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| Fragrant world of Jasmine
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| By B.K.Banerji and A.K.Dwivedi Floriculture Section, National Botanical Research Institute |
| Jasmine is an essential oil bearing plant, which belongs to the family Oleaceae. The fragrant world of Jasmine comprises different varieties of Bela, Chameli and Juhi. It comprises about 200 species (Bailey, 1958). Indian subcontinent has 40 inhabitants. The critical analysis of the species position revealed the true species to be only 89 Veluswamy et.al. (1975). It also lends support to the reports of Backer (1877), Cooke (1905) and Duthie (1911). The distribution of the genus is wide but majority of the species were centered around India, China and Malaya (Anonymous, 1959). The native Jasmine has been studied in detail by Bhattacharya (1980). Jasmine is categorized under spreading shrub and its habit is mostly climbing. |
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The leaves are either opposite or alternate with three foliate or pinnate leaflets, sometimes with only one leaflet. Stems are often green and angled. Flowers are unto 3 cm across. Flowers appeared in clusters and sometime solitary on the end of branch lets. Inflorescence is cyme which is bi or trichotomous, simple or flowers rarely solitary. Bracts are linear and simple and their shape is ovate. Some times it is petaloid. Calyx is bell shaped. Corolla is salvar shaped and its colour is white, yellow, violet and some times reddish. It has 4-9 spreading lobes convoluted in the bud, much extending the calyx. Stamens are two included in corolla tube. Filaments are very short. Ovary is bilobed. Fruit is berry rarely with separate capsules and each having 2 seeds. The main beauty and uniqueness of Jasmine is its odour, which cannot be imitated by any known synthetic aromatic chemical, still has a unique status in the perfume world. Distribution of three important species have been reported by various workers from time to time and given in Table 1 A study of ancient Literature of 'Sangam' period (500 B.C. to A.D. 200) clearly indicates that all these three species have been mentioned in those ancient literatures and therefore, South India could well have been an important center of origin for many of the Jasminium species.
Propagation Jasmine is a vegetatively propagated plant. It is mainly propagated by ground layering and suckers. It can be multiplied by cutting and rooting which take 50-70 days. For large scale multiplication of uniform and disease free plant can be obtained by tissue culture method. Seed setting and Germination Seed setting and its germination is a rare phenomenon, however it depends on genotype and surrounding environment. Extensive studies on seed set and germination has been carried out at IIHR, Bangalore. Jasmines were grouped into 5 categories. Seed setting in different Jasmine species and their percentage has been given in Table 2. Srivastava and Karmakar (1986) reported that under natural pollination seed setting was almost negligible in J. grandiflorum Linn. strain 'Pink Pin' and 'Pink Thrum' and J. sambac Ait var 'Gundumalli' 30% in J. calophyllum Wall and 50% in case of J. auriculatum Vahl var. Parimullai. Sterile nature of J. grandiflorum was reported by Bhupal Rao et.al. (1977). Meiosis in triploid J.grandiflorum has been studied by Karmakar and Srivastava (1987a). Pollen sterility and non viability may be reason of sterility (Dadlani et.al. 1988). Sterility and Meiosis in five species of Jasmine has been studied by Karmakar and Srivastava (1987b). Distribution Indian Jasmine species, their local names, synonyms and natural distribution have been reported by Bhattacharya (1980) and it has been given in Table-2. Out of 42 species listed above (along with their synonyms, local names and distribution all over India in different regions and altitude) Jasmine only three species viz. J. grandiflorum, J. auriculatum and J. sambac are commercially cultivated for flower and value added products like essential oils.
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Jasmine varieties of Economic Importance
There are eight species of Jasmine which have significant importance due to their direct use and value added products. Brief description is given in Table-4. Morphological description of eight species of Jasmine with particular reference to flower size, type, colour, flowering behaviour and nature are given below:
J. auriculatum
The most systematic studies on J. auriculatum have been carried out by Indresh et. al. (1989). They divided entire population into 'pin' (long styled ) typed based on style length beside classifying the various flower bud forms like small, large, pointed and round buds in both the types. They further explained that pointed buds in pin type had the highest concrete recovery and also pointed buds of the thrum type had the highest absolute recovery compared to the other flower bud forms. |
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J. grandiflorum
Six morphologically different clones in J. grandiflorum (which includes five pink and one white and off-white, one pink was a triploid and rest were diploid) has been reported by velusamy et. al. (1973). The triploid cultivar was exceedingly sterile. Velusamy (1981) further evaluated the open pollinated seedlings of 'Coimbatore, alone of J. grandiflorum and found very wide ranges for number of flower buds, shoot length; diameter, weight and yield of flower buds and concrete recovery. Srivastava and Karmkar (1988) reported a spontaneous variant bearing 800-900 seeds per plant and came to conclusion that Jasminum grandiflorum has seed bearing system.
