Registration of a high-yielding, high citronellol: geraniol ratio and unique sesquiterpene (6, 9- guaiadiene)-rich variety CIM-Bharat of rose scented geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L.)

Abstract

Rose scented geranium, a South-African aromatic herb, is cultivated in both sub-tropical and temperate countries for its essential oil derived from the aerial parts that conveys a strong rosy-minty odour with a greenishyellow colour. The oil is a treasure trove of versatile chemicals with extensive applications in the high grade perfumery, pharmaceutical, and aroma industries. The annual rise in its essential oil import for indegenic consumption in the country warrants its genetic enhancement of existing germplasm for increasing per unit area productivity and quality of essential oil. With this backup, our team initiated a clonal selection scheme to develop a genetically improved clone, CIMAP-21A, capable of producing 70-80kg/ha of oil yield in a single harvest compared to other existing cultivars and check variety CIM-Pawan. The new developed variety also has unique chemical compositions to meet the quality standard of the perfumery industry. It has a high Citronellol: Geraniol (C: G) ratio (>3) with the presence and absence of unique sesquiterpene markers i.e., 6,9-guaiadiene (5.4%) and 10-epi-γ-eudesmol, respectively. The unique sturdy dark green stem and leaves are the distinguished morphological features of this strain. The developedclone is ideally suitable for cultivation in the entire North India and Western regions of the country. This strain has now been christened as CIM-Bharat and it is registered here as a new, improved variety of rose-scented geranium for its commercial release. Keywords: CIM-Bharat, Citronellol : Geraniol ratio, GC-MS, Molecular fingerprint, Pelargonium graveolens, Rose-scented Geranium