease in limonene
content (Table 31.3).
31.9 References
ADAM K, SIVROPOULOU A, KOKKINI S, LANARAS T and ARSENAKIS M (1993), ‘Antifungal activities of
Qriganum vulgare subsp. hirtum, Mentha spicata, Lavandula angustifolia and Salvia fruticosa
essential oils against human pathogenic fungi’, J. Agric. food Chem., 46 (5), 1739–1745.
AUBOURG S, LEEHAMY A and BOHLMANN J (2002), ‘Genomics analysis of terpenoids synthase at TPS
gene family of Arabidopsis thaliana’, Mol. Genet. Genomics, 267, 730–745.
BAHL JR, BANSAL RP, GARG SN, NAQVI AA, LUTHRA R, KUKREJA AK and SUSHIL KUMAR (2000), ‘Quality
evaluation of the essential oils of the prevalent cultivars of commercial mint species Mentha
arvensis, spicata, piperita, cardiaca, citrata and viridis cultivated in Indo–Gangetic plains’, J.
Med. Arom. Pl. Sci., 22, 787–797.
BAINES RC (1938), ‘Mint anthracnose’, Phytopathology, 43, 178–180.
BASLAS RK and BASLAS KK (1968), ‘Essential oils from some exotic plants raised in Kumaon’,
Perfum. Essent. Oil Rec., 59, 110.
BAXTER JW and CUMMINS GB (1953), ‘Physiologic specialization in Puccinia menthae and notes on
epiphytology’, Phytopathology, 43, 178–180.
BHARDWAJ SD and GARG RC (1986), ‘Effect of row spacing on incidence of blight caused by Rhizoctonia
solani in different Mentha species’, Ind. Perf., 30, 453–456.
BHARDWAJ SD, KATOCH PC, KAUSHAL AN and GUPTA R (1980), ‘Effect of blight caused by Rhizoctonia
solani on herb yield and oil content of some important collections of Mentha species’, Ind. J.
Forestry, 3, 27–34.
BHARDWAJ LN, SHARMA RC and RASTOGI JS (1995), ‘Studies on management of Mentha rust in sub-
temperate’, Ind. Perf., 39, 16–18.
BHARDWAJ LN, SEN S, SHARMA RC and MALHOTRA R (1996), ‘Effect of weather parameters on the
development of mint rust under sub-temperate region of Himachal Pradesh’, Ind. Perf., 40, 83–
87.