J. sambac
J. sambac (L.) Ait: Flower buds are white. Blooms have single or multiwhorled petals. Flowers are used in making garland, bouquets, in religious offerings, extraction of perfume (otto) and in cosmetic industries. Sharma and Singh (1979) reported that J. sambac is variable and includes a large number of cultivars bearing single, double flowers with elongated or rounded petals. Only few varieties were observed to set seeds in nature. Spontaneous mutation, natural crossing and simple auto-polyploidy might be the possible causes for the origin of the variation in J. sambac. Considerable morphological variation has been observed in varieties of Jasminum sambac Ait. On the basis of morphology of leaf and corolla Raman (1955) grouped the species J. sambac into two. Studies on shape of the leaf and corolla lobes were found useful to formulate the line of differentiation of corolla in four varieties. Bhatnagar (1956) reported four distinct sub-varieties in J. sambac on the basis of shape of flower bud, petal shape and number of whorls. Yield pattern in different varieties of J. sambac has been studied by Raman et.al.(1969). Mohammad Ali Khan et.al.(1970) studied the morphological variation of Jasmine sambac with particular reference to distinguishing characters of economic value to the flower trade. The different varieties showed minor variations in habit, internode length, size and shape of leaf, calyx, number of whorls of petals and their size and shape, size of open flower and in the number of stamen, but marked difference were observed in the length of style and stigma. Seed setting were observed to set seeds in nature. They opined further that spontaneous mutation, natural crossing and simple auto-polyploidy might be possible cause for the origin of the variations in J. sambac. Sharma and Singh (1971) reported that J. sambac is variable and includes a large number of cultivars bearing single double flower and elongated or rounded petals.
J. arborescens
In local language it is known a muta bela and neba mallinga. Flowers are white and have strong fragrance. It is grown in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
J. calophyllum Vahl
It is known as Pandal malli in local language. It is profuse bloomer and is generally grown in home garden with flowers which are scented. Flower colour is white. Flower appears round the year. Plants are healthy free from pest and disease attack.
J. flexile Vahl
It is also known as (Syn. J. caudatum Wall.). It is a profuse flowering species grown widely in home garden for its fragrant flowers. Plant blooms throughout the year. Cultivar is free from insect, pest and disease.
J. humile L
It is also known as Semmalligai and pelli chameli in local language. It produces yellow flower and is also known as yellow Jasmine. Flowers are fragrant and are used in the perfume industry.
J. pubescens Wild
It is known as Kundo and Kunda in local language and it is called as J. multiflorum Burm. It is an ornamental plant with slightly fragrant, flower colour is white and it blooms throughout the year. Flowering is in its peak during winters. It is grown in north India and its performance is better during cool winter climate.
Flowering behaviour :
Raman et.al. (1969) studied on the flowering habit for 23 Jasminum species and 45 varieties. Flowering in Jasmine was almost throughout the year in J. grandiflorum, J. flexile, J. pubescens, J. calophyllum and J. regidum. Other species flowered from February to October. Flower opening in Jasmine is not uniform in all the species and it varies from species to species. On the basis of flower opening time velusamy et.al., (1976) grouped the species in to early, medium and very late which are given in Table 5.
Chromosomal studies in Jasmine
Chromosome number has been determined in jasmine from time to time by many workers as it is very important parameter for breeding programmes. Sax and Abbe (1932) reported 2n=26 in J.fruticans L. Taylor (1945) carried out extensive chromosomal investigation in 129 species of family Oleaceae and reported n=13 as a basic number of Jasmine. Krishnaswamy and Raman (1948) carried out cytogenetical studies in Indian Jasmine and confirmed chromosome numbers of four varieties of J.sambac and other species. Mohamed Alikhan et.al.,(1969) reported new chromosomal form of superior ornamental value in Jasmine. A detail of chromosome numbers of different species of Jasmine has been shown in Table-6.
Jasmine Improvement :
Bud sports, induced mutation and polyploidy has played important role in development of new cultivars of Jasmine. Details are given below :
A. Mutation Breeding :
i)Spontaneous Mutant: Sampath Kumar (1979) reported spontaneous mutation in J. flexile with various degree of forking in foliage. Rao and Krishnan (1980) reported bud sport in Jasminum auriculatum Vahl. with increased bloom size. Analysis of spontaneous mutant revealed that the mutant excelled in length and width of floral bud, length of corola tube, diameter of open flower, number of petals, length and width of petal and 100 floral bud weight. A natural mutant of Jasmine for plain has been reported by Jose et. al., (2006).They reported a natural mutant of Jasminum ritchiei with variegated leaves had been identified in the wild. The mutant was collected and got established in the garden. It has been monitored for five successive years which confirmed its stable variegated character. The clonal multiplication in five successive generations retained the parent variegation in the plantlets. This variegated mutant forms a new addition to the list of Jasmines. A spontaneous variant with petaloid anther in Jasminum sambac Ait has been reported by Srivastava (1983). ii) Induced Mutant: Variegated mutant in Jasminum auriculatum Vahl has been reported by Chezhiyan et. al. (1984 b) from TNAU, Coimbatore. They have irradiated seeds with 7.5 Krad, 12.5 krad, 30 Krad + Ethyl Methane Sulphonate 2%. Flowering of the mutant is normal and blooms in 12 months. The stem of the plant is short and variegated foliage of this mutant has added ornamental beauty to the mutant. Nambisan et. al. (1980) reported two induced mutant in Jasminum grandiflorum. One mutant is dwarf in nature while other one is resistant to Cercospora jasminicola. Flowers of mutants yield lower concrete percentage. Effect of gamma irradiation on cutting of J. grandiflorum has been studied by Kumar et. al. (1983). They have irradiated rooted cutting of variety CO1 Pitchi by 5 to 3 Krad. Reduction in sprouting and rooting percentage was observed after irradiation in comparison to control. Devaiah and Srivastava (1989) reported LD50 for J. grandiflorum var. 'Pink Pin' close to 2.5 Krad, 0.5 Krad for 'Pink Thrum', close to 2.5 Krad for J. flexile, close to 1 Krad for J. calophyllum Wall and 2 Krad for J. sambac Ait 'Gundumullai. Percentage of rooting, number of roots per cutting, length and thickness of roots decreased with increase in intensity of gamma irradiation.
Polyploidy
Polyploidy has played important role in origin of new cultivars in ornamental and essential oil bearing plants. It may be spontaneous in nature or artificially induced by Colchicines. Spontaneous triploid in (2n=39) Jasmine sambac has been reported by Sharma and Sharma 1958, in J. grandiflorum by Murthy and Khanna 1971, in J. ilicifolium by Taylor (1945), in J. nitidum by Taylor (1945), in J. primulinus Henst by Krishnaswamy and Raman (1948) and in J. autumnale by Sharma and Sharma 1958. Spontaneous tetraploidy (2n=52) have been reported by Datta (1952) in J. calophyllum Wall by Raman (1955) in J. flexile Vahl. Triploidy in Jasminum grandiflorum has been found to increase concrete content and thereby hold promise as useful avenue for improvement of this crop. Bowden 1940, Anon 1990, 1991, attempted to induce tetraploidy in Jasmine. Sambandhmurthy and Abdul Khodar (1982) reported that induced tetraploidy in J. grandiflorum did not reveal superiority. |
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New Varieties
Five improved varieties of jasmine have been released from Department of Floriculture, Horticulture College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore. J. auriculatum (Parimillai): 1.Co1 Mullai 2. Co2 Mullai J. grandiflorum: 1.Co1 Pitchi 2. Co2 Pitchi The plant is resistant to gall mite. Flower bud yield is 7800 kg/ha. Concrete recovery is 0.29 %. Co.1 mullai: Bud is bold. Corolla tube is long, flower bud yield is 8825 Kg/ha. It has greater consumer preference. Concrete recovery is 0.34%. Co.2. Mullai: It is developed by a cross between a mutant S 1 and long point (LA1). Flower bud yield per hectare is 11,193 Kg of flower buds/ha. A clear-cut increase of 26.88% over CO1.
J. grandiflorum
Co 1 Pitchi: It is a clonal selection from Lucknow type. Colour of the flower bud is pink and attractive. The flower bud yield is 10 Kg/ha. Jasmine concrete recovery is of 0.29 %. Co 2 Pitchi: It is an induced mutant from CO 1, with bolder pink buds. It is capable of yielding 3.64 Kg of flower/year/plant. The flower bud yield is 11680/ha. It is 15.1% more than CO 1 Jasmine. Concrete recovery is 0.30%.
Flower yield
An extensive study on flower yield of three species has been carried out by Khader et.al.1984. Flower yield in jasmine varies from species to species and it also depends on culture practices and management of cultivation. Flower yield of Jasmine auriculatum is 4636-9022 kg/hectare; J.grandiflorum it ranges from 4329-10144Kg/ ha and in J.sambac it ranges from 739-8129kg/ha.
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Jasmine concrete :
India is the second largest producer and exporter of Jasmine concrete to world market. Comparative study of jasminum collection has been carried out and their respective yield (%) has been given in Table-5.
Essential Oil
Essential oils are concentrated volatile aromatic compounds produced by plants; easily evaporated essence that give plants their wonderful scents and Jasmine is no exception. The production and perfume potential of Jasmine collection has been reported by Singh and More (1988).Out of the J.sambac, J.auriculatum, J.odorotissium of this, J.grandiflorum yields the world famous jasmine oil used in soap, cosmetics, mouth washes, denitrifies, bath salt and tobacco. The Nether lands, Italy, Algeria, Turkey, Moracco and Tunisia are the important jasmine oil producing countries of the world. |
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